Pollination

Alberta honey bees collect nectar from many sources, among them Alberta’s more than 6 million acres’ worth of canola crops.

Honey bees provide valuable pollination services, without which today’s highly productive hybrid canola would not be possible. Hybrid canola seed production for all of Western Canada is located in southern Alberta. Thus, Alberta honey bees – along with other pollinators – ultimately make Canada’s $20 billion canola industry possible.

A number of Alberta beekeepers provide valuable crop pollination services to support the hybrid canola seed industry, while ABC’s partnerships with five seed companies enable the Commission to leverage funding to support projects relating to honey bee health and best outcomes for pollinators. Beyond what Alberta beekeepers are paid for pollination services, ABC receives $1 for each hive sent out by our producers to pollinate crops. A Pollination Committee is being explored to determine how best to invest these funds in research.

Seed Company partners:

• Bayer CropScience Inc.
• Nutrien Ag Solutions
• Hytech Seed Production
• BASF
• Corteva

Here’s more on the connection between honey bees and canola:

• Bees and Canola: A Sweet Relationship
• Beets and Bees
• Statistical Overview of the Canadian Honey and Bee Industry and the Economic Contribution of Honey Bee Pollination, 2016