SASKATOON – The Government of Saskatchewan is proclaiming Wednesday the fourth annual Day of the Honeybee.
“In addition to the honey they produce, honeybees play a significant role in pollinating forages and crops,” said provincial Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart.
The provincial government says Saskatchewan’s apiculture industry has enjoyed several consecutive years of growth. There were 125,000 bee colonies in 2012, compared to 95,000 in 2007.
Last year, Saskatchewan’s beekeepers produced 23 million pounds of honey, up 38 per cent from 2007.
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According to the provincial Ministry of Agriculture, the value of that honey in national and international markets was just under $40 million, an increase of approximately 100 per cent from 2007.
In an effort to raise awareness of the plight of the honey bee, Clinton Ekdahl of Saskatchewan, started a Day of the Honey Bee campaign in 2009.
WATCH: A Saskatoon enthusiast says some beekeepers have lost 90 per cent of their stock, so bees are at a premium right now.
In 2011, beekeepers received federal funding in efforts to keep Saskatchewan producers buzzing. The Government of Canada announced it was investing up to $370,000 to the Saskatchewan Beekeepers’ Association to help the industry deal with declining honey bee colony numbers.
Canada’s honey industry produces several other valuable by-products including: beeswax, protein-rich pollen used as a diet supplement, an ingredient used in cosmetics and royal jelly which is used in lotions.
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