The number of beekeepers are on the rise in Canada but honey production levels sting
Michelle Both, Matt Allen | CBC News | Posted: January 11, 2025 10:00 AM | Last Updated: January 11
Environmental factors play a key part in how much honey bees make
Natural honey production is declining in Canada, despite the growing number of beekeepers and colonies. In southwestern Ontario, beekeepers point to the weather as the reason their volumes are low.
According to Statistics Canada, honey production fell by 18 per cent across the country in 2024 compared to the year before. Meantime, 15,430 Canadians said they were keeping bees last year, compared to 8,615 a decade earlier, with an additional 100,000 new colonies.
For the beekeepers behind Clovermead in Alymer, Ont. which hosts about 1,000 beehives, the honey crop was looking "dismal" in August, but then changed when the weather turned dry and stayed warm in the fall.
"It wasn't a disaster, but it swung around last minute," co-owner Chris Hiemstra said. "As beekeepers, we kind of live and die by the weather and by the natural environment."
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While the regular rains this past summer made for green lawns, that rainfall also has a significant impacts on the bees, Hiemstra said.
"It's kind of contrary to what most people would think," said Hiemstra. "Everything is green and lush. The beekeepers should be happy. But bees actually do really well when plants are drying out and stressed."
That's because the plants produce more nectar and pollen under stress, he said.
Clovermead typically gets about 27 kilograms of honey per hive each season, and the bees managed to produce just under their usual crop in 2024. The honey is saved in 300 kilogram drums and used throughout the farm during the year.
But a bad year for one beekeeper doesn't guarantee the same for another, Hiemstra said. It's a lot to do with where the rain lands and what area gets optimal conditions.
"You always have to be ready," he said. "As a producer, you have to be able to, mind the pun, weather the storms and always save something for a rainy day."
Like in 2023, Clovermead had a big honey crop, so there's still extra honey saved for poor production years.
Honey production impacted by variety of factors
Sajesh Vijayan, a postdoctoral associate at Western University who studies honey bees, said the effects of climate change are also at play in agriculture and apiculture – and it's not all bad.
"There is a fluctuation that happens year on year, as well. So sometimes we get a lot more yield than other years. But there is an overarching theme of climate change that makes it all very unpredictable these days," he said.
Warming weather, like earlier springs and late winters, are beneficial to beekeepers because it increases the amount of foraging time, Vijayan said. However, there are still unknowns about how the plants bees depend on for nectar and pollen might adapt, including the pests that affect them.
"There are a lot of impacts which are so interrelated and difficult to study in isolation," he said. "It's a little bit difficult to predict."
The impacts of chemical pesticides, herbicides and insecticides used in agriculture may also have effects on honey bees, he said. And it's not as simple as population decline.
Beyond deaths, these chemicals can also change the bees' behaviour, he said. "They might make poor decisions, they might find it difficult to find their way back to the hive after foraging."
"It is concerning," he said.
The concerns are felt by John Bryans, co-owner of Munro Honey & Meadery in Lambton County.
"There's a lot of factors involved. Last year was a poor crop because of wet weather, but there's other issues going on," he said. Years ago, they'd bring in about half a million pounds of honey in a year. Now, they're at about half of that.
"It's just a gradual thing that's been happening for a lot of years," Bryans said, adding beepers across the continent are talking about it.
Since the early 2000s, Bryans said beekeeping has become more labour intensive with the growing use of pesticides.
Last year, natural honey production fell to 78.18 million pounds across the country. In 2023, that sat at 95.65 million pounds. But the overall decline is not linear. It had already dipped to 74.4 million pounds in 2022.
To top it off, the value of honey is the lowest it's been in four years at $6.04 per kilogram in 2024, compared to $6.71 per kilogram in 2021.