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AgriFutures Honey Bee & Pollination Program 2022 RD&E Snapshot
Message from Annelies McGaw, Manager, Research of the AgriFutures Honey Bee & Pollination Program As we approach midway point of the five-year AgriFutures Honey Bee & Pollination Program Strategic RD&E Plan (2020-2025), which guides the investment of our R&D levy allocation, it is thrilling to witness the scope and diversity of the projects it is enabling. The Plan outlines six key objectives and each of our RD&E investments must address one or more of these objectives. It is reassuring, looking across the breadth of R&D activities covered in this Snapshot, to see such a comprehensive investment addressing the key issues Australia’s beekeepers face on a daily basis. Identifying and developing new technologies to improve hive performance is one of the key objectives of the Strategic RD&E Plan. Several projects are looking to technology to solve a range of industry challenges. The recent completion of one of our Industry Development Grant projects, undertaken by Associate Professor Alan Dorin from Monash University, resulted in the development of multi-point monitoring technology, which could improve pollination outcomes and increase crop yields and product quality. This impressive monitoring system offers an invaluable insight into the natural tendencies and preferences of honey bees in undercover cropping situations, and has attracted the attention of some of Australia’s largest berry producers. During the past 12 months, we have invested in several new projects that seek to improve the productivity of our bees and the health of our hives – another key objective of the current Strategic RD&E Plan. Projects such as ‘Setting honey bee nutrition minimum requirements and toxicity for Australian bee stock’ will ultimately lead to a healthier and more productive honey bee and pollination industry. Similarly, we remain vigilant about pest incursions and reducing the incidence and impact of pests and diseases. Exciting progress has been made towards a cost-effective, user-friendly and robust portable device that could provide rapid and accurate American foulbrood (AFB) test results in the field. We continue to invest in research to better understand the complex relationship between Australia’s unique native flora and the honey bee, not only in terms of the health and productivity of our bees, but also the medicinal properties of a range of hive products, including honey, pollen and propolis. Building on knowledge gained from overseas studies, an exciting new project is assessing the neuroprotective compositions of the eastern Australian monofloral honey. Our Industry Development Grants continue to be a fulfilling and flexible initiative within the Program. These grants allow us to respond quickly to a diverse range of industry needs and build the leadership, skills and knowledge needed to assure the ongoing resilience of the honey bee and pollination industries in Australia. As you read about the new grant recipients we have funded this year, I am sure you will be as excited as I am about the potential these projects offer the industry. In this year’s Snapshot, we are again excited to showcase important work being done alongside the AgriFutures Honey Bee & Pollination Program, such as the Honey Bee Genetic Improvement Program (Plan Bee). The program has recently produced a ‘Getting started with genetic selection’ guide to complement the ‘Plan Bee Breeding Manual’. And in October 2021, the AgriFutures National Rural Issues Program released a report on biosecurity sensing technologies for select small and emerging industries. The report identified the key technologies that have the potential to protect Australia’s honey bee and pollination industry from biosecurity threats. Currently, Australian native bee honey production has an estimated industry value of less than $1 million. By 2030, however, this value is expected to increase to $3-5 million, with native bee honey retailing for $200-450 per kilogram. We share a high-level overview of the Australian Native Bee Strategic RD&E Plan (2022-2027) and take a look at a project that investigated the bioactive content of Australian stingless bee honey. Finally, it is a pleasure to welcome Professor Ben Oldroyd onto our Advisory Panel this year. His leadership and guidance as Chair will be much appreciated as we enter the final years of the current Strategic RD&E Plan. Ben’s wealth of experience from both a practical beekeeping perspective and his years of research into honey bee genetics offer an invaluable opportunity the Program is fortunate to be able to harness. Our focus is to ensure we deliver for commercial beekeepers. We prioritise and make recommendations for RD&E investment that will benefit the industry and ensure it is positioned strongly for growth and prosperity. The combination of adaptable beekeepers and innovative research means the future looks bright for Australia’s honey bee and pollination industry.AgriFutures Honey Bee & Pollination Program 2021 RD&E Snapshot
