Not if your hives are doing the donkey work of primary-industry pollination, namely pasture and horticultural crops.
MPI estimates bee pollination of crops grown for seed, fruit and veg and key pasture species like clover adds a couple of $billion to our economy. But the return to beekeepers producing mainly pasture honey is down to $5-6/kg, according to a mate of Milking It who has been 50 years in the bee game. He says the perception of wealth created by the manuka boom is leading landowners to push for a bigger cut from beekeepers and Apiculture NZ to push for a bigger levy. With no margin to give, the smaller beekeepers, once the backbone of the pollination industry, are being forced out of business, leaving the corporates whose main interest is manuka. What would Sir Ed say?
