Being a Beekeeper is B Difficult
Both beekeeper numbers and hive numbers have declined in recent years.
Varroa mite did a lot of damage, and now there is the possibility of diseases that could result from proposed imports of bee products European Foul Brood is one of many threats.
This situation is a problem for horticulture. Both the avocado and kiwifruit industries are still expanding the number of hectares planted, and a recent study has predicted likely pollination hive shortfalls by 2010-2015. This has Zespri, Horticulture New Zealand and the Avocado Industry very worried.
The high value manuka honey has some beekeepers opting out of pollination. The losers in the end are likely to be the high country farmers who rely on bees for clover pollination to keep clover in their pasture the problem is that no one knows just how much of the country is in this category and what the actual production loss could be when beekeepers decide to move hives away to either pollination or manuka production.
No matter where the hives will be, one sector or the other are likely to have decreased production, or quality issues, that will ultimately affect the whole New Zealand economy.
Strangely, Government agencies are imposing greater restrictions on honey and live bee exports than they propose to apply to imported bee products. Go figure!
The Promised Land is in danger of ending up as a land with lots of milk but little honey. This is the message from beleaguered NZ beekeepers who are sounding a sour note as they head into spring with too few hives and some serious problems and potential threats.
Since the Varroa mite arrived in 2000 it has devastated wild bee colonies and the hives of hobbyist beekeepers in the Nth Island (and has now been found in the Nelson region). Commercial beekeepers have fared somewhat better because of good management, but it hasnt been easy and the number of hives has decreased. Kiwifruit and avocado growers are demanding more hives for pollination, but the hassles involved are pushing apiarists towards production of more profitable manuka honey. Add to that the Government talking about allowing honey imports and seemingly tilting the playing field against the local industry and you can see why beekeepers are as mad as hornets. Nobody loves them!
The situation as the National Beekeepers Assn sees it is:
The number of beekeepers is declining. The average age is increasing, fewer young people coming into the industry. It is hard work and there are many risk factors so it is not always financially rewarding.
The number of hives has also declined, largely because of the Varroa mite.
When honey prices were low a few years ago many beekeepers got into offering pollination services to the kiwifruit industry. Now honey prices have risen, especially for active manuka honey, and honey production has become more profitable and less stressful than pollination.
Kiwifruit flowering and manuka flowering overlap. Some beekeepers do their best to be part of both enterprises, but others have opted to focus on honey. Bee losses when supplying pollination services can be quite high for various reasons spray drift, inadequate pollen and bee numbers in affected hives may need to be built up again for honey production.
The expanding avocado industry also needs pollination services in competition with the still expanding kiwifruit industry. A recent study predicted a substantial shortfall in hives by 2010. Some beekeepers avoid avocado orchards because their spraying regimes can be a risk to bees they arent yet as well controlled as kiwifruit orchards.
Honey prices have gone up locally, and the Government is talking about allowing the importation of honey, something that has been a no-no until now because of the risk of introducing diseases. The most obvious supply country is Australia, and in theory as long as the imported honey is heat treated it should pose minimal risk. However, NZ beekeepers say that Australia has some serious diseases that are not present here, and that imports are not worth the risk. They point out that Australia imports honey from Asia, and there is a risk that some will be re-exported here.
At the same time the Government has imposed new hygiene regulations here that require higher standards for exports of NZ honey than for imports from Australia, according to beekeepers. For decades honey and live bees have been exported to Europe and elsewhere, meeting the required standards of importing countries. Those standards have not changed, but for reasons known only to themselves the NZ Food Safety Authority has decided that from 1st July all NZ bee products possibly destined for export will have to adhere to strict risk management programmes. In theory these standards apply only to exports and not honey for the NZ local market, but in reality any beekeepers supplying honey packers will have to meet the export standards because most packers do some exporting. The playing field has been tilted in the wrong direction.
European Foul Brood is a serious disease present in Australia and most other countries. Antibiotics are often used to control it and there is a risk of importing honey with residues. There is also another Asian honeybee mite that could make the switch to European bees. There are plenty of pests and diseases that could devastate the NZ industry, and allowing honey imports will increase the risk of that happening, say beekeepers.
Paradoxically, good times in pastoral farming can mean bad times for beekeepers. Farms get tidied up and farmers get rid of gorse and other weeds that provide a source of pollen in winter and early spring. Pollen is the essential protein source for bees and while sugar can be used to provide a carbohydrate supplement it is difficult to provide protein other than through pollen.
Clover is a source of nectar for honey, and bees pollinate clover, which is the mainstay of pastures. However, clover root weevil, clover flea and other pests combined with the increased use of nitrogen on pastures has meant diminishing quantities of flowering clover for bees. Fewer bees because of Varroa mite has meant less pollination and seed setting in clover. Its a vicious circle.
Beekeepers admit that their industry is very small in the scheme of things and they believe it is seen as a nuisance by Government agencies. However, farmers and orchardists know it is essential to them, and that a thriving bee industry can only be good for the country.
Somehow someone needs to come up with a strategic management plan for bees that ensures that NZ remains a land of honey as well as milk.
