Ontario Beekeepers to receive $1.3 million

Federal and provincial governments have announced an investment of $1.3 million to help Ontario beekeepers improve their operations.

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The investment is part of the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (SCAP) and aims to “help improve the resiliency and competitiveness of beekeeper operations in Ontario,” the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said in a release.

Why it matters: Ontario beekeepers have seen devastating losses in recent years and funds are expected to help mitigate losses in the future.

The funding comes as disease and colony loss remain major concerns for Ontario beekeepers.

Equipment and improvements supported through the funding are meant to reduce overwintering losses and reduce the introduction and spread of pests and diseases, the government said.

“The equipment chosen by the individual beekeeper to meet that mandate, those goals, will be up to them,” Ian Grant, president of the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association, told Farmtario.

He gave the example of investing in stainless steel instead of wooden equipment on hives, which could potentially reduce biosecurity risks.

Grant said he thinks the investment in honeybee health represents the core of SCAP’s goals.

“SCAP, as you know, is meant to strengthen and build resiliency in the agriculture and agri-food industry. That’s really what this Honeybee Health Initiative, which is part of that, is meant to do, is to ensure that we have healthy hives here in Ontario, and to build our industry.

“And the way it’s intended to do that is to reduce biosecurity risks … and spread of pests, diseases and to really reduce what happened last year, which was, I call it a catastrophic crisis.”

Last year was a particularly difficult one for Ontario beekeepers.

“We started hearing, anecdotally, all the problems that people (had), when they were unwrapping the hives, with horrendous results.”

Grant said an association survey showed 50 per cent of Ontario respondents lost more than half their hives in that year and beekeepers across the country also saw acute bee losses.

Recent extreme weather patterns are another concern for the association.

“There are a lot of stressors in the environment,” said Grant, “whether it’s environmental changes, severe weather patterns, you know, tornadoes and those wild windstorms. I’m up here in Ottawa and we just had a massive flooding in the area.

“The things that affect us as humans in our homes, and affect our livelihoods, affect the bees.”

Conditions over the last several years led to a spread of harmful pests and diseases in bee colonies.

Grant said he appreciated the willingness of government at different levels to meet with beekeepers and learn of their issues.

“After last year, the federal government, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, met with the provinces and they recognized what the industry, beekeepers across the country, frankly, were saying,” said Grant.

“We went to the minister and we started down that path of saying ‘something is miserable.’ Something, like I say, a crisis was going on and thankfully, the minister listened to us.

“They formed the honeybee sustainability working group and they came up with an action plan, a number of fantastic ideas about how we can address what we’re seeing out there and move forward and build that resiliency in the future.”

Barbara Caswell, director of operations with the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association, said the initiative may help agricultural producers as well.

“There’s a connection between the health of honeybees in Ontario, the help of pollinators generally and the connection to what farmers do and the success of farming.”

She said healthy bee colonies in Ontario will have an indirect beneficial impact on agriculture.

“If we didn’t have pollinators, there are a number of crops that we wouldn’t be able to grow. So definitely there’s a connection there.”