Beyond the Hive
Financial Impacts of Varroa
Profile
Name: Glenn Locke
Business: Mt. Coramba Apiculture
Location: Nana Glen NSW
Number of Hives: 100
Operation type: Honey production, consulting and education
Profile
Name: Leif Andersen
Business: Andersen’s Honey
Location: Taree NSW
Number of Hives: 700
Operation type: Honey production
Profile
Name: Mike Allerton
Business: Aussie Mike’s Bees
Location: Kurrajong Heights NSW
Number of Hives: 100
Operation type: Honey production
‘It is manageable, you can control it, you just have to think logically about how you’re going to do it.’
- Leif Andersen
Glenn Locke, Leif Andersen and Mike Allerton discuss the financial impacts of Varroa mite on their operations. They discuss the biggest costs to their businesses including time, labour, treatments and losses along with their budgeting strategies.
‘Skimping with costs will cost you in the end.’
- Glenn Locke
They feel hopeful for the future and predict costs will stablise and the incursion of Varroa mite in Australia has made them all better beekeepers.
‘I think in reality, particularly in our high reinfestation period, you’ve just got to have a lower number of hives because of the extra labour involved’
– Mike Allerton
More about financial impacts and management.