This recent article on the CBC highlights the success of the commercial beekeeping industry in Alberta: What's the Buzz - CBC Story
Interesting facts from the article include:
Alberta beekeepers produce about 40% of all the honey produced in Canada.
The value of the Alberta honey crop last year exceeded $100 million for the first time ever.
There are more that 300,000 beehives in Alberta and most of them are cared for by 170 commercial beekeepers.
The annual value of honeybee pollination is estimated at $3.2 billion and increases to $7 billion when factoring in the impact of hybrid canola pollination.
The article also points to the challenges that beekeepers face in keeping their colonies alive and replacing colonies that have died. Factors that can lead to colonies dying include Varroa mites and extreme weather conditions such as drought and prolonged cold snaps.
There are only two ways of replacing dead colonies: split existing hives using queens that are domestically produced or import queens and bee packages from southern countries. Speakers at a recent Bee Tech conference in Calgary cautioned that importing bees from outside of Canada increases the risk of importing new pests and pathogens. Many experts encouraged beekeepers to learn how to raise queens and make bee packages here at home rather than
relying on costly and inferior imports.
The Bee Cube™ will provide an ideal platform for queen rearing and queen banking and will support prairie beekeepers in developing a more sustainable industry as they build on the successes of the past.
Herman Van Reekum
February 25, 2024
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