Yesterday a member of the Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture attended the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia (WBPANS) Winter Information meeting in Truro, NS. The event was well attended by industry representatives and provided a great opportunity for producers to discuss last year’s season and expectations for the upcoming growing season. Continue reading this week’s blog to learn the highlights of some information discussed during the meeting.

Review of the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia Winter Information Meeting 2026

Yesterday Nova Scotia wild blueberry producers gathered in Truro, NS for their winter information meeting. Janette McDonald (Executive Director of WBPANS) welcomed everyone to the meeting and provided an update on behalf of the association. Janette discussed the priorities of the association which includes cost of production, provided information on WBPANS drought response for the 2025 growing season, gave an overview of the various events held by WBPANS this past year, and discussed the work of the WBPANS research committee. Additionally, Janette provided information on upcoming events for wild blueberry producers which includes the Maritime Wild Blueberry Conference which will be held in Moncton, NB on April 10^th and 11^th, and the WBPANS field day which will be held on June 24^th in Onslow, NS.

Patrick Whynot (Ag Business Advisory) gave a presentation on agriculture cost of production with key considerations for wild blueberries. Patrick discussed what makes cost of production models for wild blueberries unique which includes the fact wild blueberries are a biennial crop, producers have field heterogeneity, critical time windows for management practices such as pollination, and a unique market structure. There are some aspects of blueberry production that cannot be changed by the grower such as the market structure, climate variability, farm interest rates, and trade and tariff policies, which presents challenges for building a cost of production model. However, there are also some key considerations that are often missed by blueberry producers when assessing the economics of the business such as the full economic costs of sprout year fields, depreciation costs of equipment, owner labour costs, and inaccurate time estimates of various management practices.

Ashley MacDonald (Dalhousie University) gave a presentation on profit margins with key advise for wild blueberry producers to make small adjustments to their production practices to help provide small increases in profit margins. For example, Ashley discussed the value of producers to invest more resources into their best producing fields and reducing inputs in low performing areas or fields.

Sawyer Olmstead (Nova Scotia Provincial Apiculturist) provided an overview of the Nova Scotia honey bee industry. There are currently 983 beekeepers registered in Nova Scotia, and it is expected that number may increase to over 1000 this spring, which is the highest number of Nova Scotia registered beekeepers to date. Sawyer discussed the geographic spread of colonies across the province, where the most populated region is Kings/Hants counties with over 15,000 colonies. Sawyer discussed colony winter loss where last year the province had a winter loss average of 18.3%. He discussed the 2025 pollination and honey production season, which had significant challenges given severe drought conditions. Finally, Sawyer discussed challenges to the beekeeping industry including climate, decreasing honey yields, honey bee pests and diseases, and challenges associated with pollination.

Sawyer Olmstead, Nova Scotia Provincial Apiculturist, presenting at the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia Winter Information Meeting 2026.

Hugh Lyu (Perennia Wild Blueberry Specialist) gave a talk on the 2025 wild blueberry growing season. Hugh highlighted how drought stress impacted the growth of plants in both sprout year and crop year fields. This past winter has provided favourable conditions for wild blueberry plants with the required chilling hours for winter dormancy, and adequate snow cover across the province. The next challenge will be for good spring temperatures for plant deacclimation, which is when plants lose their hardiness and prepare for spring growth. Once the deacclimation process has started extreme cold conditions can cause plant damage. 

Hugh Lyu, Perennia Wild Blueberry Specialist, presenting at the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia Winter Information Meeting 2026.

The final presentation of the morning was from Lisa Jenereaux (Spurr Brothers Farms) who discussed the history and challenges of their farm and the importance of diversifying farms to produce multiple commodities and include other revenue streams such as agrotourism.

During the afternoon Dr. Harrison Wright (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada) gave a talk on the impact of the 2025 drought on wild blueberry bud hardiness. Last summer most of Nova Scotia experienced either D3 (extreme drought) or D4 (exceptional drought) conditions with the driest summer on record. Overall, the research suggests that bud hardiness levels do not appear to have been significantly compromised by the drought conditions. Drought conditions appeared to have impacted nutrient reserves, but minimally impacted carbohydrate reserves.

Hugh Lyu gave a second talk on new technology available for wild blueberry producers. Hugh shared the new “Wild Blueberry Management Tool” available to growers which can be used to plan for management of Monilinia blight and Botrytis blight.

To conclude the meeting Dr. Scott White (Dalhousie University) discussed the biology and management of weeds. Scott discussed the biology and treatment options for 2 main weeds of wild blueberries – sheep sorrel and hair fescue.

Thank you to all members of WBPANS who helped organize this great event, which provided an opportunity for growers to recap the 2025 season and to learn from ongoing research.

Connecting with ATTTA Specialists

If you’d like to connect with ATTTA specialists or learn more about our program, you can:

visit our website at https://www.perennia.ca/portfolio-items/honey-bees/

Email attta@perennia.ca

To conclude the 2025-2026 winter meeting season, the Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture attended the New Brunswick Beekeepers’ Association Annual General Meeting in Dieppe, NB. The event was well attended with over 90 attendees, including hobbyist and commercial beekeepers, beekeeping equipment and product supplies, government representatives, researchers, and others who work to support the New Brunswick beekeeping industry. Read this week’s blog for a summary of the excellent meeting that took place.

