Beekeepers require commercial sugar for feeding, and the sugar shortage earlier this year may have had an impact.  |  File photo

Prairie beekeepers take stock of surviving hives

Producers still tallying their winter losses, but Alta. appears to be hardest hit at an estimated 30 per cent death rate

Glacier FarmMedia – Alberta honeybee losses over winter have yet to be tallied as beekeepers continue to collect data. Rod Scarlett, executive director of the Canadian Honey Council, says full numbers will be known by late June. “We’ve had some locations and operations that have been very good and overwintered losses of 10 per cent […] Read more

The Canadian Honey Council is attempting to determine why quinclorac is present in honey produced in some parts of the country.  |  File photo

Canadian honey still struggles to reach Japan

WINNIPEG — Canadian beekeepers have a problem in Japan. A percentage of Canadian honey contains trace amounts of quinclorac, a herbicide used to control cleavers in canola. Related story: Honey obtains halal certification Japanese buyers have adopted a stringent residue limit for quinclorac in honey of 0.01 parts per million. As a result, less product […] Read more



Stacks of wooden bee hives sit next to a blooming canola field.

Variable honey year likely close to average

Total honey production across the Prairies is expected to be close to average this year due to widely variable precipitation and drought that have affected crops in much of the region, said an industry leader. “I think honey production has been all over the map depending on where you’re at and how much rain the […] Read more

A single bee is about to land on the yellow flower of a canola plant.

Recent rain helps bee producers hurt by dry conditions

Wildfire smoke has slowed the bees while the fires have forced animals such as bears into areas where hives are located

Prairie beekeepers facing dry conditions and wildfire smoke are welcoming recent rain as they deal with warmer weather that initially helped them after a cold start this spring. “It was getting extremely dry in certain areas,” said executive director Rod Scarlett of the Canadian Honey Council. “This is, just as I say, it’s kind of […] Read more


Honeybees on a bright yellow honeycomb.

Honey producers watch the temperature

Rod Scarlett, executive director of the Canadian Honey Council, estimated April 19 total losses of bees across the three prairie provinces have so far averaged 20 to 25 percent.

Honeybees on a bright yellow honeycomb.

Honey producers watch the temperature

Rod Scarlett, executive director of the Canadian Honey Council, estimated April 19 total losses of bees across the three prairie provinces have so far averaged 20 to 25 percent.