Rural Aid and Australian Honey Bee Industry Council launch Buy A Bee to help devastated beekeepers

Now as Australia's littlest livestock, its precious European honey bees, are under siege from the hive-destroying Varroa mite, a similar campaign has been launched with hopes it will be just as well supported.

National rural charity Rural Aid has launched the Buy A Bee fundraising campaign.

Supported by the bee industry's peak body, the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council, money raised through Buy A Bee will be used by Rural Aid to support mite-impacted beekeepers.

Rural Aid chief executive officer John Warlters said the situation Varroa mite is "volatile" and "distressing" for beekeepers who needed support now.

"Beekeepers are in an awful state right now as they anxiously wait for news on how far the Varroa destructor mite has spread," Mr Warlters said.

"Rural Aid has been supporting beekeepers for years through its HiveAid program. The new Buy a Bee campaign, under the HiveAid umbrella, will assist these same beekeepers as they take on the Varroa mite.

"The public is encouraged to show their support for Australia's littlest livestock by donating to Rural Aid's Buy a Bee initiative. We thank every Australian who will dig deep to support our beekeepers in their moment of need."

HiveAid came into existence in 2018 in response to the drought that plagued the nation for three years between 2017 and 2019, then to support NSW beekeepers hit hard by the 2019-2020 black summer bushfires.

The program was created by the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council in partnership with Hive + Wellness, the nation's largest honey packer which is best known for its Capilano branded honey, and Rural Aid.

"In the first instance, during the drought, there was a sense that bees were almost falling through the cracks," Mr Warlters said.

"There was a lot of support being directed to primary producers but there was the sense that out littlest livestock, our bees, were being forgotten.

"Given the really critical role that they play, the need to support the bee industry was identified. HiveAid came to life through that."

During a period of two years, about $500,000 was raised through HiveAid.

This was used to buy food for bees, as during the drought beekeepers were unable to sustain their hives due to there not being enough natural foliage, flowers and pollination opportunities for bees to "do what they normally do".

Additionally, Rural Aid provided financial assistance to beekeepers to help them pay their bills and keep their businesses afloat and connected them to Rural Aid's team of counsellors.

Now Rural Aid is bringing HiveAid back to life through the Buy A Bee campaign, and will look to support Varroa mite-affected beekeepers in a similar manner as they did during the drought and bushfire season.

"A really important part of what we do is connect people to Rural Aid's team of counsellors so they can have those chats that they need to deal with the mental challenges in front of them," Mr Warlters said.

Varroa mite, the most serious pest of honey bees worldwide, was first detected in hives at the Port of Newcastle on June 22 but has quickly spread to close to 40 locations across NSW.

Newcastle and Port Stephens are at the centre of the outbreak, with all hives in those local government areas falling within the NSW Department of Primary Industries' eradication zone.

There are fears that a widespread varroa mite outbreak would have a devastating effect on Australia's agricultural industry.

"The contribution of honey bees to agriculture in Australia through pollination services is estimated at up to $20 billion, and the start of the pollination season is just weeks away, which demonstrates what an enormous threat this crisis poses to our industry," Australian Honey Bee Industry Council chairman Stephen Targett said.

"Without urgent support, some of our beekeepers will struggle to survive financially.

"We are calling on the public to back our beekeepers now, not just for their sake, but for the sake of Australia's entire agricultural and food production industries."

An $18 million compensation package for registered beekeepers affected by the varroa mite outbreak was announced by the NSW and federal governments on July 9.

Registered commercial beekeepers will be reimbursed for all equipment, hives and bees that are destroyed in the eradication process, as well as the costs of honey.

The Buy A Bee campaign has been launch to ensure Rural Aid, with the support of the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council, will have the capacity to direct assistance to impacted beekeepers quickly.

"Through the process of government, sometimes it takes a little bit of time for assistance to get to people," Mr Warlters said. "An organisation like Rural Aid is able to move quickly, and is able to get assistance to people rapidly."

Rural Aid's Buy A Bale campaign was not only successful in raising millions to buy feed for livestock and provide support to farmers, but in bringing communities that would otherwise have little to do with each other, together.

It is hoped the community spirit that fuelled the success of the Buy A Bale campaign will shine as equally bright in supporting the nation's beekeeping industry which is in crisis.

"As it tends to be, because it's the Aussie way, when there's a tough set of circumstances in front of somebody we rally around them to make sure they get the support that they need," Mr Warlters said.

"What we saw through Buy A Bale is that community groups and individuals, sporting clubs and organisations absolutely wanted to play a role and through Buy A Bale they were able to do that.

"There's every chance groups again will want to support our beekeepers and help our littlest livestock and if they wanted to do that, we wanted to create that outlet where they could direct those efforts and know the support they raise goes to a really trusted organisation like Rural Aid.

"We're very conscious that people put a lot of time and effort into raising money, and in turn they want to know that money is going to be directed to those who need it the most through a trusted organisation like Rural Aid."

HiveAid donations can be made and community fundraisers registered directly on Rural Aid's website: ruralaid.org.au/hiveaid.

Rural Aid is offering registered beekeepers and their families free counselling through its nationwide team of qualified counsellors.

"NSW DPI has identified mental health strain as the biggest issue currently facing these primary producers. Rural Aid is proud to be able to offer beekeepers immediate assistance in this area," Mr Warlters said.

Rural Aid is also supporting its affected beekeepers with financial assistance in the form of $500 prepaid Visa cards.

Donations can be made online at: ruralaid.org.au/hiveaid.

Beekeepers who aren't already registered with Rural Aid are encouraged to do so at: faa.ruralaid.org.au.

Click here to see NSW DPI's Varroa mite emergency response.

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