Rural News

Tough season pays off for beekeepers

SA Country Hour
Beehives in an almond orchard

Almond trees depend entirely on the pollination services on bees to allow them to set fruit for the next season. Read more.

Clint Jasper

Across Australia's horticultural regions, beekeepers have moved their hives into position, and the bees are hard at work.

There's about 35 crops that are completely dependent on bees for pollination. Right now in South Australia it's almond season, but stone fruit and citrus will follow.

It's been a tough year for beekeepers across the state, who have had to travel vast distances to keep their bees fed and healthy.

"It's one of those seasons where there hasn't been very good pollen content. Pollen is the protein for the bees.

"It's been funny weather conditions; we've had a funny sort of a warm autumn, where things didn't flower too well."

Mr Gilbert says on the Eyre Peninsula, around Streaky Bay, things started to look fairly good during autumn and in the winter.

"Beekeepers from as far as Tintinara and Keith in the South East, travelled with all of their hives way over to Streaky Bay and I think that's about a 10 hour drive, they had to do it in two stops."

From the South East of South Australia, to Streaky Bay on the West Coast is about a 900 kilometre drive.

And that voyage isn't the only one beekeepers have had to make.

Martin, and his wife Lorraine, describe themselves as bee gypsies, driving all over the state from their base in Laura, in the Southern Flinders Ranges to ensure their bees are healthy enough for the almond season.

"Our bees haven't been home now for two years, we have had flowering up there, but the blue gum hasn't been good enough for us to take our bees back.

"But a good bee keeper sources things, we migrate, we go everywhere.

"People don't understand what we really do, and we're often driving long hours into the night travelling."

While for many years honey has been a major source of income for beekeepers, the Gilberts believe paid pollination is the way of the future.

A report by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation from last year estimated the value of pollination services from honey bees at $1.7 billion.

And the expansion of the almond industry is recognised as a key opportunity for beekeepers.

"The future is in commercial pollination for beekeepers and growers.

"Growers are now realising that the more bees they get on their crops, the healthier their crops are, and they're starting to realise now that once we get varroa mite, and some of these other diseases around the world, they won't have the feral bees that are in the gumtrees and everywhere else to come and pollinate their orchards, they're going to have to rely on the skill of the beekeepers to place bees in their orchards, of course for our food."

The varroa mite, American foulbrood, the effects on bees of certain pesticides and less native flora for bees to eat are all threats beekeepers like the Martins will continue to face in the future.

But they're not about to give it up anytime soon.

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