Beekeeper details challenges of honey production in Manitoba
The wet spring and warm summer could mean a tougher yield for honey producers in Manitoba.
Michael Clark, a beekeeper in southwest Manitoba said the spring and summer have been challenging for him.
"With the cooler, wet temperatures, they affect crop production, and then whatever affects crop production also affects honey production through bees," Clark said during an interview with CTV Morning Live.
"The hot weather also affects honey production, because it causes the bees to have to create their own air conditioning inside the hive. So where you have bees normally be foraging for nectar, they're collecting water and then they're dehydrating and fanning that water on their wing to keep the temperature cooler."
Clark added the southern parts of the province have been dealing with heat, while northern producers have dealt with more rain, and a lot of crops didn't get seeded.
"Most of the honey production is in the in the canola crops," he said. "When the canola stops yielding, then the honey flow stops."
In addition to the weather, Clark said bears have also become a problem for honey producers, saying they're destroying hives to access honey.
"We're not there every single day. So sometimes, we try to get there about every 10 days, but if the bear was there the day after you were there, he has about 10 days that he can just decimate the yard," he said.
Clark said it's too soon to tell what impact the issues will have on the honey yield, but in talking with other beekeepers around Manitoba, he feels it won't be a good crop this year.
"We're definitely going to have a depressed crop," he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Beautiful in its own way': New forest emerges in Jasper National Park, bringing protection and new opportunities
Charred stumps and the remains of fire-ravaged trees still cover large tracts of land on the Jasper landscape, but life is returning quickly down below.
Bloc Quebecois ready to extract gains for Quebec in exchange for supporting Liberals
The Bloc Québécois says its ready to wheel and deal with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's party for support during confidence votes now that the Liberal government's confidence and supply agreement with the NDP has ended.
Dog mauled to death in B.C. yard after 3 pit bulls jump fence: police
A 12-year-old collie was killed by three pit bulls in the B.C. Interior Sunday morning, according to authorities.
video ‘Not checking out yet’: Woman with incurable cancer vows to keep fighting
Heather Appleton just renewed her passport for another ten years. “I’m not checking out yet,” said Appleton, 61, who has the incurable cancer, Multiple Myeloma.
Trump threatens to jail adversaries in escalating rhetoric ahead of pivotal debate
With just days to go before his first and likely only debate against U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris, former U.S. president Donald Trump posted a warning on his social media site threatening to jail those “involved in unscrupulous behavior” this election, which he said would be under intense scrutiny.
'It's morally wrong': A rural Alberta town reacts to homeless shelter closure
At the end of a side street in Slave Lake, Alta., Lynn Bowes looks at a grey job-site trailer with boarded-up windows and doors that once operated as her town's only homeless shelter.
Over 200 firearms seized in weapons investigation: Waterloo Regional Police
According to police, during a traffic stop in Waterloo, officers noticed firearms and ammunition inside the vehicle.
Military surplus store in Calgary, destination of celebrity shoppers, closing doors
Cher, Anthony Hopkins, Heath Ledger, Alec Baldwin and Tom Hardy are just a few of the celebrities John Cumming met while growing up in his family's military surplus store.
Slide over salsa: K-pop takes socialist Cuba by storm
Socialist Cuba, the birthplace of salsa and other rhythms that have conquered the world, is now surrendering to the invasion of South Korean pop music.