VANCOUVER – Call it the buzz in the biotech sector.
The role of bees in crop pollination was a leading topic at the recent biennial conference of the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations Sept. 12-17.
Beekeeping is no longer synonymous with honey production, especially on the Prairies, where a growing number of colonies are helping grow hybrid crops.
Acres planted with herbicide-resistant hybrids have risen from 50,000 in 1995 to more than seven million this year.
George Lammertsen, hybrid canola seed production manager for AgrEvo Canada, said the popularity of hybrids means more opportunities for beekeepers.
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But he emphasized that pollination operations are not for everyone.
“It’s not for the small, little beekeeper,” he said.
“A smaller operator would have more challenges to become a mobile operation.”
Of the two dozen apiarists AgrEvo works with in southern Alberta and south-central Saskatchewan, the smallest has about 1,000 hives. The average is between 5,000 and 8,000.
Reece Chandler, of Scandia, Alta., said becoming a beekeeper three years ago was a good business decision.
Born and raised in Calgary, he never thought he’d leave the city. But when Scandia Fields Honey was for sale, he and his wife looked at the figures, made a few calculations and went ahead.
“We bought this business without ever seeing a honeybee. So it was kind of a risk,” he said.
Honey bees remain the best pollinators of canola for hybrid seed.
Chandler has been told there’s little chance that anything better will be found in his lifetime. He maintains 12,000 hives, each returning a rent of approximately $113.
Beekeepers who work with hybrid crops aren’t in it for the honey.
Honey revenue
They can expect to receive $30 in honey revenue from each hive, compared to the usual $150.
Chandler said he takes that into account when deciding how much rent to charge companies like AgrEvo.
“If we get any honey, great, but we can’t expect it,” he said.
Chandler’s honey production in the past five years has been between 25 and 45 pounds a hive.
“What I don’t think most producers realize is that you’re not going to get a lot of honey. We’re saturating the fields with so many hives that there’s not much.”
Pollination requires up to three hives per acre, while honey producers keep one hive on two acres.
Contracts bind beekeepers to maintain hives and hive strength to pollinate fields by late June, a full month earlier than the schedule guiding honey production. This means importing bees in late March to replenish hives.
Chandler said he usually has to replace about 1,800 hives a year due to wintering losses.
The high concentration of hives per acre, sometimes located near other farmers’ hives, means there’s a greater risk of mite and disease problems.
