Any new beekeeper must undertake training and education to successfully advance their operation, and to learn about best practices within beekeeping. The first steps in any new beekeeper’s journey should include joining their provincial beekeeping association, finding a beekeeping mentor, and signing up for a credible beekeeping course. Getting the necessary training is crucial for new beekeepers, but education and training does not stop there, and all beekeepers should be continually learning throughout their career. To learn more about the opportunities and benefits of lifelong learning and education within the Atlantic beekeeping industry read this week’s blog.
Lifelong Learning and Education within the Atlantic Beekeeping Industry
New beekeepers have a responsibility to take
a credible, geographically applicable, beekeeping training and education course
early on in their beekeeping career. There are multiple good beekeeping courses
to consider within the Maritime region, but it is important to evaluate what
level of training will the course be providing, is it teaching best practices
specific to the Maritime region and is a credible group or beekeeper providing
the training. To provide an example of a Maritime industry recognized course,
the Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture offers the Fundamentals of
Beekeeping on an annual basis. The program is in partnership with Dalhousie
Extended Learning and is offered as a hybrid of virtual education and in-person
training. The program provides production skills and beekeeping knowledge timed
specifically to the annual beekeeping cycle for both new and experienced
beekeepers alike and will give beekeepers the skills and knowledge to expand
their operation.
Another course option that will provide
beginner level education for beekeepers just starting their journey is the
Canadian Honey Council Online Training for Apiary Workers. This course provides
the basic information needed for new beekeepers, and should still be followed
up with more advanced training such as the Fundamentals of Beekeeping.
As a beekeeper advances in their career and
operation more advanced training will be needed. The Atlantic Tech Transfer for
Apiculture team does offer more advanced courses on a semi-regular basis such
as training for queen rearing and business training for beekeepers.
The Atlantic industry is filled with
enthusiastic and both educated and experienced beekeepers who will frequently
offer training courses in their own province or region. There is great value of
beekeepers teaching other beekeepers within our industry, and the
recommendation of the Atlantic industry is to carefully evaluate each of these
training opportunities to know exactly what level of training is being offered
and if it is being taught by a credible individual.
Overall, beekeeper education has a direct impact
on colony winter survival and on the prevalence of various pests and diseases1.
A pan European study demonstrated that newer beekeepers (less than 5 years of
experience) who received no formal training, and were not part of a beekeeping
organization, had significantly higher winter loss (nearly double) compared to
beekeepers who did receive training, had greater than 5 years of experience,
and were part of a beekeeping organization1. Furthermore, the group
who received no formal training had frequent occurrences of heavy Varroa mite
infestations.
In addition to traditional training and
education programs and courses, there are a variety of workshops that occur
within the industry on a variety of topics. Regularly attending beekeeping
workshops is a great opportunity for new and experienced beekeepers to stay
current on best practices, and to potentially learn a new technique, skill or
practice. The Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture frequently hosts or
collaborates on workshops in the Atlantic provinces. Each winter the team
organizes a series of virtual workshops for the industry. Additionally, the
team often provides workshops during annual general meetings for the provincial
associations, and they partner with industry events to host workshops. The
various provincial associations also offer technical sessions to their members
which are of great value for learning and connecting with other beekeepers.
To quantify the impact that extension
services (examples include workshops, fact sheets, blogs and one-on-one
support) have on agriculture commodities as a whole, a study was conducted by
Hurley et al. (2015)2. The study calculated the internal rate
of return per year for agricultural extension globally to be 46% (median value)2.
Another component to lifelong learning and
education is that beekeepers should be reading current and credible literature
with a focus on geographically applicable literature. This may include reading
peer reviewed articles from Canadian researchers but also can include
literature formats such as credible blogs, newsletters, fact sheets, reports,
and beekeeping books. The Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture publishes
a blog on a weekly basis which provides summaries of Canadian beekeeping
research, updates on their own research, and summaries of industry events. The
team also has a variety of fact sheets and reports available on their website.
In terms of beekeeping books, there are two staples recommended to the Canadian
industry, which are The Beekeeper’s Handbook (Dianna Sammataro and Alphonse
Avitabile – current edition) and Honey Bee Diseases and Pests (Canadian
Association for Professional Apiculturists – current edition).
To learn of upcoming training opportunities, and read about beekeeping research happening within the industry, continue reading the ATTTA blog on a weekly basis.
- Jacques, A., Laurent, M., Epilobee Consortium, Ribière-Chabert, M., Saussac, M., Bougeard, S., Budge, G.E., Hendrikx, P. and Chauzat, M.P., 2017. A pan-European epidemiological study reveals honey bee colony survival depends on beekeeper education and disease control. PLoS one, 12(3), p.e0172591.
- Hurley, T., Pardey, P.G., Rao, X. and Andrade, R.S., 2016. Returns to food and agricultural R&D; Investments worldwide, 1958-2015.
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