Review: New Brunswick Beekeepers’ Association Annual General Meeting

Thursday, 3 April 2025

Last Friday and Saturday (March 28th and 29th) the Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture attended and presented at the New Brunswick Beekeepers’ Association (NBBA) annual general meeting held in Dieppe, NB. The event was well attended with over 100 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: New Brunswick Beekeepers’ Association Annual General Meeting

The New Brunswick Beekeepers’ Association (NBBA) annual general meeting took place last Friday and Saturday (March 28th and 29th) in Dieppe, NB. On the Friday evening a tradeshow took place with a variety of companies in attendance including beekeeping equipment and product supplies, and research groups, which provided an opportunity for companies to network with beekeepers and share information about how they support the industry. Also on Friday evening, Anicet Desrochers (Miels d’Anicet beekeeping company) gave a presentation on the business model of their company. Miels d’Anicet is an operation of over 1,200 hives and employees approximately 20 full-time staff and 20 season seasonal staff. The company has diverse revenue streams including queen production, honey production, gourmet products, and agritourism. Anicet explained the process of how they grew their business and how they both branded and marketed the company along with their various products.

ATTTA seasonal staff John Macdonald and Kaitlyn Newtown at the New Brunswick Beekeepers’ Association annual general meeting tradeshow (ATTTA©2025).

The second day of the meeting started with the NBBA annual business meeting. Brian Pond (NBBA secretary/treasurer) ran the business meeting. Roland Michaud (NBBA vice president) read the president’s report on behalf of Nathan Mutch (NBBA president) outlining the various activities that occurred for the association over the past year. The group had a busy year advocating for product registrations, developing a pollination strategy and hosting the 2024 Atlantic Bee Tour.

Following the business meeting, Michel Melanson (NB provincial apiarist) provided an update on the beekeeping industry and the wild blueberry industry of NB. In 2024 there were a reported 13,778 colonies from 850 beekeepers. There were an approximate 6,475 honey yielding colonies in 2024 with an average of 23.61 lbs. per colony and a total of 152,901 lbs. The province continues to import hives for pollination of wild blueberries with 21,561 colonies imported from Ontario, 2,480 colonies imported from Quebec and 2,696 colonies imported from British Columbia. 

Michel Melanson (New Brunswick provincial apiarist) presenting at the New Brunswick Beekeepers’ Association annual general meeting (ATTTA©2025).

Next, Karen Thurlow (New Brunswick provincial apiary inspector) provided an update on honey bee health trends in New Brunswick. Karen explained the many challenges that are associated with honey bee health including parasites, viruses, bacteria and fungi diseases, pesticide exposure, and habitat quality. The industry should engage in frequent monitoring and testing for various bee health concerns, and in particular beekeepers should be vigilant when monitoring for varroa mites and testing for associated viruses.


Karen Thurlow (New Brunswick provincial apiary inspector) presenting at the New Brunswick Beekeepers’ Association annual general meeting (ATTTA©2025).

The final presentation of the morning was from Dr. Andrew Byers (Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture). Dr. Byers 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 2025 research season. Additionally, Dr. Byers presented a couple of awards to New Brunswick beekeepers who received the “Practical Beekeeping and Industry Engagement Award”. The recipients of the award included Rhonda Arrand and Marie-Pier Jones. Rhonda is a great asset to the New Brunswick beekeeping industry, and she has started a program known as AT Ease Bees which is dedicated to supporting Veterans and First Responders through the therapeutic benefits of beekeeping. Marie-Pier has recently been appointed to the NBBA board, and is an active member of the province’s beekeeping industry.

In the afternoon, there was a commercial beekeeper meeting. Additionally, Kayla Gaudet (ATTTA) 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.

Next, Anicet Desrochers gave a presentation on Miels d’Anicet beekeeping company queen production and sales. Anicet described the company’s process of rearing queens from start to finish, which begins with the selection process of breeder colonies and continues until queens are mated, collected and delivered to the buyer. There are many logistics to coordinate to transport and sell queens, and this is a crucial part of their queen business. Anicet also explained the specifics of selecting their breeder colonies. They look for traits such as honey production, spring building, gentleness, propolis production, and hygienic behaviour. They prioritize honey production for their breeder colonies as this trait is known to be positively correlated with hygienic behaviour and spring production. 

Anicet Desrochers (Miels d’Anicet beekeeping company) presenting at the New Brunswick Beekeepers’ Association annual general meeting (ATTTA©2025).

The final presentation of the day was from Rodd Scarlett (Canadian Honey Council) who discussed national trends for beekeeping and honey production and sales. Overall, Canada exports more honey than imported each year. The Canadian Honey Council has an important responsibility of mitigating honey fraud on a national level. The organization also is advocating for the registration of products for honey bee pest and disease treatment, involved with mitigation plans and training for emerging pest and disease threats, and works to mitigate Canadian honey bee stock issues in partnership with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The meeting concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Andrew Byers on the timing of varroa mite management. The panel consisted of Fletcher Colpitts, Boyd Hicks and Chris Lockhart. Some of the topics the panelist discussed included: following product label directions, frequency of monitoring for mites, rotating out old comb, alternating between synthetic and non-synthetic treatments, consulting with government representatives or specialists, changes in mite management over the decades and reflecting on past beekeeping mistakes. Thank you to all the panelists for a great discussion.

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