Hot, dry summer | Production is down but so were overwintering losses from last year
A hot and dry summer limited prairie honey yields this year.
Official statistics haven’t been released, but beekeepers in Western Canada are reporting yields that are either average or below average.
“I think honey production in the province will be down, as a whole, probably 20 percent,” said Corey Bacon of Kinistino, Sask., president of the Saskatchewan Beekeepers Association.
Saskatchewan beekeepers have averaged more than 200 pounds of honey per colony over the last five years, Bacon said.
Most producers will likely be below that figure because a wet spring and a hot July condensed the canola bloom down to a few weeks, which is much shorter than usual.
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The story is similar in Manitoba, where yields will likely be below the recent average of 170 lb. per colony, said provincial apiarist Rheal Lafreniere.
“If I had to throw a number on the table, somewhere between 145 and 150 lb. per hive.”
Manitoba beekeepers averaged 200 lb. per hive last year.
Terry Greidanus, a beekeeper from Cayley, Alta, said conditions turned dry in August in his region. Honey flows were decent for beekeepers who had bees in the field in June and July.
“If they (the bees) weren’t up to par, then you missed out on a fair bit,” he said.
“If your bees we’re up to speed … then you did OK. But I don’t think there are any bumper crops out there this year.”
There is good news for the industry.
Many beekeepers lost only 15 percent of their bees over the winter. In previous years, 25 to 35 percent of hives failed to make it through the winter because varroa mites, disease and poor nutrition devastated colonies across Canada.
As a result, honey producers had more bees collecting nectar, which meant the additional hives may compensate for below average yields, Lafreniere said.
“I’ve heard the comment (from beekeepers) saying that I have close to the number of barrels that I had last year, but per colony, I didn’t get the production.”
High prices should also offset production declines this year. White honey was selling for $1.65 per lb. this fall and could increase given the chasm between American and Canadian honey prices.
In its market survey for October, the American Bee Journal said U.S. honey production would likely be 145 to 165 million lb., which would be close to the U.S. five-year average.
Nonetheless, American processors are paying U.S. beekeepers $2 per lb., breaking price records set last year when honey averaged $1.72 per lb.
The high prices are related to U.S. stocks of honey, which were at 36.8 million lb. earlier this year, the lowest level in two decades.
A robust Canadian dollar is partly responsible for the price gap, but Lafreniere said this kind of cross border price disparity doesn’t normally last.
“We’ve seen this happen in the past, where there is differential between the U.S. price and the price for Canadian producers,” he said.
“(But) when inventory goes down even more. you’ll start to see that price come together.”
Bacon agreed, noting that American processors will have to secure supplies, which means Canadian honey prices should rise.
