Natural honey production is declining in Canada, despite the growing number of beekeepers and colonies. In southwestern Ontario, beekeepers point to the weather as the reason their volumes are low.
According to Statistics Canada, honey production fell by 18 per cent across the country in 2024 compared to the year before. Meantime, 15,430 Canadians said they were keeping bees last year, compared to 8,615 a decade earlier, with an additional 100,000 new colonies.
For the beekeepers behind Clovermead in Alymer, Ont. which hosts about 1,000 beehives, the honey crop was looking “dismal” in August, but then changed when the weather turned dry and stayed warm in the fall.
“It wasn’t a disaster, but it swung around last minute,” co-owner Chris Hiemstra said. “As beekeepers, we kind of live and die by the weather and by the natural environment.”
LISTEN: Slow honey season for Ontario beekeepers
According to Statistics Canada, there was 17,000 fewer pounds of honey produced …