This past weekend the Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture attended a series of events for the Nova Scotia beekeeping Industry. On Friday February 21st ATTTA attended a meeting regarding the development of a climate adaptation strategy for Nova Scotia beekeepers. The Nova Scotia Beekeepers’ Association (NSBA) has been selected as part of a four-year program funded through Nova Scotia’s Climate Plan for Clean Growth. Following that, ATTTA attended a commercial beekeeper meeting for Nova Scotia beekeepers where issues of concern for commercial operations were discussed. To wrap-up the day ATTTA attended the NSBA banquet, and the main event of the weekend was the NSBA annual general meeting occurring on Saturday February 22nd in Truro, NS. For a summary of the NSBA banquet and annual general meeting read this week’s blog.
Review: Nova Scotia Beekeepers’ Association Annual General Meeting
Last Friday
the Nova Scotia Beekeepers’ Association (NSBA) held a banquet for their
members. The banquet was well attended with approximately 40 beekeepers and
industry representatives. Tyler Hobbs (NSBA president) welcomed attendees to
the banquet, and Lilly Burgoyne emceed the evening. During the banquet the ATTTA
team presented several awards to Nova Scotia beekeepers who received the
“Practical Beekeeping and Industry Engagement Award”. The recipients of the
award included Roy Patterson, Holly Meuse, Lindsay Gregory and Glenda
Ellsworth. Jerry Draheim was the keynote speaker of the evening. Jerry has been
keeping bees in Nova Scotia since the 1970s and he brings a wealth of
experience and knowledge to the Nova Scotia beekeeping industry, and to the
Canadian queen rearing industry. To conclude the banquet Norman Donovan
received the Lifetime Membership Award. Norman has contributed significantly to
the Nova Scotia beekeeping industry over several decades, and is well-deserving
of this industry recognition. Thank you to all members of the NSBA who helped
organize this great evening.
On Saturday
February 22nd the NSBA held their annual general meeting at the
Dalhousie Agriculture Campus Truro, NS. The day started with a presentation
from Sawyer Olmstead, Nova Scotia provincial apiculturist, who provided a
provincial update. Sawyer reviewed the role of the provincial apiculturist and
the responsibilities of Nova Scotia beekeepers, such as mandatory registration,
permits required to import bees into the province, required inspections to sell
bees, record keeping, and reporting various pests and diseases to highlight the
major responsibilities. In 2024 there was 927 beekeepers registered in the
province including 184 new beekeepers and 47 commercial beekeepers. The
province had an overwinter loss of 31.6%, which is above average for the province.
There was an average honey production of 39.9 lbs. per hive from 9,969
producing hives. There was 16,139 colonies that went to pollination from 51
beekeepers. The average pollination fee was $195.96 per hive. The average
inspection rate from the department was 40% in 2024. The province had minimal
to report on various pests and diseases with no American foulbrood observed or
reported, minimal chalkbrood and European foulbrood and average Varroa mite
levels throughout the season.
Next Dr.
Andrew Byers, ATTTA program lead, gave a research and extension update on the
ATTTA program. Dr. Byers discussed ATTTA’s various honey bee health research
such as their regional Varroa mite survey, pollination research, and discussed
the wide range of extension work that the team does. In the past year ATTTA has
provided various workshops to the industry, published several fact sheets and
reports, held drop-in clinics to support beekeepers, undertaken diagnostic
testing for beekeepers, and members sit on various committees both regionally
and nationally to provide guidance to the beekeeping industry.
Following
that, Kayla Gaudet, ATTTA apiculturist, gave a presentation on both the
cultural and physical control measures available to beekeepers to manage Varroa
mite levels. Kayla discussed how beekeepers can implement an integrated pest
management plan to manage Varroa mite levels throughout the season, which
includes a combination of monitoring, chemical treatment and both cultural and
physical controls. Kayla also reviewed the results of ATTTA’s regional Varroa
mite survey demonstrating the levels of mites being seen across the region
throughout the season, and how different methods of control can help keep
levels low.
Rodney Reid,
Canadian Honey Council (CHC), gave an update on the activities of the CHC for
the past year. Rodeny discussed honey imports and exports of Canada as well as
the importation of queens and packages on a national level. Rodney discussed
issues that the CHC mitigates such as honey fraud, organic standards, maximum
residue limits and emerging threats of tariffs. The CHC also helps mitigate
hive health issues on the national level such as the emerging threat of
Tropilaelaps mites and various pest and disease treatments
efficacy/registration status concerns. The CHC is also concerned with issues
such as labour shortages and global honey bee stock risks.
Janette
McDonald gave an update on behalf of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture
(NSFA). Janet provided a breakdown of the NSFA team, an overview of the NSFA
goals and deliverables for the past year.
Next there
was a panelist of beekeepers to discuss Varroa mite management. The panel
consisted of Roger Morash, Boyd Hicks, Mario Swinkels, and Kori MacCara. Each
panelist gave an overview of their operation detailing the number of colonies
they operate, what avenues of revenue they are involved in (i.e. honey
production, pollination, bee sales and/or value-added products), and the number
of years they have been beekeeping for. The panel then took turns discussing
various questions regarding Varroa mite management, including: how and when do
they monitor for Varroa; what chemical treatments they provide throughout the
season; and do they implement any cultural or physical controls into their
operations. Thank you to all panelist for an informative session.
Peter
Burgess, Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia, gave an overview
of the 2024 wild blueberry season. This past year was challenging for Nova
Scotia blueberry producers with high production input costs and a low sale
price. The demand for pollination continues to be high, and both growers and
beekeepers need reliably low colony winter losses to help meet the pollination
requirements. Additionally, wild blueberry growers need higher and more
consistent yields per acre each year.
Rebecca
Sooksom, Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture (NSDA), gave a program update.
Rebecca gave an overview of the wide range of programs that are available for
Nova Scotia beekeepers and farmers to access to support their operations.
Finally, Sydney
Miller, Vermont Bee Lab, was the keynote speaker of the meeting. Sydney is a
lead technician at the Vermont Bee Lab, and during her presentation she
discussed how the lab uses the Unhealthy Brood Odor Assay (UBeeO) to help
select breeder colonies within their program. The Vermont Bee Lab provides
diagnostic testing to beekeepers throughout their region and helps queen
breeders select breeding stock. Sydney explained the advantages that UBeeO has
over other hygienic behaviour tests (i.e. pin-prick method and use of liquid
nitrogen to kill patches of brood) with the main advantage being that this
assay is testing stressed bees rather than dead bees. The UBeeO test works by assessing
the percentage of brood cells that worker bees manipulate, and a colony is
considered to have hygienic behaviour when 60% of cells are manipulated.
Overall the results of this UBeeO testing is indicating that colonies that have
a higher UBeeO score have less disease and pest pressure.
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