41
NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPER, JUNE 2017
FROM THE COLONIES REGIONAL REPORTS
WAIKATO
HAWKE’S BAY
We are at the end of a fairly demoralising season, with reports of really light hives about to go into winter. Beekeepers are doing their rounds with sugar tanks on their trucks. Mite numbers are high and some of the treatments do not appear to be working. The honey market has slowed right down: money is tight. Just when we think there cannot be more bad news, another cyclone has shown up near Vanuatu. The other news tonight (4 May) is that the first cases of myrtle rust have been found in Kerikeri. Tomorrow (5 May) we will join other beekeepers in Hamilton to hear what MPI has to say about its mānuka definition, plus the barcoding of beehive components. There are lots of grumbles and concerns out there.
The season in Hawke’s Bay is over for most of us and for the most part best forgotten. Despite popular belief, there have been a lot worse in the past. Several members from Hawke’s Bay, including me, attended the MPI meeting on mānuka standards in Palmerston North. I found the meeting to be informative and the people from MPI surprisingly approachable and open to discussion. I have no real comments on the new mānuka standards; they seem to be based on good science but time and peer review will sort that out. Some of the aspects of the GREX (General Requirements for Export) were a bit more concerning and while we were given good reasons for them being there, it was obvious that some of the people from MPI had not realised the full repercussions of what they were proposing and how deeply unpopular these proposed changes were. I will be writing a submission and certainly from the feedback we got, I would expect to see some changes and clarification. All around our area, beekeepers are busy feeding out to keep hives up to strength after a poor honey season. At least the weather has been kind to us lately. On 4 May, MPI hosted the workshop in Palmerston North to talk about the proposed mānuka standards, with excellent attendance from beekeepers. On the plus side, MPI was well prepared with visual presentations, but due to the size of the area it was difficult for many to read the screens. Some voices did not carry well over the speaker system, which made it harder for those at the back. Very few were able to question the science aspects, although a number of questions were asked about the DNA pollen analysis. However, once MPI moved onto the proposed GREX and the recording of movements of honey supers, etc., the meeting got very lively. A sensible suggestion from the floor asked what controls, etc. were used by our trading partners/other countries, as it appeared that MPI is proposing a “Rolls Royce” approach (which is impracticable), and other countries mostly have a smaller version of the scheme, if at all. The difficult questions were either turned aside or not answered. The proposed standards are only about identifying mānuka honey— nothing about activity, so many more costs would be placed on beekeepers for little or no financial gain. - John Berry, Hub President SOUTHERN NORTH ISLAND
- Pauline Bassett, Life Member
BAY OF PLENTY
It is cooling down here. We are having nice, fine days and have been close to frosts with some five-degree mornings. Most beekeepers are still feeding for winter but things appear to be slowing down now. I am not hearing reports of varroa or AFB, so that is good news after a hard season. We are in the middle of the kiwifruit harvest and our roads are a more dangerous place than normal. Many more winter yards seem to be appearing all over the Bay, and I think some yards are going to struggle for food with overcrowding. More beekeepers seem to be moving to supplement pollen feeds as well as sugar and this seems to be where the industry is heading. We have completed some of the new honey testing, so need to sit down and see what the results mean for us under the new definition. I think there will be interesting discussions at the conference after this season.
- Neil Farrer, Life Member
[Editor’s note: go to page 33 for a report about a dispute between the Wanganui Beekeepers Club and the Whanganui District Council.]
- Bruce Lowe
continued...
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs