Reading Time: < 1 minute The Government of Alberta has pumped $5.2 million of provincial funding into crop diversity research centres in Edmonton and Brooks.
Alberta crop diversification centres receive funding
Upgrades and replacements to greenhouses, labs and administrative buildings supported in Edmonton, Brooks
Pollinators play a crucial role in Alberta
Beelieve it? Bees of all kinds play a crucial role in Alberta’s economy and landscape
Reading Time: 4 minutes Bees: Unsung heroes of our food system. Learn how they contribute billions to Canada’s economy, boost crop yields, and impact human nutrition. University of Lethbridge research reveals the crucial role of diverse bee species.
COMMENT: How honeybees can help us monitor pollution across Canada
The honey produced by the tireless work of the honeybee is nothing short of an untapped goldmine of environmental data that could help us better understand the spread of environmental pollutants.
Beekeepers take stock of surviving hives
Alberta has the largest amount of overwintering loss, Canadian Honey Council says
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta honeybee losses over winter have yet to be tallied as beekeepers continue to collect data. Rod Scarlett, executive director of the Canadian Honey Council, says full numbers will be known by late June. “We’ve had some locations and operations that have been very good and overwintered losses of 10 per cent or less, and […] Read more
‘We’ve always taken for granted that the sugar’s always been there’
Sugar shortage highlights beekeeper feed vulnerability, Praire beekeepers say
Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Beekeeping groups on the Prairies say it’s a good thing Western Canada’s sugar shortage didn’t happen a few months ago. The bees are now tucked away for the winter, but August and September are prime feeding seasons when beekeepers condition their colonies for winter and natural nectar sources are drying up. “We’ve […] Read more
American foulbrood vaccine gets green light for Canadian beekeepers
Producers will be able to get the vaccine in spring 2024
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Canadian beekeepers are about to have the first vaccine for their stock. “It’s very exciting,” said Canadian Honey Council hive health specialist Osee Podolsky. The new vaccine targets American foulbrood, a spore-producing bacterial disease that gets its name from the unpleasant smell in infected hives. The disease is serious enough that standard […] Read more
AgriRecovery feed, freight, breeding herd aid set for Alberta, Saskatchewan, B.C.
Feds, provinces announce combined $365 million in aid programs
The federal and Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia governments are jointly putting up $365 million to support ranchers and farmers up against this summer’s drought and wildfire damage. The feds on Friday announced their 60 per cent, or $219 million, share of AgriRecovery program funding for the three westernmost provinces. “I’ve had the opportunity to […] Read more
Recovery funds available to beekeepers for 2022 disaster
However, outdated importation policies still place producers at risk, says sector leader
Reading Time: 5 minutes Alberta beekeepers devastated by colony losses are getting a hand up through a new funding agreement. Agriculture Financial Services Corp., through the AgriRecovery program, is compensating commercial beekeepers for “extraordinary costs” incurred during the winter of 2021-22, when extreme cold and a parasite outbreak ravaged the sector. Overall, beekeepers lost 50 per cent of their […] Read more
Open the border to replacement bee packages, say Alberta beekeepers
Producers need ‘a lifeline’ when winter losses soar
Reading Time: 2 minutes It wasn’t the worst winter they’ve seen, but Alberta beekeepers struggling with hive losses say Ottawa should allow imports of American bee replacements. “It’s important for Canadian beekeepers to have that lifeline, in the event that we have catastrophic losses,” said Lorne Prins, vice-president of the Alberta Beekeepers Commission. “In all fairness, most producers will […] Read more
Beekeepers call to reopen cross-border package bee trade
Ten years after the last risk assessment, some say it’s time to re-evaluate
Canadian beekeepers are calling for the federal government to reopen the border to the importation of U.S. package honeybees. Witnesses at a meeting of the House of Commons standing committee on agriculture and agri-food last Wednesday presented recommendations for what the government could do to resolve issues of honeybee health decline and bee mortality. The […] Read more
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