The AgriFutures Honey Bee & Pollination Program supports research, development and extension (RD&E) to ensure a productive, sustainable and profitable Australian beekeeping industry and secure the pollination of Australia’s horticultural and agricultural crops.This document provides an overview of the Honey Bee & Pollination Program and the RD&E investments that will play a critical in ensuring a productive, sustainable and profitable industry.The Honey Bee & Pollination Advisory Panel farewells highly regarded colleagues
In 2020/21 the AgriFutures Honey Bee & Pollination Advisory Panel farewelled Dr Doug Somerville, Danny Le Feuvre and Tiffane Bates. Doug, Danny and Tiffane all served on the Advisory Panel at a pivotal time for the Program and the industry. While their reasons for retiring differ, the sentiment is the same; they are sad to be leaving a group of people who are committed to the industry they represent.AgriFutures™ Honey Bee and Pollination Program to showcase golden research at 3rd Australian Bee Congress
AgriFutures Australia is a proud Gold Partner of the 3rd Australian Bee Congress which is reconvening for the first time in three decades from 27-30 June 2018.Closing the pollinator gap to save regional towns
... available from closing the pollinator gap.”For more information, go to www.rirdc.gov.au/honeybee-pollination“If hives of honey bees are used in a crop, a pollination deficit may exist if there is poor density and strength of hives, inadequate proximity and distribution of hives within the crop...
News story
Beekeepers a buzz for Pollinator Week
This Australian Pollinator Week, from 9 to 17 November we’re celebrating the humble yet vital honey bee and the value they bring to the agriculture sector, as well as the research, development and extension (RD&E) projects that have contributed to this vibrant industry.Simulation Exercise for Pollination Industries
... for a honeybee disease/pest incursion that has implications for the pollination sector.2) Test and recommend improvements to pollination transition arrangements that would be used following establishment of a honeybee disease/pest. PRO_CLAQ...
Development of two genetic markers for hygienic behaviour of honeybees
... can be identified without field testing. To develop general procedures for the identification of economically important behavioural genes for the honeybee and protocols for their exploitation by industry. PRO_CLAQ...
Feasibility study – Commercial bee hive and honey traceability system
... will also be considered. The outcome will provide a nationally informed, practical and industry endorsed pathway for a traceability system that enhances the biosecurity and sustainability of Australia's honeybee and pollination sectors. The project will explore possible avenues to set up...
Report
National Honey Bee Breeding Strategy 2024-2029
In all livestock industries, genetic selection has been used to increase animal productivity and, by extension, enterprise profitability. The Australian honey bee industry is no different. Breeders have been selecting their queens based on three key traits that enhance the productivity and profitability of beekeeping businesses: honey production, bee health and docility. The continued development of a well-resourced genetic selection program is essential to maintain a viable beekeeping industry in Australia. The ongoing viability of the industry is strongly in the national interest, since about one-third of agricultural crops benefit from animal (mostly honey bee) pollination. Some crops, notably almonds, are 100% dependent on honey bee pollination. It is important to understand that selection for varroa resistance or tolerance cannot exist in isolation from other commercial traits. When selection is focused on varroa resistance alone, other economic traits, notably honey production and docility, decline. Therefore, selection for varroa resistance must go hand in hand with selection for production and docility. A national honey bee breeding strategy (hereafter the Breeding Strategy) will allow the Australian honey bee industry to invest in breeding technologies, such as genomics, to increase their confidence in genetic selection for more productive queens that are resistant to varroa. The Breeding Strategy will guide further investment and growth of a coordinated honey bee stock improvement effort to ensure it meets the needs of the industry and breeders alike. Through investing in genetic selection, the industry will become more profitable and sustainable, will be able to ensure a reliable supply of colonies for crop pollination tasks, and will enable other agricultural industries to expand through enhanced pollination security.Industry Development Grant_Alan Dorin
...custr13_HBE PRJ-012993 Mia Lorber-Hughes 02 6923 6911 Alan Dorin Oswald, Halina Monash University The funds will be used to support a current project by allowing us to extend an existing,working, single-unit honeybee activity monitoring prototype. This prototype contains a highqualitydigital camera...