Review of the New Brunswick Beekeepers' Association Annual General Meeting 2026

The New Brunswick Beekeepers’ Association (NBBA) annual general meeting took place last Friday and Saturday (March 13^th and 14^th) in Dieppe, NB. On the Friday evening, a tradeshow took place with a variety of companies in attendance including; beekeeping equipment, product supplies, and research groups, which provided an opportunity for companies to network with beekeepers and share information about how they support the industry.

It is important to mention that prior to the NBBA AGM their was a Tropilaelaps mite education session with excellent talks from Heather Broccard-Bell (NOD Apiary), Dr. Andrew Byers (Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture), Rodd Scarlet (Canadian Honey Council), Michel Melanson (New Brunswick Department of Agriculture), and Pascale Michaud (Agrogene Solutions). There will be a blog in the weeks to come highlighting current Tropilaelaps mite research, including discussions and talks from this session.

On Friday evening, Maggie Lamothe Boudreau (Rayons de Miel / Rays of Honey Apiary) gave a presentation on the benefits of local queens. Maggie discussed her queen production operation including her Varroa mite treatment and monitoring program.

Maggie Lamothe Boudreau (Rayons de Miel / Rays of Honey Apiary) presenting at the New Brunswick Beekeepers’ Association Annual General Meeting 2026.

Every year at the NBBA AGM a Beekeeper of the Year is announced. On Friday evening, the New Brunswick Beekeeper of the Year was presented to Ronda Arrand who is the owner of River Bend Bees and the founder of the At Ease Bees program - a program dedicated to supporting Veterans and First Responders through the therapeutic benefits of beekeeping.

Presentation of the 2026 New Brunswick Beekeeper of the Year, Rhonda Arrand, by NBBA president Chris Lockhart.

Day two of the annual general meeting started with the NBBA business meeting. During the business meeting the NBBA president (Chris Lockhart) gave a report, the financials of the association were presented, the nominations and election of new board members took place, and the Agri-Commodity Management Association (ACMA) discussed their new role supporting the activities and function of the NBBA.

Rodd Scarlett (Canadian Honey Council) gave a presentation on national trends for beekeeping and honey production and sales. The Canadian Honey Council has an important responsibility of mitigating honey fraud on a national level. Additionally, the Canadian Honey Council is currently advocating for appropriate maximum residue levels (MRLs) for honey testing and ensuring that Canadian honey remains prominent on Canada’s and the global market.

Michel Melanson (NB provincial apiarist) provided an update on the beekeeping industry and the wild blueberry industry of NB. In 2025 there were a reported 10,615 colonies from 431 beekeepers. There were an approximate 6,800 honey yielding colonies in 2025 with an average of 39.6 lbs. per colony. The province continues to import hives for pollination of wild blueberries with 30,342 colonies imported into the province.

Dr. Andrew Byers (Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture) provided a research and extension update on behalf of the ATTTA team. Overall, the team has had a busy winter and is nearing the start of the 2026 field season. One of ATTTA’s projects that was highlighted during the update was their Varroa mite regional survey and amitraz efficacy testing. For the second season, ATTTA conducted a regional Varroa mite survey to assess temporal trends in mite levels and to assess the efficacy of amitraz (active ingredient in Apivar®). The results of the 2025 survey determined Varroa mite levels across the Maritime region increase throughout the beekeeping season as expected. Their research continues to assess the efficacy of amitraz and with another season of data collection the project will help determine the baseline efficacy of amitraz throughout the region.

Mitchell Schriver (NBBA executive member) discussed installing honey bee packages. Mitchell highlighted the importance of preparing your equipment before you pick up your packages. He also discussed the importance of treating packages for Varroa mites. Finally, Mitchell had a video demonstration of installing a package and provided his own views on the benefits and disadvantages to purchasing packages over purchasing nucleus colonies or full hives.

Heather Broccard-Bell (NOD Apiary) gave a presentation on Formic Pro. Formic Pro has the active ingredient formic acid, which Heather explained the chemistry of a formic acid molecule. Some of the key properties of formic acid that make it an effective miticide is that the chemical in not lipophilic which prevents build-up of product residues in wax. Formic acid also diffuses quickly, which allows the chemical to penetrate the brood cappings and target mites within the cells. The diffusion properties of formic acid not only make it an effective treatment for Varroa mites, but there is ongoing research about the effectiveness of the chemical to treat and manage Tropilaelaps mites, which will be further discussed in a future blog. Finally, regarding the use of Formic Pro and formic acid, Heather discussed the importance of providing the treatment at the correct temperature range, providing appropriate ventilation and air flow during the treatment period, and only using this treatment on strong full-sized colonies.

To conclude the AGM, Maggie Lamothe Boudreau (Rayons de Miel / Rays of Honey Apiary) gave a second presentation discussing her own queen production research and program of banking queens indoors to help meet the demand for good local queens each spring. Maggie’s own practices demonstrate how banking queens can be an option to increase the sustainability of the Canadian beekeeping industry.

Thank you to all organizers of this great event, and to all of the presenters for their knowledge and expertise they bring to the industry.

Connecting with ATTTA Specialists

If you’d like to connect with ATTTA specialists or learn more about our program, you can:

visit our website at https://www.perennia.ca/portfolio-items/honey-bees/

Email attta@perennia.ca