WA beekeepers are finishing the red gum season and enjoying the cooler weather, which has bought a teaser of rain to start autumn

There are a couple of internal projects BICWA is currently focusing on. This is the consideration and funding of an interim CEO and the development a Communication and Marketing plan, tight in with the new membership program. We look forward to reporting on these soon – hopefully, all good news.

We are waiting on the DRAFT monofloral standard definition for Jarrah and Marri, which is getting finalised now and are due for circulation in April. With the CRC for Honey Bee Products closing by the end of this financial year, a few project outcomes and presentations are expected. The most recent presentation, Developing the story for WA honey, is found on our webpage: https://www.bicwa.com.au/research-news-updates

The Forest Management Plan (FMP) planning group invites BICWA as an industry key stakeholder to provide input in a FOCUS group. These groups are set up to capture feedback for the draft FMP and will include forest health and biodiversity, climate change and the values and use of the south-west forests. Meetings will start at the end of April with a concurrent survey for public comments.

WA started an investigation into cheap import honey, which recently showed up in one of WAs fruit and veggie markets. The honey testing results and WA import regulation outcomes are expected in early April.

As you are aware, there is no standard definition for RAW and UNPROCESSED honey in Australia in place. The BICWA board has taken the time to establish a discussion paper for AHBICs consideration. We look forward to playing an active role in this discussion.

Talk to you next month, and don’t forget to subscribe to our webpage and like us on Facebook.

Regards,

Brendon Fewster – BICWA

Chair