Beekeepers face losses despite increased demand

Beekeepers in New Brunswick are worried that dwindling bee populations in the province could force farmers to bring in hives from Maine to meet a rising demand.

A report from the Canadian Association of Agriculturists shows New Brunswick faced the second highest rate of bee losses in the country last year, down over 26 per cent.

Calvin Hicks is president of the New Brunswick Beekeepers Association and manager of Golden Acres Honey Farms in Killams Mills. His farm has about 1,300 hives.

He says only established beekeepers can make a living and losses have been so bad that even some of them are considering leaving the business. 

Hicks' hives are covered for the winter and he won’t find out until next year how many of his bees survive.

“It's just a roll of the dice. We set them free and wait until spring,” he said.

Beekeepers faced some of the highest losses in Canada last year. Hicks says the culprit is the varroa mite. The parasite carries viruses and causes bee deformities.

“The industry has basically been devastated several times since 2000/2001, when the cycle kind of began,” he said.

The decline couldn’t have come at a worse time. An increase in blueberry production means a rising demand for bees needed for pollination.

“Bees are as, or more important than any of their fertilizers or sprays,” Hicks said. “And we can't meet the demand in New Brunswick or anywhere in the Maritimes.”

Blueberry farmers have started to bring in beehives from out of province. Hicks estimates there are nearly 20-thousand acres of blueberry fields that need bees.

He says if there are more losses, hives may need to be brought in from Maine. Hicks claims that's where the varroa mite originated in the first place and bringing in more could devastate New Brunswick's bee industry.

"Boosting our numbers in the province is a major concern,” he said.

The moment of truth for Hicks happens next May. That's when he will open his hives and assess the losses. He says if the losses are as large as in past years, he knows he'll be facing a difficult season.