BEAVERLODGE, Alta. — A long, cool spring has slowed honey production, but it hasn’t dampened enthusiasm for the honey business.
“Bees, like the field crops, started off a trifle slow, but it looks pretty good now and the moisture conditions are excellent,” said Grant Hicks, president of the Alberta Beekeepers Association.
Moisture to keep crops flowering means the chances of a good honey crop are strong, Hicks said during the Beekeepers Field Day.
Marc Paradis said hive location is always key for bees.
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Early flowering plants such as golden rod and caraganas give bees a good start before they move to canola and other flowering crops. This year, several clover fields near Rycroft, Alta., where Paradis normally places his hives, were worked up and seeded to peas, which aren’t useful for honeybees.
Guy Chartier, chief executive officer of BeeMaid Honey, said the common message he has heard from prairie producers is that bees survived the winter well, but the long, cool spring has slowed production.
Honey prices near $1.90 a pound have generally left producers feeling happy, he added.
Stephen Pernal, a research scientist with Agriculture Canada’s Beaverlodge Research Farm, said strong honey prices mean there is a strong potential for good returns during honey harvest.
“The industry is holding its own, but there are challenges,” he said before a day of lectures on the health of queen bees, neonicotinoid residues and bee health surveys.
A dark cloud on the horizon is the increasing amount of lower priced imports from China. Canada imported 190,000 pounds from China in the first three months of this year, compared to 26,000 lb. for all of last year.
“It’s legally coming into Canada from China,” said Chartier.
He said producers need to be aware that there may be a point where consumers and industrial users may take a closer look at Chinese honey.
“At one point do people say, ‘there is a solution with China?’ ” he said of Canada’s higher priced honey.
Chinese honey meets the Canada No. 1 grade standards, but the grade doesn’t mean it must be produced in Canada. Consumers don’t know that Canada No. 1 is a grade and doesn’t mean it is produced in Canada, said Chartier.
To help consumers, BeeMaid has launched a Made in Canada honey campaign, “How much Canadian honey is in your bottle,” highlighting honey produced from Canadian beekeepers.
