AU: Beekeepers embrace pollination as hort industry grows

Commercial beekeepers are looking to move from mass honey production to pollination. In part this co…

Commercial beekeepers are looking to move from mass honey production to pollination. In part this comes down to the expansion of horticultural industries that rely on bees.

Technical specialist with the NSW Department of Primary Industries, Doug Somerville, said demand from almond and blueberry farmers was behind the change.

"The bee industry in Australia is changing rather quickly at the at the professional end," he said.

"It was traditionally focused on bulk honey production ... but now at the big end it's swinging across to paid pollination, because the almond industry is growing exponentially in south west New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

"Now the biggest movement of bees in the country is in the eastern states with literally 150,000 plus beehives being moved down into the almond growing areas and that's not likely to stop in the near future.

"So we'll see a shift in beekeepers moving their business model from purely honey production to doing pollination as well as honey production.

"But that honey production may well suffer as result, if it's economically viable to swing further on to the pollination area."