The Bee Industry Futures Report has been developed with industry to help ensure Tasmanian beekeepers, and the pollination dependent industries, can prosper into the future.
Bee Industry Futures Report (PDF 244Kb)
The Government has committed $750 000 towards implementation of priorities identified in the Bee Industry Futures Report released in 2019.
The report has three main themes:
Access to natural floral resources (including leatherwood)
Strengthening the State’s pollination capacity, and
Continued progress toward best practice biosecurity measures.
The Bee Industry Futures Report is part of the Tasmanian Government's commitment to work with industry to grow the farm gate value of Tasmania’s agriculture to $10 billion by 2050.
Accessing the rich floral resource in remote areas of Tasmania has been supported through two funding rounds of the Apiary Access Infrastructure Program. A third round is planned for March/April 2022. Up to $200,000 has been allocated to these projects to date to help keep vehicle tracks passable. These are outlined in the Apiary Access Project summary.
A copy of the summary is available for download.
$40,000 to support research into medicinal and other benefits of leatherwood honey (on-going);
A survey to quantify the size and structure of the beekeeping industry;
$120,000 for the Bee Industry Emergency Winter Colony Management Scheme (‘the winter feed program’);
$20,000 to create a Tasmanian Honey Library to permit University of Tasmania authentication testing to validate the origin of Tasmanian-labelled product;
$40,000 for an external Bee Industry Project Officer to work for 12-months with the industry and its peak bodies.
The Tasmanian honey sector is important to agriculture generally because many hives in remote areas are rotated during the year to farmed landscapes where they provide pollination services necessary for fruit production and seed cropping. The Tasmanian Government is also taking a strategic approach to encourage development of newly emerged specialist crop pollination services in the State.
Continued progress is being made to best-practice biosecurity with consultation on updated conditions of registration which will be required for all Tasmanian beekeepers. Registration will include a need to understand and adhere to the Australia Honey Bee Industry Biosecurity Code of Practice to ensure that Tasmanian beekeepers engage in best-practice biosecurity measures. Implementation will also provide engagement to ensure effective management of endemic pests and diseases and better preparedness to respond to exotic pests incursions.