Saskatchewan’s honey industry feels sting of late winter
This past winter was really tough on bees in the province, according to the President of the Saskatchewan Beekeeper’s Development Commission.
Simon Lalonde told farmnewsNOW beekeepers in all four corners of the province have reported higher than expected losses.
“Right now beekeepers are going through the hives and trying to find out exactly why but it looks like the cold had an awful lot to do with it,” Lalonde said.
Saskatchewan beekeepers are not alone with their woes. A survey of almost 900 Ontario beekeepers found 70 per cent of them suffered unsustainable losses to their colonies. Beekeepers in Alberta and Quebec have also experienced noticeable losses because of poor weather. Lalonde said the average mortality rates in Saskatchewan for the past couple years have been in the 15 to 18 per cent range.