Fires And Drought Stop Flow Of Honey

Illawarra Mercury

Tuesday December 24, 2002

By KIM COTTON

VINCE Ingold is standing in his shed stacked to the rafters with empty beehives. Usually at this time it's almost empty of ``stickies" which are used as replacement hives during harvesting season in spring and summer.

Last year's bushfires already slowed production, but the drought has all but stopped the sweet nectar from flowing at Mr Ingold's property in Yatteyatta, outside Ulladulla.

He said an average 50 drums of honey were collected from his bees each season. His bumper season in 1999-2000 reaped 79 drums. This year's harvest brought a total of eight drums. This is the first season in 27 years Mr Ingold has closed up shop.

``There's just not enough flowers to produce honey and pollen for the bees to keep going. The fires put us in a bad situation last year - it is going to be worse this year because we've got to go for a longer period without production," he said.

It was a case of battening down the hatches, he said. Ceasing production meant Mr Ingold saved on running costs and gave the bees time to rebuild honey stocks for the next winter.

``If we don't get surplus stocks to keep the bees healthy going into winter, we'll just lose what honey there is on them to carry them through and production would cease for good," he said.

Stocks are drying up all over NSW.

Mr Ingold predicted honey would be expensive in the next two years. In the past eight weeks the liquid gold has taken a 70 price hike. Last year, a kilo at wholesale sold for $1.90, now it is $4.50.

The honey industry last month requested a rescue package from state and federal governments of $10 million over five years to counter some effects of the drought, bushfires and a plague of small hive beetles originating in South Africa, which eat out the hives' wax, destroying them.

Australian Honey Bee Industry Council chairman Ray Phillips said the Government's decision not to eradicate the beetle would compound the effects of the drought and the bushfires on farmers.

Destruction of hives would impact on pollination of broad-acre and horticultural crops if bee numbers dropped to any great extent. The beetle's presence would also have a big effect on whether people would even stay in beekeeping, Mr Phillips said.

The assistance package would be used to help beekeepers transport their hives further afield during the drought and to establish a control program to manage the beetles.

Australia and the US are the only countries outside of South Africa to be infested by the beetle. No response had come from any governments to date, Mr Phillips said.

Most beekeepers should be well into production for the season, which started in June, but many were just starting now, he said.

``I should have 50 per cent of my production up now and I haven't even turned (on the) extractors yet."