Departing AFB Chair – “I Bloody Enjoyed it So Much”

After a highly eventful six years on first the board of the American Foulbrood (AFB) Management Agency and then seeing through its transition to the New Zealand Bee Health and Biosecurity Trust (NZBB) as chairperson, Mark Dingle recently departed the seat, replaced by Simon Cook. He reflects on a much-changed industry and what’s next.

Mark Dingle says he thoroughly enjoyed his six years on the board of the AFB Agency, including a change to the NZBB Trust while chair, and his exit from the task has left a hole in his life.

There’s now a hole in “professional director” Mark Dingle’s life. Yes, he still has the bees – two hives in the front yard of his Christchurch property –, he’s still got gigs on the board of several health organisations, and more besides, but sitting on the AFB board since 2019 and chairing it 2022-26 was hugely rewarding.

“I really, really enjoyed it,” Dingle says.

“But I think that serving two terms is fair enough. You've got six years to make a difference and, if you haven't delivered what you set out to deliver, you’ve got to step aside and let somebody else have a go. The only downside is that I bloody enjoyed it so much.”

And that time was anything but dull, and the achievements anything but minor in what he describes as “now a far more professional organisation”. A controversy regarding the wording of when levy payments were due welcomed him to the board in 2020, but was just the tip of the iceberg of events and major undertakings to follow. They included, ApiWeb’s transition to HiveHub in 2021; an ongoing 10 year operational plan review (that the minister is still yet to embed); Springbank Honey putting the Agency in the firing line and making national headlines; A change in chief executive; the move from AFB Agency to NZBB Trust and ensuing beekeeper backlash; the introduction of spore testing and increased honey testing for AFB; and looking in from the outside on the yellow-legged hornet response.

The most high-profile of those was by far the Springbank Honey controversy in 2024, after the Canterbury Honey business was ordered by the Agency to destroy AFB infected, or likely infected, hives and equipment in an effort to diminish spread of the disease. It outraged owner Stephen Brown and mainstream media picked up on the story, with Dingle even fronting the story on the six o’clock television news, among others.

“It was a learning exercise,” the departing chair reflects.

“We hadn't had that degree of exposure previously. And in fact, a lot of positives came from it. The media exposure drew attention to AFB, increased the recognition of the Management Agency at the time. And, in fact, in many ways, galvanised the industry together.”

Climbing Incidence Rates

Dingle’s tenure on the board coincided with the biggest decline in registered beehive numbers in New Zealand’s history, and with it a huge reduction in the levy base which funds operations. While the AFB incidence rate (hives infected divided by total hives registered) climbed from 0.31% in 2019 to 0.52% in 2025, total cases have stayed relatively stable in that time, 2783 in 2019 and now 2944 since 1 July 2025.

So, is eradication of the disease actually possible? Dingle is still of the belief it is.

“What we're seeing now is concentrated pockets of AFB. So, if you take last year, up to the end of May, 61% of the cases of AFB came from 15 commercial beekeeping operations. If we can work more closely with those commercial beekeepers to help them with their AFB management plan, then we could, over the course of the next 18-24 months, get rid of 61% of the current cases.”

Get Smart – Test and Quarantine Used Gear

Easier said than done, so what do those beekeepers need to do to make that progress? A good start would be getting smarter when trading in used beekeeping equipment, Dingle says.

“In probably 50% of those AFB cases, it arises from them buying second-hand gear that they didn't do a QPCR test on before they parted with the cash. And when they bought that second-hand gear they didn't quarantine it or put it in a specific apiary and keep an eye on it.”

In 2024 Mark Dingle fronted media coverage for the AFB agency, including this TVNZ segment, after a media storm was created by Springbank Honey.

Some in the beekeeping community, including Springbank Honey, have raised concerns regarding spore testing and how it should be used by the Agency. Dingle says he believes in the science and it can be a hugely beneficially tool.

“I'm not saying that's the only tool, and this is what they were getting worked up about. It's not used purely in isolation, but if there has been an AFB outbreak nearby, or if the hive is generally looking a bit off-colour, these are tools that we should be prepared to use. They're at our disposal and we should use them effectively.”

Positive Signs

With improving honey prices comes improved sentiment in the beekeeping industry and it is an opportunity that Dingle says should not be wasted.

“I think we really need to work together on how we're going to maximise the opportunity that is there in front of us. I see a lot of positive upswing for the sector. But at the same time, we have to do it in a way that our health and biosecurity is front of mind.

“What we don't want to see is a return to the past where there are a lot of cowboys attracted to the mānuka gold rush. In some cases, we're still paying the price. But I think there's a huge amount of opportunity.”

A Role Befitting the Name

He’s an advocate for extending the mandate of NZBB beyond its limited AFB scope as a way of putting that bee health and biosecurity front of mind – perhaps not surprising given the name change which the former “AFB Agency” underwent under his leadership – and is vexed at why beekeepers don’t show more interest in matters of biosecurity.

“If we continue with our head in the sand and say, ‘oh no it'll never arrive in New Zealand’ or ‘it'll never affect me’, that's short-sighted. And you'll pay the price.”

So why should an agency set up for the specific task of eliminating AFB from managed beehives risk distracting itself with a broader role?

“I think there's a lot of crossover. If we think about bee health and you've got your head in the brood box looking for AFB. Are you also looking for other exotics at the same time? Well, you should be. You're already there. Are you looking for varroa and how effective your varroa treatments are? Yes. So, to me, it's just a logical extension of what's already occurring,” Dingle says.

“And if it's not NZBB, then who's it going to be? Do they have the skills and expertise? Do they have the network of AP2s who could, and should, be trained up to identify exotics? Do they also know what they're looking for in terms of other pests and diseases? That to me would be a very quick and easy extension of what NZBB is already doing.”

Opportunity

Now though, the Canterbury hobbyist beekeeper is just a levy payer and interested observer to NZBB. He was one of but a few dissenting votes when Apiculture New Zealand members chose to shift to the new Honey and Bees NZ constitution, which removes voting rights of non-commercial beekeepers.

“I voted against it from my perspective, not as the chair of NZBB, but as a hobbyist beekeeper. And I see these changes doing nothing for hobbyists,” Dingle explains.

“I see them as the sector body that I thought I was part of, turning their back on 7,500 hobbyist beekeepers nationally. And for that reason alone, they're asking me to belong to an organisation that I don't have a say in how it's run. And that's why I voted against it.”

A weighted voting structure that gave hobbyist beekeepers at least some say in elections would have been more prudent he believes, but that he does understand “where they are, what they want to do, and what they're trying to achieve”.

There’s still space around that freshly minted board table of elected directors for two co-opted experts too. So, despite voting against the concept, would the beekeeper and “professional director”, be willing to consider filling the big gap left by his NZBB departure by one with Honey and Bees NZ?

“Absolutely, I would. Because I'm so invested in the sector, and I want to see it succeed,” he says, adding “I think there is a huge opportunity ahead of us.”