Beekeepers Invited to Hive-Audit Training

Kiwifruit cooperative Zespri wants beekeepers, especially those who might be auditing hives for pollination, to ‘elevate’ their skills and they are offering the training to make it happen.

On Tuesday October 7 in Te Puke, and a yet-to-be-set date in Gisborne, AsureQuality apicultural officer Tony Roper will take any beekeepers who wish to attend through the basics of assessing bee hive quality for kiwifruit pollination.

Zespri, through a series of spring roadshow events with beekeepers, identified demand for more consistent and effective hive auditing. That is something also desired by their growers they say, and so the two events to tackle the topic have been planned. Training sessions for both ‘novice’ and ‘experienced’ hive auditors are expected.

The sessions are free to beekeepers and topics to be addressed include, understand what makes kiwifruit hive auditing unique; ensuring hives meet the established Kiwifruit Pollination Standard; Learning an established inspection methodology; and providing knowledge on how to identify and address hive defects early.

Beekeepers wishing to attend either session and asked to register their interest by emailing extension@zespri.com