What do we Need to Serve Beekeepers and What is a Realistic Amount to Pay for it?

 APIARIST’S OPINION: SHAUN LAWLOR 

Shawn Lawlor, owner of Lawlor Apiaries in Southland believes now is the time for beekeepers to come up with a fresh idea for industry representation, but with realistic goals.

I’m an old beekeeper. That much I will admit.

From my apiaries in Southland, I’ve seen the rise and rapid fall of beekeeping from the cottage industry of 30 years ago, to a developing and healthy industry, to the uncontrolled ‘Wild West’ mānuka “gold rush”, to where we are now.

That now for our industry could be described as, ‘last one left, turn off the lights.’ It’s a complete shambles!

An Opportunity for a Major Reset?

The recent demise of Apiculture New Zealand (ApiNZ) as we knew it, for a number of reasons – but mainly falling membership and lack of money – leaves the beekeeping industry in quite a vacuum. Representation may be left to groups such as New Zealand Beekeeping Inc, Southern North Island Beekeeping Group and smaller regional clubs and organisations.

Here’s a bit of background from someone who hasn’t been a member of an industry group since the days of the National Beekeepers Association (NBA) effectively ended in 2016…

For just over 100 years our industry was served by the NBA.

This body gave representation to all beekeepers, with provincial branches the backbone of the association. Every member had the opportunity to partake at meetings, field days, national conferences and with a pathway to a national executive representing the members.

That executive gave a lot of time and effort lobbying government agencies on all relevant subjects such as biosecurity, honey imports, bee product exports and many other subjects that were of importance to the beekeeping industry. The NBA was very useful in creating a sense of togetherness (I think the term now used is cohesiveness) among beekeepers, while educating and sharing all things bees.

There were groups attached to the NBA such as the Honey Packers/Comb Honey Group/Queen Producers, and several other specialty groups all totally relevant to what we do as beekeepers.

As I heard someone say a couple of weeks back, “The NBA wasn’t perfect, but it served the industry well for a hundred years”.

What Happened? Mānuka!... How did that Happen?

One of the NBA activities was to enhance the prosperity of beekeepers and somewhere along the line we decided that part of the annual levies should be to fund some generic honey marketing. We were beekeepers and would keep producing our wonderful honey varieties and a marketing expert would have a crack at increasing the value of these honeys. Bill Floyd started looking at the different properties of many New Zealand honey varieties, the different floral sources and regional differences in the same floral type. It was similar to how wines are categorized with their unique attributes.

One of the problem varieties was this ‘bee-feed’ honey, mānuka. It was of low value and seen to be one to be avoided if possible. However, there had been suggestions for a while that this honey possibly had a bit of something unique in its makeup that was worth investigation, and so Floyd took it to University of Waikato. Dr Peter Molan found that some of this mānuka honey certainly had some properties that made it different, and the rest of the story we know.

Mānuka took our industry on a crazy ride which saw registered hive numbers triple from 2007 to 2019, when they peaked at 918,000. An explosion of new beekeepers and corporate investment came where it had previously feared to tread.

With greater iwi and landowner involvement came a lot of selfish behaviour and trust between industry participants eroded. There was also a big increase in honey buyers knocking on the beekeepers’ doors. Things looked pretty good for some for a couple of years. Now though, as with most gold rushes, a lot of the prospectors have moved on and there are plenty of sad stories out there, leaving a few of us to pick up the pieces.

The point is, the mānuka honey phenomenon was sparked by beekeepers ourselves, working as a cohesive group agreeing to a few dollars each year to see what could be done with our products. What other opportunities could await us? Hopefully the next big craze will be more sustainably managed by ourselves.

What Should/Could a New Bee Industry Body Look Like?

My thoughts are purely from a commercial beekeepers’ point of view. Commercial beekeepers who run large numbers of hives need to put the past behind us, get together and have our own representation at all levels, especially at government level.

Hobbyist level beekeepers should still be welcome to join a new or refreshed organisation, but it is the commercials that do by far the bulk of honey bee product production, and thus should have the say.

Even more importantly there is all that pollination that is often unpaid, but other sectors are benefitting greatly from. How do we get these sectors to contribute financially, yet maintain our independence?

There are now plenty of beekeeping clubs around the country that can support new entrants.

Lawlor Apiaries hives stacked high in Southland. Owner and beekeeper of 40-plus years Shaun Lawlor believes for the whole industry to soar to such heights, a realistic approach to industry representation and what can be achieved is needed.

Commercial beekeepers are the cornerstone of the industry, but we are also dependent on affiliated businesses such as beekeeping equipment supply companies (who are also struggling at the moment), honey packers/buyers, drum suppliers, auditors, and the AFB Management Agency to name but a few. We need these businesses to be strong as well as ours.

Sometimes I wonder if I missed the memo on getting out of the industry, as many of my peers – totally disillusioned about what has happened to their businesses in the last few years – have bailed, or want to.

I am generally not a negative person, but perhaps conservative. However, unless we get our industry to pull itself together and sort out our sustainability issues, I find it a little difficult to encourage the next generation of beekeepers in to our current mess. I would rather have a successful, healthy business that can be passed to the next enthusiastic owner a few years down the line, as compared to a large hole burning a lifetime’s work.

For the New Zealand apiculture industry to survive the current mess, let’s look at a few points.

Honey bees in New Zealand are a non-native form of livestock, in the same category as sheep and cattle in that regard. We manage them for our own benefit and that of our modified agricultural and horticultural environment.

Simple fact – beekeepers need healthy bees to survive. Simple fact – honey bees need beekeepers to survive (thanks varroa).

If you want to save pollinators, place your efforts with native pollinators struggling to survive.

No other farming industry group I know of can be everything to every one of its members.

To date I have enjoyed over 40 years in this industry and have done quite well. So, with a glass half full, let’s have a team talk and get our direction sorted out for a successful, profitable future.

I guess now is the time, if you want to have input in the future of a national body, raise your hand and offer suggestions as to what we need as a commercial beekeepers’ body, remembering there are only a few hundred of us to fund it.

On a Slightly Different Tack…

There are a few people struggling away out there trying to survive in business, looking at how to run their outfit more efficiently, and possibly looking for a few tips and guidance. There are experienced beekeepers out there running profitable businesses, many of whom would be prepared to share a few tips, but remember many of these people have been let down in the past by people taking advantage of them. So, treasure any advice offered and show respect.

On that note, a tip to those out there that have payments owed to them and are being put under pressure by non-payment at agreed terms and honey being held for extended periods without being returned: talk to your accountant and lawyer and learn how the law works. Be prepared to spend some dollars and issue a Statutory Demand for payment. Don’t accept fob off time delays. Be prepared to take an application for liquidation in court and go through with it.

We have been forced to take this action once and were prepared to go through, but surprisingly the honey buyer came up with an acceptable outcome just a couple of days before deadline when they realised we were not bluffing.

The thoughts in this article are my own ramblings and many of you who read this will have different views. I want us to get our industry thriving with healthy bees.

Shaun Lawlor, owner of Lawlor Apiaries, has been a commercial beekeeper in Southland for 40 years. He has not been a member of any industry bodies since the NBA merged into ApiNZ in 2016.