THUNDER BAY — A significant bump-up in federal and provincial funding for beekeepers should help take the sting out of operating costs like hive maintenance and disease protection.
In a joint announcement last week, the feds and the province said the Honey Bee Health Initiative is to receive another $1 million on top of the $1.3 million that was earmarked for the program last fall.
To date, nearly 220 projects have been approved under the initiative.
"So many of the crops grown across Ontario depend on healthy bee populations (for pollination)," federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay said in a joint news release.
There are about 100 beekeepers in the Thunder Bay area who maintain hives and produce honey on a hobby basis. A single bee hive can contain more than 50,000 bees, which winter in the hive in a semi-dormant state.
Honey bees are well-travelled, sometimes flying several kilometres in search of nectar, pollinating agricultural crops in the process.
Rudy Kuchta, who has maintained about 35 Carniolan beehives in Oliver Paipoonge for 20 years, said last fall he was heartened when the funding program was unveiled.
Starting on Monday, beekeepers can apply to offset operating costs under the program's next phase.
Operators with fewer than 50 bee colonies are eligible for up to $4,500 total on approved projects, while beekeepers with 50 or more colonies are eligible for up to $25,000, according to a project backgrounder.
Locally produced honey often tastes better than commercial brands because bees obtain nectar from natural sources, be it from flowers on canola crops in a farmer's field or from wild blueberries and fruit trees.
The Chronicle Journal / Local Journalism Initiative
