“For so work the honey-bees,
creatures that by a rule in nature teach the act of order to a peopled
kingdom.”
-- William Shakespeare
The honey business sure is a sticky one. With the fluctuating price of honey, and a shrinking bee population, it’s tough to make a steady profit. Luckily for Cor de Wit of Sunshine Honey Farm near Leduc Alberta, he has a lifetime of experiences to draw upon.
The business was started by De Wit’s parents back in 1968, and he has been working with bees ever since. The business has come a long way since the days when they would drive a truck down to California and pack it full of bees to take back to Canada.
“We started out with 50 hives, the next year was 100. It’s been going up ever since,” said de Wit.
Currently, they are housing about 1,800 to 2,000 hives, and de Wit thinks that is about the maximum capacity.
“Over the last ten years we have reached our maximum that we can handle with the family,” said de Wit.
“If we want to go any larger than that we have to start hiring people, buying trucks for them to drive, and all that other stuff. Personally I don’t want to make that jump.”
The jump would be a risky one. De Wit has seen other honey producers try to move up to the next level and get themselves in trouble. The problem is that overhead costs keep rising and one bad season leaves you in massive debt. Also with the looming threat of bee extinction, it’s wise to keep the status quo going.
“Right now with all the mites that are out there and the diseases, it’s risky. Bees are very similar to foot and mouth disease with cattle. It’s very contagious. You can have one area that has it, and it spreads and you can’t stop it, there’s no cure for a lot of this stuff,” said de Wit.
“So for the business to be lucrative right now, I doubt it. But if you can keep your debt load down you can sustain yourself.
"I wouldn’t advise people to borrow a pile of money and go into it right now. But like a lot of things, it has it’s good years and its bad years. "
When asked whether climate change could be a possibly answer for the shrinking bee population, De Wit could only speculate.
“It has been drier. We have noticed areas where we used to drive through water and now it’s been dry for years, so we know we’re getting less and less water. Whether that’s global warming or not, who knows.”
It may not be global warming, but Mother Nature plays a giant part in the success of de Wit’s bottom line.
In a good year he can produce between 200,000 to 250,000 pounds of honey. In a bad year they are lucky to break 100,000.
“Different variables factor in to what makes a good year and what makes a poor year, but it’s mostly weather,” said de Wit. “It’s a crapshoot. You’re dependent on the weather. You’re hoping this works, and you’re hoping that works. If everything falls into place you can do quite well, and if everything doesn’t fall into place, well you get what you get. Just like farming.”
Last year was one of the poorest years he had ever seen. They had very little moisture for the majority of the summer. And once August came around it brought in little dribbles of rain, but contrasted with cold temperatures it didn’t make a difference.
“Bees do not make honey unless it’s over 20C. So if it doesn’t get over 20 degrees, they don’t do anything. The flower doesn’t give any nectar so no honey is made.”
This year looks to be a little more profitable for de Wit, and all the other honey producers in Northern Alberta.
“The rain is good. We could use a little more because we could always use a little more rain. I think the bees are about two weeks behind because of a cold spring. But I think the crops are a little bit behind too. This should be a good year as long as we don’t get any frost in August,” joked de Wit.
Proprietor and published by Bowes Publishers Limited at 4504 - 61 Avenue, Leduc, Alberta, Canada T9E3Z1