Varroa mite did a lot of damage, and now there is the possibility of diseases that could result from proposed imports of bee products European Foul Brood is one of many threats.
This situation is a problem for horticulture. Both the avocado and kiwifruit industries are still expanding the number of hectares planted, and a recent study has predicted likely pollination hive shortfalls by 2010-2015. This has Zespri, Horticulture New Zealand and the Avocado Industry very worried.
The high value manuka honey has some beekeepers opting out of pollination. The losers in the end are likely to be the high country farmers who rely on bees for clover pollination to keep clover in their pasture the problem is that no one knows just how much of the country is in this category and what the actual production loss could be when beekeepers decide to move hives away to either pollination or manuka production.
No matter where the hives will be, one sector or the other are likely to have decreased production, or quality issues, that will ultimately affect the whole New Zealand economy.
Strangely, Government agencies are imposing greater restrictions on honey and live bee exports than they propose to apply to imported bee products. Go figure!
The Promised Land is in danger of ending up as a land with lots of milk but little honey. This is the message from beleaguered NZ beekeepers who are sounding a sour note as they head into spring with too few hives and some serious problems and potential threats.
Since the Varroa mite arrived in 2000 it has devastated wild bee colonies and the hives of hobbyist beekeepers in the Nth Island (and has now been found in the Nelson region). Commercial beekeepers have fared somewhat better because of good management, but it hasnt been easy and the number of hives has decreased. Kiwifruit and avocado growers are demanding more hives for pollination, but the hassles involved are pushing apiarists towards production of more profitable manuka honey. Add to that the Government talking about allowing honey imports and seemingly tilting the playing field against the local industry and you can see why beekeepers are as mad as hornets. Nobody loves them!
The situation as the National Beekeepers Assn sees it is:
The number of beekeepers is declining. The average age is increasing, fewer young people coming into the industry. It is hard work and there are many risk factors so it is not always financially rewarding.
The number of hives has also declined, largely because of the Varroa mite.
When honey prices were low a few years ago many beekeepers got into offering pollination services to the kiwifruit industry. Now honey prices have risen, especially for active manuka honey, and honey production has become more profitable and less stressful than pollination.
Kiwifruit flowering and manuka flowering overlap. Some beekeepers do their best to be part of both enterprises, but others have opted to focus on honey. Bee losses when supplying pollination services can be quite high for various reasons spray drift, inadequate pollen and bee numbers in affected hives may need to be built up again for honey production.
The expanding avocado industry also needs pollination services in competition with the still expanding kiwifruit industry. A recent study predicted a substantial shortfall in hives by 2010. Some beekeepers avoid avocado orchards because their spraying regimes can be a risk to bees they arent yet as well controlled as kiwifruit orchards.
Honey prices have gone up locally, and the Government is talking about allowing the importation of honey, something that has been a no-no until now because of the risk of introducing diseases. The most obvious supply country is Australia, and in theory as long as the imported honey is heat treated it should pose minimal risk. However, NZ beekeepers say that Australia has some serious diseases that are not present here, and that imports are not worth the risk. They point out that Australia imports honey from Asia, and there is a risk that some will be re-exported here.
At the same time the Government has imposed new hygiene regulations here that require higher standards for exports of NZ honey than for imports from Australia, according to beekeepers. For decades honey and live bees have been exported to Europe and elsewhere, meeting the required standards of importing countries. Those standards have not changed, but for reasons known only to themselves the NZ Food Safety Authority has decided that from 1st July all NZ bee products possibly destined for export will have to adhere to strict risk management programmes. In theory these standards apply only to exports and not honey for the NZ local market, but in reality any beekeepers supplying honey packers will have to meet the export standards because most packers do some exporting. The playing field has been tilted in the wrong direction.
European Foul Brood is a serious disease present in Australia and most other countries. Antibiotics are often used to control it and there is a risk of importing honey with residues. There is also another Asian honeybee mite that could make the switch to European bees. There are plenty of pests and diseases that could devastate the NZ industry, and allowing honey imports will increase the risk of that happening, say beekeepers.
Paradoxically, good times in pastoral farming can mean bad times for beekeepers. Farms get tidied up and farmers get rid of gorse and other weeds that provide a source of pollen in winter and early spring. Pollen is the essential protein source for bees and while sugar can be used to provide a carbohydrate supplement it is difficult to provide protein other than through pollen.
Clover is a source of nectar for honey, and bees pollinate clover, which is the mainstay of pastures. However, clover root weevil, clover flea and other pests combined with the increased use of nitrogen on pastures has meant diminishing quantities of flowering clover for bees. Fewer bees because of Varroa mite has meant less pollination and seed setting in clover. Its a vicious circle.
Beekeepers admit that their industry is very small in the scheme of things and they believe it is seen as a nuisance by Government agencies. However, farmers and orchardists know it is essential to them, and that a thriving bee industry can only be good for the country.
Somehow someone needs to come up with a strategic management plan for bees that ensures that NZ remains a land of honey as well as milk.