Saskatchewan beekeeper Mark Knox walks to his office desk and picks up a small vial filled with clear alcohol.
Holding it up to the window, he points to a collection of small, reddish-coloured specks that have sunk to the bottom.
“Here’s what they look like,” says Knox, who runs Knox Apiaries near Nipawin.
“Fifteen or 20 years ago, we never had any problems with mites. Now, I spend the majority of my time taking samples from the hives and treating for them. All of the work that I used to do (in the apiary) has to be done by someone else now.”
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The varroa mite, a blood sucking parasite about the size of a pinhead, starting infecting Canadian hives in the late 1980s and is proving to be a resilient pest.
Two years ago, Knox’s family-owned apiary lost about 55 percent of its bees in a single winter.
The mites infested his hives, stressed the wintering bees and wiped out more than 1,000 colonies. The financial loss was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“I went from about 2,000 hives down to about 900,” he says. “I’m still trying to get back to where I was before that … but it takes a lot of time and work.”
Knox and his wife Janice are not newcomers to the beekeeping industry.
The Knox family entered the honey business in 1875, when Mark’s great-grandfather started extracting on the family’s homestead in Ontario.
In 1959, Mark’s father moved the family’s hives to Saskatchewan in hopes of harvesting a larger honey crop.
He settled in the Nipawin area of northeastern Saskatchewan, which was considered a prime location for beekeeping.
Today, the northeast region is home to nearly 60 percent of province’s 100,000 commercial hives.
Knox got into the family business at an early age. At 12, he started working in the extracting room and by 18 he had his own hives, which were managed alongside his dad’s.
By 1995, Knox had taken over the entire family operation and this year, Knox Apiaries Ltd., will celebrate its 50th anniversary in Saskatchewan.
According to Knox, beekeeping has always been a demanding business, requiring lots of labour and capital.
The arrival of the varroa mite, which can devastate an operation in a single year, hasn’t made the business easier.
Today, he spends roughly $40,000 a year monitoring his hives, taking samples and treating infested colonies with chemical controls.
“I had a fairly good winter this year but I have some neighbours who are having really big problems and once you’ve got them, it’s pretty hard to get a handle on it.”
Parasites aside, Knox says beekeeping has been a rewarding career that constantly challenges his managerial skills.
“It’s an industry that’s never standing still,” he says.
Lately, one of Knox’s biggest challenges has been labour recruitment.
In July, when extracting hits full stride and labour requirements are at a peak, the apiary will employ about 20 people, 13 of which will come from Nicaragua.
“I’d like to hire closer to home but I can find hardly anyone to work locally,” he says.
Marketing provides another set of challenges.
When Western Canada was in the midst of a prolonged drought, limited honey supplies drove prices to nearly $2.50 a pound. In years when honey yields were high and supplies were plentiful, prices slumped as low as 75 cents a lb., not nearly enough to pay the average beekeeper’s bills, says Knox.
Last month, the price for water white honey, the grade most often sought by processors, was around $1.70.
Depending on weather conditions, Knox expects to produce between 300,000 and 600,000 lb. in 2009.
Because most of his honey is sold to American processors, Knox’s gross income rises significantly if the value of the Canadian dollar is low relative to the U.S. dollar.
Knox also believes honey production on a per hive basis is lower than it was a few years ago.
“Weather patterns are definitely changing… and in my opinion, the varieties of canola that they breed now don’t produce as much honey as they used to. Nectar secretion is way down on the list of priorities when they develop new (canola) varieties.”
Imports of cheap Chinese honey are also taking their toll on the industry.
According to Knox, the volume of Chinese honey that reaches North American tables continues to grow.
“A lot of Chinese honey is blended with corn syrup or they use chemicals that have been banned in North America and Europe but it (Chinese honey) still sneaks into the marketplace through unscrupulous importers,” he says.
“They’ll put their product on the market at 50 cents a lb. when our break-even cost is $1.25. That really hurts.”
Knox says the Canadian beekeeping industry has successfully lobbied for labelling changes that will allow consumers to differentiate between inexpensive Chinese imports and higher quality Canadian honey.
“The way the labels are right now, Canada No. 1 honey could be Canada No. 1 honey produced in Argentina or China. It doesn’t have to be Canadian made,” he says.
“Ninety-five percent of people don’t know that. They see Canada on the label and they think it’s Canadian honey.”
Despite all the challenges and the long hours, Knox has no regrets about entering the beekeeping business.
“It’s been a good career,” he says.
“It’s one of those jobs where no matter how long you’ve been doing it, you’re always learning something new and there’s always something that surprises you.
“If anyone tells you that they know all there is about beekeeping, they’re not telling you the truth.”
