Page 1 of 8 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 75

Thread: Scottish Bee Health Surveillance report

  1. #1
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Tayside
    Posts
    4,464
    Blog Entries
    41

    Default Scottish Bee Health Surveillance report

    The Scottish Government have a news release here: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Rele...eybees06062013

    which includes this report on last year's surveillance exercise:

    http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0042/00423966.pdf

  2. #2

    Default

    I participated in the survey and had the bee inspector look at my bees last year and sent a floor insert off to be analysed. Right now I'm pretty annoyed and won't participate in another of these. It's a bit rich to be using a survey of amateur beekeepers to justify the £200k subsidy to bee farmers. Where's the help we need? I've said it many times before but the money would be better spent on improving our beekeeping infrastructure - something to benefit us all rather than what will likely be mass imports doomed to die out next winter

  3. #3
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Tayside
    Posts
    4,464
    Blog Entries
    41

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by drumgerry View Post
    I participated in the survey and had the bee inspector look at my bees last year and sent a floor insert off to be analysed. Right now I'm pretty annoyed and won't participate in another of these. It's a bit rich to be using a survey of amateur beekeepers to justify the £200k subsidy to bee farmers. Where's the help we need? I've said it many times before but the money would be better spent on improving our beekeeping infrastructure - something to benefit us all rather than what will likely be mass imports doomed to die out next winter
    Felt like saying - hey, steady on there - but no. You are right. Mr Lochhead used a survey of amateur beekeepers to justify throwing money at commercial beekeepers so that they can import lots of foreign bees. The survey seemed to give low losses amongst the survey amateurs in Tayside, yet that is where many, perhaps most, of the imported stocks are going - some of them presumably to an operation that showed a truly shocking level of losses. And yes, that was in Tayside too. [Edit - not actually true, S Aberdeenshire]

    However the real position is that losses here have been high-ish, and the apparent low losses is probably due to a small number of beekeepers being sampled. I'm one and my losses were pretty average. Our association is now collecting its own data on losses locally and maybe we'll be able to say something more definitive soon.

    There is a lot that is wrong there. Perhaps the first thing to do is to ensure that the leadership of the SBA are well aware of this disquiet, and realise that they should be lobbying for things to be very different in future. Are they? What did you think of Phil's comment in the magazine alongside the announcement of the Scottish Government import subsidy?

    However .... the bee health survey is a good thing, no? With good people running it. It is just a great pity that it has been used it to justify something that will be to the detriment of beekeeping as a whole in Scotland - and not something with real lasting benefit.

    Maybe it is time to have that chat you were planning with Richard Lochhead.
    Last edited by gavin; 06-06-2013 at 10:52 PM.

  4. #4
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Tayside
    Posts
    4,464
    Blog Entries
    41

    Default

    Here's an interesting piece on the beekeeping of the 65 beekeepers sampled:

    'Most beekeepers (58%) manage a small number of colonies (five or fewer); a statistic reflected by
    data gathered on BeeBase. Only five of the beekeepers questioned (8%) managed 20 or more
    colonies (Figure 2). When asked about their plans for the future, half (49%) planned to increase
    the number of colonies managed, and only 5% planned to reduce their apiary size. When
    replenishing stocks, most (71%) source their bees locally using either their own breeding
    programme or local suppliers, and only 3% had bought bees from overseas.'

    Only 3% (ie two) had bought bees from overseas.

  5. #5
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Tayside
    Posts
    4,464
    Blog Entries
    41

    Default Scottish Bee Health Surveillance report

    'These figures equate to a total overwintering loss of
    11% colonies across Scotland during 2011-12 and 32% during 2012-13 (Figure 4).'

    So why are folk claiming that more than half the bees in Scotland have died? Is that because the commercial losses are (bucking the trend internationally) worse than the hobbyists?

    Also, the Dundee University/SBA survey reports dramatic losses in the hobby sector. 30% was it (in 2011-12)? Much larger than this survey would suggest, near enough three fold in fact. The data in the SG report come from a random sample of BeeBase registrations whereas the Dundee University stuff comes from self-reporting from those motivated enough to send their returns to Dundee University. Interesting contrast.
    Last edited by gavin; 07-06-2013 at 06:23 AM.

  6. #6
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Tayside
    Posts
    4,464
    Blog Entries
    41

    Default

    I don't see mention of Fife in the SG report. Wasn't that an area singled out by C Connolly for its particularly high rate of losses?

  7. #7

    Default

    I think losses have been high Gavin
    Several folk have approached me about bees saying they lost most or all of their bees
    Although they would hardly ring me to say they had plenty bees, I suppose

  8. #8

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by gavin View Post
    There is a lot that is wrong there. Perhaps the first thing to do is to ensure that the leadership of the SBA are well aware of this disquiet, and realise that they should be lobbying for things to be very different in future. Are they? What did you think of Phil's comment in the magazine alongside the announcement of the Scottish Government import subsidy?

    However .... the bee health survey is a good thing, no? With good people running it. It is just a great pity that it has been used it to justify something that will be to the detriment of beekeeping as a whole in Scotland - and not something with real lasting benefit.

    Maybe it is time to have that chat you were planning with Richard Lochhead.
    Gavin I confess to severe bemusement at Phil's comment in the magazine that "hobby beekeepers....already get the benefit of EU money from the CAP system". Eh?! What am I missing here? If there's money coming from the EU where is it and where is it going? Or is he just referring to the "benefit" we get from cheaper food prices, along with the rest of the population, from farming subsidies? Do we get our SBA insurance subsidised by the EU? Is that it? In any case there seems to be money for anyone who can lobby hard enough as in this case so why don't the SBA pull their finger out and do likewise?

    And as to why the SBA aren't screaming from the rooftops about this £200k subsidy and the consequent imports again I'm at a loss. We need someone to get hold of the politicians and tell them they've got it all wrong. That we need money for something long term and not money to just flush down the bee farmers toilet. From where I'm sitting I can't see much being done. Has anything negative about this subsidy been said by the SBA?

    And yes my contact with the minister is being initiated as we speak!

    Bee health survey - a good thing yes. But I will not participate again if all it's going to be used for is to justify some puff scheme to bail out commercial operators who have shown time and again they don't have the long term interests of Scotlands bees and beekeepers at heart.

  9. #9
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    400 miles S of Stonehaven
    Posts
    398

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by drumgerry View Post
    Bee health survey - a good thing yes. But I will not participate again if all it's going to be used for is to justify some puff scheme to bail out commercial operators who have shown time and again they don't have the long term interests of Scotlands bees and beekeepers at heart.
    Not exactly the same thing, but we were circulated Chris Connolly's "Winter Loss Survey" via the County Secretary, the closing date was the end of May. Does anybody know how long it will take him to collate the information?

  10. #10

    Default

    Could it be the hobby beekeeper benefit is oil seed rape subsidy ?
    Which of course we pay for, and farmers receive and spend on our behalf, saving us the trouble
    There's a lot to be thankful for

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •