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Honey producers honour industry leaders
New challenges demand new leaders for association
by TOM WALKER PRINCE GEORGE -- The BC
Honey Producers Association presented two lifetime achievement awards at its annual general meeting and conference in Prince George on October 4-6. Lance Cuthill was honoured
for his work in educating beekeepers. “Lance’s volunteer work benefits all beekeepers across the province,” said BCHPA president Kerry Clark as he presented the award to Lance and his wife Bobby. “The program began in 2013 with three [certified instructors] and there are now 54 certified instructors who have taught over 1,200 people.”
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The association also
honoured former president and Duncan beekeeper Blaine Hardie, who passed away this past summer.
Stan Reist was one of
several members who recounted the role Hardie and his wife Jan played in the association as well as his social contributions. “BCHPA wouldn’t be in the position it is today without the two of them,” says Reist. BCHPA is a much stronger
organization than in the past, Jeff Lee, the outgoing first vice-president noted in his report during the association’s business meeting. “The changes in the board
have been a stabilizing force in the organization,” Lee says. “But ultimately the executive is guided by you, the membership.” Young blood is also
important. While education days are a
focal point for the association, many young apiarists can’t afford the time or money to attend. “The education days have
brought us out of debt,” Gerry Rozema of Rozehaven Farm in Campbell River observed. “But young members can’t afford to spend $600 to sit in a hotel room for three days.”
The club needs to consider ways to attract younger
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • NOVEMBER 2019
BC Honey Producers Association president Kerry Clark, left, presents Bobby and Lance Cuthill with a lifetime achievement award. TOM WALKER PHOTO
members to the executive, he said, noting: “There’s a lot of grey hair in this room.” The need to cultivate new leaders comes at a time when the industry faces several challenges. Reist, who represents BC on
the Canadian Honey Council, gave the meeting an overview of the industry in his report. In 2018, a total of 10,629
Canadian beekeepers kept 769,764 colonies producing
COLONY losses
until January 26, when the temperature suddenly dropped into the basement and we had strong Arctic outflows for about six weeks,” he notes. “That really sucked the life out of a lot of colonies,
are easier with the right equipment BIG JOBS
particularly those on the coast that are not accustomed to such extreme weather conditions. They ran out of fuel.” Van Westendorp reminded
beekeepers of the need for a veterinarian’s prescription to purchase any of the three antibiotics that are registered for use in bee colonies. “You need to establish a
relationship with your local vet and perhaps the local club can work with the vet as well, to coordinate with smaller backyard beekeepers,” he says. There was an increase in the incidence of EFB (European Foul Brood) disease noted in samples that were tested across the province. Some EFB was recorded
after blueberry pollination, but much more after the dearth period that occurred in the late spring when cold weather limited flower production and bees began running out of food. “As soon as the nectar flow
resumed, the EFB disappeared completely,” van Westendorp says.
There does not appear to
have been an increase in the occurrence of Nosema, adds van Westendorp, with the highest levels continuing to
an average of 123 pounds of honey each, or more than 93 million pounds worth $196.6 million.
But that is barely sustainable, says Reist. “That revenue of $196 million equates to roughly $1.30 a pound, which is just above the cost of production for commercial operators on the Prairies,” he says. Reist also discussed
Germany’s planned ban on
glyphosate, well-known as Roundup, which will be in effect by 2023. “They are on the path to doing it regardless of the science that is published,” says Reist. “We do things differently.” This includes publication by
Agriculture and Agri-food Canada’s bee health roundtable, Practices to Reduce Bee Poisoning from Agricultural Pesticides, which is available at [
www.pollinator.org].
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be in coastal BC. The antibiotic Fumagillin is being re- introduced in Canada and is available through the Alberta Honey Producers Co- operative. “But I have heard some concerns that it is not as benign as we have always believed,” says van Westendorp. A mystery disease has struck a number of colonies in the Kootenays. First vice- president Jeff Lee of Honey Bee Zen Apiaries in Creston lost 300 hives this year. “We simply do not know what is going on. It appears to be a combination of varroa mites and viruses that seem to be working together,” says van Westendorp. “They are making it very miserable for our bees to survive.” Small hive beetle was not
detected in the Fraser Valley this year, says van Westendorp. But he has seen photographs from beekeepers in Bellingham who have found adults. There will be a free webinar
series, “Introduction to Beekeeping,” offered Saturday mornings in January and February 2020. A master course will be held at UBC on February 10-14.
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