With so much information at our fingertips, it is sometimes difficult to know which sources are credible. As a beekeeper how do you avoid the fake news and for real information about the beekeeping industry, where do you turn? In order to help beekeepers get to the bottom of what is what, the current blog talks statistics and information and where you should go to find out the truth about our industry.
Don’t Believe Everything on the Internet. Finding the facts!
Beekeepers know that best management
practice dictates that records should be kept meticulously and maintained indefinitely. This valuable information reveals trends and
patterns over time. This then will become
a great resource in your own beekeeping and a reference point for
comparison. You will record your own
winter losses, for example, and then compare that data to industry stats. This leads to the question of where to get
industry data on winter losses amongst other information.
National groups, like the Canadian
Association of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA), are great sources of information. Every year CAPA produces a document entitled,
“Report on Honey Bee Winter Losses in Canada.” This is a coordinated honey bee
winter losses and disease management report, as stated by the group. These reports have been produced in a
standardized format since 2007 and have become heavily relied on by both
beekeepers and industry decision makers.
The data is collected from beekeepers by provincial apiculturists
annually and then collated by a CAPA committee.
ATTTA has participated in the committee which produces the report. The trustworthiness of the information, as it
is data from beekeepers, collected by provincial apiculturist and organized by
professionals like tech transfer specialists, is high. If you are not using this data, familiarize
yourself with these most useful reports: https://capabees.com/capa-statement-on-honey-bees/
.
Federal government is another
credible source of information on the honey bee industry. There are three important groups that deal
with the beekeeping industry and have information and data available to
beekeepers. The Canadian Food Inspection
Agency protects the Canadian consumer and beekeepers from honey fraud and
adulteration, especially on imports. Additionally,
this agency enforces the rules under the Animal Health Act to protect our honey
bees from pests and diseases entering from outside of Canada. So, if you have a question about packages of
bees imported from the USA, as one example, a look on the CFIA online resources
will provide direct information. There
you will find stated, “Currently, the importation of honey bee packages from
the U.S. is not permitted.”
A second national source of information is the former Pest Management Regulatory Agency, currently rebranded as Health Canada’s Pesticide Management Directorate (PMD). Amongst other things, PMD approves miticides for use by Canadian Beekeepers. If information about label instructions is required, then the PMD online directory will have all label information for all registered products. A good use of this directory could be if you are unfamiliar with the use of slow-release glycerine pads for Varroa control, you can find credible information here: https://pr-rp.hc-sc.gc.ca/ls-re/index-eng.php .
At the provincial government level,
there is also good availability of information and data. Provincial apiculturists collect data as part
of the registration process and through interactions with beekeepers. The best example of providing data for beekeepers
in our region is the Nova Scotia Open Data Portal. This service is established to make government
data easier to access for individuals, businesses and researchers. There are useful data on honey bee imports
into the province which can be view through this link: https://data.novascotia.ca/ . Industry
data and information is available from other provincial departments, such as
PEI industry statistics shown in the figure.
When looking for data, ensure that it is from a credible source. Also understand that summative data will, by its nature, be historic. That means, generally, that we will have annual 2026 data in 2027 or later. The winter loss survey is an example of this as we still do not have the final report for the winter of 2025 – 2026.
Many claims and information
sources found online are questionable. Beekeepers
have to make hundreds of decisions for their operations. All of these decisions need information to ensure
they are solid and will support the success of your business. Filtering online slop to distill out only the verified
facts, checking against multiple independent and trustworthy professional
sources is essential.
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
