Bees from small beekeepers
“Indispensable from the point of view of pollination”
There are 700 small beekeeping businesses in Burgenland. They are indispensable for people and the environment, and not just from an ecological point of view.
The criticism by some commercial beekeepers that hobby beekeepers are to blame for not being able to sell their honey, among other things, has hurt and has been met with incomprehension by many small beekeepers. Many also don't like the term hobby beekeeper.
"I don't see beekeeping as a hobby," explains Herbert Grafl from Schattendorf, chairman of the Burgenland Beekeeping Association. "These are living creatures for which we bear responsibility. This goes far beyond a hobby. It's a way of life," says Grafl. He also emphasizes that commercial and small-scale beekeepers do not have many points of contact and, above all, that his colleagues in the association are certainly not to blame for the fact that some commercial beekeepers are selling less honey.
"It's true that imported honey is a problem. Especially when it's not a genuine bee product. They flood the market at far too low a price," he agrees with the commercial beekeepers. However, he also notes that the honey produced in Austria accounts for less than 50 percent of the liquid gold required in the country. "So we can't be the reason why some people don't sell their honey to customers," he says.
Incidentally, the 700 small beekeepers in Burgenland are offset by around 5 full-time beekeepers. Around 10 percent of small beekeepers work organically. And the trend is rising.
No apples or other fruit without small-scale beekeeping
The Burgenland association chairman also states that he and his colleagues are indispensable, especially from an ecological point of view. "Our beehives are usually in the same place all year round and swarm out in a certain area, while commercial beekeepers take their colonies to the rapeseed field when it is in bloom, for example. Once this flowering is over, the hives are also gone. The task of these bees is purely to produce honey. Our bees pollinate a wide variety of plants."
He and his colleagues sell a kilo of honey for at least 12 euros or more. According to Grafl, however, there is a north-south price gap in Burgenland. While in Austria there are different prices between the east and the west. "We in Burgenland are much cheaper than our colleagues in Vorarlberg," says Grafl. In Luxembourg or Liechtenstein, a kilo of honey costs between 20 and 30 euros and more.
Storm caused no damage
Incidentally, the heavy rain and cool temperatures of the past week have not harmed the bees. This is because the animals have different survival strategies. If it is too hot in the hive, they use the hive's own cooling system and spray water with their wings to cool the air. If it is too cold, they "heat" the honeycomb with their bodies so that the offspring cannot come to any harm. "The bee is simply a super organism," smiles the beekeeper.
According to him, this year is also a very good honey year. The quantity and quality are impressive.
This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.
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