With local honey available almost everywhere in the Interlake, it is easy to wonder how the apiarists around us began honey farming and how this season might be treating them. For Gilles Lantagne, it was a calling.
Upon his military transfer to Winnipeg, Lantagne first discovered the joy of keeping bees and harvesting honey. When he arrived, he decided to visit his father-in-law, a beekeeper, in Fraserwood.
After witnessing the process, he decided that beekeeping life was meant for him. At first, he started small; neighbours and friends wanted honey, so he increased the number of hives he operated to keep up with demand. He started the business in the early 1990s, and decided to name it Honeybee Meadows when he first wanted to hold a table at a Gimli farmer’s market.
“I started small, with word of mouth from friends and family. Then I joined the farmer’s market and found more customers in people coming from the U.S., Europe, and across Canada,” said Lantagne.
Farming bees is hard work; they tend to swarm if they are not kept busy. Lantagne checks the hives regularly to make sure they are meeting their requirements. The hives must have a good Queen that can produce a large number of bees, usually between 80,000 and 85,000 bees, by the beginning of July to bring a good production season and harvest.
Every year, the flow of honey usually begins when the dandelions come and ends sometime in August, at least for farming in the Fraserwood area. From August to September, Lantagne gets to work extracting honey.
During extraction, the bees are left in the hive, and different methods are used, such as sweeping the bees off the frame with a soft brush and then taking the boxes to the honey house.
Of course, there are specific rules and things to check before extraction. For example, the honey must have 18 percent or less moisture to extract, or it will be at risk of fermentation. Once in the honey house, the honeycombs must be uncapped using a hot knife and then extracted using a machine. Before entering containers, The honey is screened using a fine mesh stainless steel screen or a cheesecloth.
Though he works mainly by himself, his wife helps a lot with harvesting and packaging.
As the weather improves, he hopes the bees will be able to collect nectar more efficiently. “It has been a hard year due to the weather,” shared Lantagne. The bees wanted to swarm more than usual.”
Of course, pairing the bees with areas that benefit them is essential; according to the Manitoba Canola Growers and the Knowledge and Research Transfer Program for Apiculture, “canola farmers and bee farmers make a dynamic team.” The bright yellow flowers are both easy to see and land on and provide essential nutrients to the bees. The pollinators also benefit the canola, and their presence can lead to higher yields and improved seed ripening.
Each growing season differs for both canola and bee farmers due to several variables. Communication between farmers and beekeepers is crucial in this partnership to keep the bees as safe as possible, especially when it comes to insecticides to protect the canola from harmful pests.
“Canola is a good source of nectar for the bees as it crystallizes quickly, and as long it has not been sprayed with chemicals, it is not good for the bees to winterize on it,” shared Lantagne.
During the summer, Lantagne attends farmer’s markets once a week and also does farm-gate sales. He will be attending Teulon’s weekly farmer’s market for the remainder of the summer every Friday from 3-7 p.m. in the lot directly south of the Co-op gas station on Hwy. 7. Anyone wanting a taste of the final product after the honey-making process should be sure to catch him.
