Perennia-NSBA Climate Survey

A big congratulations to Neil Erb, who won the raffle for a $150 gift card to Country Fields Beekeeping Supplies!

Thank you to everyone who completed the Perennia-NSBA Climate Survey. There were 40 respondents, the most of any of the commodities completing these climate surveys!

Sincerely,

Stuart Downie

Climate Change Specialist, Perennia Food and Agriculture

sdownie@perennia.ca

Business Risk Management Producer Perception Survey

As part of the Business Risk Management Review, The Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture (NSFA), in partnership with the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture (NSDA) and MNP (a national accounting and consulting firm), is conducting a survey to better understand how Business Risk Management (BRM) programs are working for farmers in Nova Scotia.

We want to hear directly from producers, what’s working, what’s not, and what could be improved to increase the effectiveness and uptake of BRM programs in the future. This survey is part of a larger study and will take approximately 10–15 minutes to complete. All responses are confidential and will only be reported in aggregate.

By sharing their experience, producers will help inform the review and provide valuable insight into how BRM programs are working in Nova Scotia.

If you have any questions, please contact BRM@novascotia.ca.

The 2026 Census of Agriculture is Coming!



In May 2026, farm operators across Canada will receive an invitation in the mail to complete the Census of Agriculture questionnaire. Respondents will be able to complete their questionnaire online using their Secure Access Code (SAC) included in the invitation letter.

The clocks have changed and cooler temperatures are in the air, now that we are in November. With October behind us, most of the honey crop has been extracted and attention has turned to winter preparations with mite treatments and wrapping colonies for winter. Despite the weather this season, I hope that our membership has had a successful beekeeping season and are putting healthy hives away for winter. 

The Association hosted an integrated pest management (IPM) workshop this fall at 3 locations across the province: Parsborro, Antigonish and Kentville; a total of 35 beekeepers attended the sessions. I would like to extend a sincere thank you to Sawyer Olmstead and the ATTTA Team's Andrew Byers and Kayla Gaudette for delivering the content at the sessions, as well as our 3 commercial beekeepers, Lilly Burgoyne, Mario Swinkels and Lauren Park, for their participation on the panels at the sessions.

The board has decided that, for the coming spring, the Association will not be offering queens for sale. This service takes a tremendous amount of volunteer time and is competing with private businesses, so, after careful consideration and discussion, the board concluded that it would be best if the Association no longer provided this service. The board would like to extend a sincere thank you to Roger Morash for all the time he gave to the Queen Order service.

The board is busy putting the finishing touches on the agenda for what is shaping up to be a great Annual Meeting and Conference, so mark your calendars and keep an eye on your email for the details and registration information.

This year, as we did last year, we will be hosting a commercial beekeeper meeting the evening before the NS Wild Blueberry Producers Annual Meeting and Conference. The commercial meeting will be Wednesday, November 19 from 6:30-9:30 PM at the Best Western Glengarry, Truro. The agenda for the meeting will include a presentation from the Nova Scotia Crop and Livestock Insurance Commission on the Proposed Honey Bee Winter Loss Insurance Program.

On behalf of the board, I wish everyone a great fall and I am looking forward to connecting with many of you at our next commercial meeting and our annual meeting.

Hello Nova Scotia Beekeepers,

It is hard to believe that the end of the 2025 beekeeping season is in sight! 2025 was a challenging season for many beekeepers who had to contend with one of the worst droughts the province has experienced in quite some time. Even with all the challenges we faced from the drought, most beekeepers I have spoken to remain positive and optimistic about next season. Like beekeepers, the fall is a very busy time of year for me so I will keep my newsletter contribution relatively concise and focus on the most important points to provide updates on.

End of Season Thoughts

Preliminary reports from beekeepers suggest that bees look to be in good shape overall going into winter. I am feeling optimistic as well, but only time will tell if the drought will have negative impacts on overwintering. Drought impacts seem to look different across the province with impacts reported on reduced honey production, increased feeding costs, as well as other impacts. Although renewal registrations are still coming in at the time of preparing this entry, a clear trend on the impacts of the drought is emerging. When asked if the 2025 drought had an overall negative impact on their operation, 47% of commercial beekeepers (greater than 50 hives) strongly agreed, 37% agreed, 13% were neutral and 3% disagreed. There is still more work that needs to be done to tease out the impacts of the drought better in each region on the province, but it is clear that the drought we experienced this season had significant negative impacts on the bee industry.

Mite levels once again spiked late summer/early fall with some high levels reported to me this season similar to last year. My impression overall is that varroa pressure was slightly lower this season compared to last season; however, there were still some pockets of high mite levels reported across the province. I did not receive as many reports of varroa induced viruses this season in comparison to last season which is good news. My conversations with beekeepers this summer and fall suggest that the industry overall is monitoring more diligently than in previous seasons and as a result, I am optimistic that beekeepers were quick to intervene and manage any mite issues accordingly. I am hearing more and more in discussions that beekeepers are referencing their starting mite levels before treatment and their final levels after treatment which is a very positive shift from only monitoring once or twice per season!

