Honey Production had a sharp drop in 2022 according to Statistics Canada's report for the year.
Overall, honey production was down 15.6%, with a total of 74.4 million pounds harvested. Loss in colonies is a big reason for that drop, and while the report states that they were down 8.3% from 2021, Bob Podolsky, owner of Podolsky Honey Farms in Ethelbert, says the situation is even more dire.
"I think it was a lot higher than that. According to Canadian Honey Council, we are at 46.6% less colonies this year in Canada. So less colonies, less honey, and if we have another disaster this winter, with high losses, it'll even be worse. There'll be a lot of guys losing their business, their livelihood."
One of the main reasons for the high loss in colonies was due to the length of winter last year, rather than the extreme cold that was seen throughout says Podolsky.
"Our winters are too long. the bee only defecates when he flies, so if you can get him to fly earlier, he has a chance to clean himself out, which should increase survivability."
This year, Podolsky isn't taken any chances, as he decided to take his bees to British Columbia for the winter.
"Here in Manitoba, the bees are probably going to start flying around early April, middle of April, and in BC they're going to be flying hopefully middle of February, definitely by the middle of March. So you shorten it by 30, 40, and maybe even up to 60 days."
Podolsky says the move lessens the risk of the bees dying due to a prolonged winter.
