Alberta Bee News
June 2022
PRESIDENT’S REPORT Well, I think everyone is aware of how bad things are in the beekeeping world right now, in Canada at least, so I won’t get into that too much. This year will inevitably become a divisive one and I truly hope that at the end of the day we can all still have a beer together and keep things civilized. With that in mind I feel I must address a few things on the border issue… New Risk Assessment The ABC board is pushing for a new risk assessment for package bees from (AND ONLY FROM) the established safe zone in northern California where Canadian beekeepers can currently import queens. We do not support opening the border to all packages from anywhere in the continental United States (US), nor do we support importing bees on comb. I want to make this abundantly clear. Our belief is that packages from this safe zone can, with strict protocols, most of which are already in place for queen importation, supply Canadian beekeepers with safe, economical, and more reliable stock replacement than is currently available. This discussion needs to be about risk mitigation and what level of risk is acceptable. Not only from a disease/pest perspective, but also an economic perspective. One of the biggest arguments against importing package bees from the US is based on the assumption that Canadian bee stock is healthier and better suited than US bee stock. Over the next few months our goal is to test that assumption. Starting in this edition of Alberta Bee News, we will begin a series of interviews with both US and Canadian beekeepers. It will include honey bee and queen breeders on both sides of the border including Olivarez Honey Bees, Strachan Apiaries and Saskatraz Bees. We will learn about protocols, inspections and biosecurity in place to ensure bees raised in northern California are healthy and pose very little if any risk to the Canadian beekeeping industry. We will also learn how Canadian genetics are a large part of the honey bee breeding program in northern California. At the ABC Conference and Tradeshow that is being held in Edmonton on December 1 & 2, 2022, (https://www.albertabeekeepers. ca/2022-conference-trade-show/) we will be continuing the discussion started in 2021 during the panel on stock replacement. In addition to Canadian scientists and beekeepers, we have invited a number of US bee researchers to present on topics including bee genetics, Amitraz resistance, and breeding for bees with Varroa sensitive hygiene among other topics. We hope to hear all perspectives on importing packages from northern California. If there is anyone you would like to invite to the convention to engage on this topic, please contact the Commission office with your suggestions. 3
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