MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM — , gave MooseJawToday.com a tour of their apiary to showcase the amazing productivity, pollination powers, and organizational behaviour of their honeybees.
"We've had hives here since 2016, but my uncle, my grandfather, and my great-grandfather all had hives," said owner Julie-Anne Howe. Howe, with her husband Kelly and their three young children, runs Howe Coulee Charolais. She is a consulting agrologist with a master's degree in ruminant nutrition and biology. Honey forms the third revenue stream of their business after cattle breeding and agricultural consulting.
"This year, I'm running about 26 colonies. Last year, I had over 40, but I had some significant winter losses," Howe said. "I'm a very small honey producer. To be considered a commercial honey processor, you have to have at least 100 colonies ... But a lot of the commercial beekeepers would be in the order of 300 to 3,000 colonies."
So, how much honey can a very small producer expect? Howe estimates her hives produce around 5,000 kilograms of honey each year.
Bees are famously productive, and honey is one of nature's miracles. It is nutritious, never spoils, and has antibacterial and antioxidant properties, leading to a long history of use treating wounds and infections. Honey has been a valuable commodity for many thousands of years.
But even if there was no honey, bees are also incredible pollinators and a valuable part of agricultural production.
"Most times, you have agreements with other landowners to put your bees out," Howe explained. "I have my yard here, and then I have another one three miles away, and as I expand I expect I'll have more. If you put a number of colonies on, say, a canola quarter, 40 hives on a quarter of canola will give an estimated 10 to 20 per cent yearly increase because of the pollination."
Landowners are usually so happy to have honeybee hives, she noted, that there's no rent for the agreement — they receive a share of the honey, which everyone loves, and a profitable increase to their crop productivity.
"That's one of the reasons that we like having the honey operation for our farm business, as well, because we have a fair amount of clover and alfalfa fields, so we see the benefit there. Our neighbours have canola, and they see an increase in their yield as well."
Once colonies have started, and if they have sufficient food, they naturally grow and split in a process called swarming. Swarms can be more aggressive than usual — honeybees are typically gentle, depending on weather, health, and the season — so beekeepers split hives early. Once a hive is ready to expand, Howe can just move a third to a half of the bees to a new set of boxes. The bees take it from there.
There are also businesses that specialize in breeding friendly, productive bees that they then sell to honey producers.
Bees are highly organized and able to communicate with each other. Each bee has a job that changes as they grow. There are foragers, undertakers, cleaners, defenders, nurses, scouts, and more. They have been observed relating detailed information not just about where to find food, but about potential threats, weather conditions, diseases and parasites threatening the colony, and more.
They vary in temperament, too, Howe noted.
"You do get some queens that are just nasty, and then you get an aggressive hive, and... off with her head. Yeah, you have to replace the queen, because there are definitely genetics where some colonies are far more docile than others. They all have personalities."
Howe does a wellness check on her colonies at least once a week. Keepers can help their bees cope with threats from fungus to parasites to cold weather. In the fall, they receive medical treatments designed to cut down on communicable diseases, and then they are wrapped for the winter and given a jug of sugar water for nutrition.
Bees maintain their own hive temperature, have high hygiene standards, and are adaptable. With the partnership of a dedicated and knowledgeable keeper, they can thrive in many conditions and be an essential benefit to their environment.
Beekeeping in Saskatchewan . Keepers must register with the Provincial Apiarist and are encouraged to be members of a local club and complete a recognized beekeeping course before they start actively keeping bees.
To learn more about beekeeping, go to