Lastly, due to the warm and extended fall we experienced this season, beekeepers should be considering administering an oxalic acid “mop up” treatment after wrapping to help clean up any mites that survived late summer/early fall treatments. These surviving mites will have continued to reproduce and increase their population in hives with the extended brood rearing this fall. Starting off next season with low mite levels is a great way to get ahead on mite management and will be well worth your time!

2026 Beekeeping Registration Renewal

I would like to provide a reminder that registration renewals for the 2026 beekeeping season were due November 1^st 2025. As my office is still missing a fair number of registration renewals, please submit it to me as soon as possible. Annual registration is not only a requirement under the Bee Industry Act, but the statistics collected during the renewal process are important for the industry. Summary statistics are valuable for establishing historical trends, informing programs and policies, and to understand the dynamics of Nova Scotia's bee industry. By submitting your renewal on time, it allows the Department to have the most accurate information about the industry as possible for informing policies and programs in a timely manner.

New Product Registrations for Beekeepers

I am excited to pass along that the long-awaited Varroxsan® has been approved for use in Canada. A copy of the approved label for use is available from Health Canada’s website here: Pesticide Label Search - Health Canada. Varroxsan® is a commercial extended-release oxalic acid product that has been approved for use with honey supers in place. Please be mindful that just because the commercial product Varroxsan® has been registered for use, the label expansion of oxalic acid to allow for mixing with glycerin is still awaiting a decision by PMRA. This means that at this time beekeepers are not permitted to make their own extended-release oxalic acid pads and must rely on either sublimation or the dribble method if not using the commercial product Varroxsan®.

Apivar 2.0® has also been approved for use in Canada which is the next generation version of Apivar®. Apivar 2.0® contains the same active ingredient Amitraz but has been modified to deliver a more efficient release of the active ingredient during the initial weeks of the treatment, contributing to quicker action against varroa mites. At the time of writing this entry, the label for Apivar 2.0® is not available yet on Health Canada’s website, but you can check the website at a later date to preview a copy of the label once available: Pesticide Label Search - Health Canada.

Tropilaelaps Action Plan

The NS Department of Agriculture has proactively begun the process of developing a Provincial Action Plan for Tropilaelaps (Tropi) to be prepared to respond if Tropi was to ever arrive in Nova Scotia. There are many mechanisms currently in place that work together to help prevent the accidental introduction of Tropi into North America, but being proactive and thinking ahead about a response plan is a good approach.  A similar activity is being done by all Provinces across Canada lead by the Provincial Apiculturist in each province. This initiative is being done in collaboration with both the NSBA and ATTTA. This work is in a preliminary stage, but I expect to have more details to share with the industry at the upcoming AGM.



As we move into the winter months, please feel free to reach out to me anytime to chat about how your season went and your ideas for next season. I hope to see you at the upcoming meetings this fall and winter!

Andrew Byers

Senior Apiculturist, Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture

With autumn fully upon us, we reflect on the season of beekeeping past. Always a busy time for hands-on field work and direct extension to beekeepers, ATTTA had a full summer of activities. This season’s applied research focused on four areas: Maritime mite survey, bumble bee management, queen rearing & training as well as wild blueberry pollination efficiencies. ATTTA also participated in a number of training events and workshops.

The majority of the knowledge transfer events were done in partnership with industry associations and, in spite of the summer being a busy time with conflicting activities, the events were well supported.  The general ongoing challenges of honey bee pests and diseases, as well as managing Varroa mites, were a theme of discussion at these meetings. Further along this theme, the Varroa mite survey work completed by ATTTA this season provided insights to support training and management decisions around mite control. The important findings suggest that overall, our region’s beekeepers are managing their Varroa mites correctly. There was no significant difference in the mite numbers, at the three time points of the survey across the season, when compared to last year. This data was reassuring but there are also isolated and alarming mite numbers in some individual hives and operations. This suggests beekeepers, more than ever, need to be vigilant in their practices around Varroa mite control and follow best management practices.

The season’s difficult drought conditions created additional challenges for the region’s beekeepers. ATTTA worked with industry to provide information and support for beekeepers during this difficult time. Blogs, factsheets and training events were made available and ongoing work to develop climate adaptations strategies continued. These extreme weather events may become more commonplace, and beekeepers need to prepare as best they can. The indications are that colonies endured the drought well but honey crops, in certain areas of the province, are impacted. The full implications of the drought generally and the impact on winter losses specifically, will not be understood until next spring.

Over the next few weeks and into winter, beekeepers are encouraged to engage in professional development activities. ATTTA is continuing with our annual winter workshops, with the first scheduled for the evening of November 25. The details and the link to the online meeting will be forwarded to NSBA members nearer the event. There are additional meetings and workshops planned, so keep an eye out for announcements. The ATTTA team looks forward to seeing beekeepers at these upcoming events and we are always glad to hear about your beekeeping challenges and successes.

ATTTA Resources: