Beekeepers Facing Extra Feed Costs

The drought this year had an impact on many Manitoba beekeepers.

Mark Friesen is a beekeeper in the Morden area.

"We are definitely in a situation where this time of year, when there isn't any flowers blooming, that really limits the bees' ability to collect pollen and they need to build up there stores for the winter," he said. "In certain areas, and I'm not saying that's all areas around Morden, we've had quite a bit of a dry stretch, we're going around trying to make sure that they have some supplements to hold on for the winter."

Last week, Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler said that the government is aware of the situation and is reviewing options for support.

"If they do come up with something, that it would be something to supplement our extra feed costs, when we have to go around and feed extra supplement because the bees can't access those flowers that they might have been able to access other years."