Rural beekeepers hit hard by late frost, summer drought in Sask.

Rural beekeepers, like other producers in the agricultural sector, have been hit hard by Saskatchewan's weather this year.

The province was hit by late frost that froze blossoms in May, and has been suffering through a drought affecting agricultural producers, ranchers and beekeepers.

Steven Hawrishok said the months of heat with no rain can affect bees into the winter. Hawrishok runs Kitako Lake Honey near Lac Vert, Sask., 200 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon in the east central part of the province. 

"The floral sources that the bees normally rely on came on significantly earlier," Hawrishok said. "Many of the flowering crops — alfalfa, clover, canola — they came on more quickly than they normally do. They bloom for a shorter period of time."

There is also some sweet clover in the area that didn't produce any nectar, so there's significantly less honey than normal and less nutrition for the bees going into the fall and winter, he said. This means there may be more bee deaths than usual. 

"It's worrisome.… Many producers around the province won't be getting what they normally get," he said. "There are some ways in which we can substitute pollen in artificial capacity, but nothing is as good as the real thing."

This can also have a ripple effect on the bees. Hawrishok said most well established commercial beekeepers can go through one or two poor years, but if this becomes a pattern, it'll be harder to deal with. 

"It feels a little bit traumatic in some ways," said Brenda Epp, co-owner of Prairie Field Honey in Swift Current, Sask. "We sort of feel like we were struck from a number of different areas this year."

Bees in the southwest of the province rely on three flowers. Caragana bushes typically bloom around the time when the May frost and snow hit this year, causing them to not bloom as usual. Meanwhile, Alfalfa flowers and canola crops have both been poor this year due to the drought. 

The lack of flowers is problematic, as honey production is significantly lower than previous years, Epp said. She said they are lucky because the honey they do have can be sold in grocery stores and farmers' markets and the community is continually supporting them by buying it. 

"Our head is still above water and we've not had to use the snorkel yet, for which we're very grateful. But it certainly is our local market that is saving us," she said. "We're so grateful that we can put food on the table."

Epp said small beekeepers desperately need that local support. She and her husband are just trying to get through this summer, but they've been talking about the future, she said. The two have noticed a drought pattern in southwestern Saskatchewan and closer to the U.S. border.

"Next year, we feel a bit uneasy about it for sure if we have another really dry summer like we do this year."

Urban beekeepers grateful for gardeners watering throughout drought 

Despite the frost and drought, urban bees are thriving thanks in part to gardeners continually watering throughout the drought. 

"This is a really different year," said Dennie Fornwald, a Regina hobby beekeeper with three hives with Hive Mind, in and outside of Regina. "Eleven years I've not seen a summer quite like this."

Fornwald and her group feed the bees their own honey and sugar water to get them the nutrition they need. However, once the May frost melted the bees became really active. Now Fornwald has extracted honey four times from the hives, about twice as much as usual.

Urban bees and rural bees have many differences, she said. The concrete in the city holds a lot of heat and radiates it back into the city in the evening, there's more shelter, people garden and water throughout the drought, and blossoms bloom longer than in rural areas, she said. 

The urban beekeepers are still watching the hives closely, Fornwald said because if the drought conditions continue, they may need to feed their bees back their honey again to stop them from going into winter mode early. 

"If the queen starts laying winter workers early because of the lack of blossoms, they're not going to make the whole winter," she said. "As we have more extreme weather, certainly beekeepers are going to have to really manage their hives carefully and learn from experience."