Perspectives on Well-being Among Commercial Beekeepers in New Zealand

Introduction

The destructive nature of pests and diseases on Apis mellifera have prompted many countries to undertake annual surveys of colony losses. Given the importance of high-value honey exports and pollination services to the economy, New Zealand (NZ) began tracking over-winter colony losses in 2015. The NZ Colony Loss Survey is modelled on the COLOSS survey (Brodschneider & Gray, 2022), but has been adapted to the NZ apicultural context (Brown et al., 2018; Gray et al., 2022). In particular, the 2023 survey included questions pertaining to beekeeper well-being as a reaction to anecdotal reports and frequent conversations about beekeepers faring poorly in the current economic climate.

The survey included two assessments of subjective well-being, the first measuring wellness over the past two weeks and the second measuring overall life satisfaction. While beekeepers report high life satisfaction relative to the general populations in over 160 countries, beekeepers’ life satisfaction lags behind that of all other types of primary producers in NZ. Moreover, beekeepers’ immediate measure of well-being is low, on average, with nearly half of all commercial beekeepers below the recognized potential risk of mental health issues.

Given dramatic reductions in honey pricing in recent years, the industry’s battles with costly compliance issues, severe weather events, growing pressure from pests and disease, competition for floral resources, and the aging population of beekeepers, these results are perhaps not surprising. Other aspects of the job, such as working outdoors and the physical demands of the job, are viewed positively by beekeepers.

In this paper, we describe the survey data and detail our well-being measures. We then compare well-being among beekeepers to well-being in NZ primary industry more generally. Next, we identify factors that may impact well-being, whether positively or negatively, informed by written survey responses. We then conclude.

Methods

Survey Data

Data for this study come from the 2023 NZ Colony Loss Survey (www.landcareresearch.co.nz/bee-health), which is undertaken annually on behalf of Biosecurity New Zealand. The questionnaire is based on the international COLOSS survey (www.coloss.org) and was reviewed at Manaaki Whenua—Landcare Research under the NZ Association of Social Science Research’s social ethics guidelines (approval #2023/02). It was administered online.

NZ beekeepers are legally required to register all hives with the American Foulbrood Pest Management Agency, and all registered beekeepers who included an email address were invited to participate. In winter 2023, 43% of all registered NZ beekeepers completed the survey, reporting on more than 35% of all registered colonies. This study focuses on the 235 respondents who identified as commercial beekeepers.

Measures of Subjective Well-being

The 2023 NZ Colony Loss Survey included two measures of subjective well-being, the “WHO-5” Wellbeing Index and the “Cantril Ladder” measure of life satisfaction.

The WHO-5 inventory is a concise tool for evaluating subjective well-being at a given point in time (Topp et al., 2015). The measure has been validated for screening individuals at risk of mental health issues in clinical settings (Bech et al., 2003) and has been used to assess the effectiveness of interventions to improve well-being over time (Topp et al., 2015).

The simple scale consists of five statements, as follows:

1. “I have felt cheerful and in good spirits”

2. “I have felt calm and relaxed”

3. “I have felt active and vigorous”

4. “I woke up feeling fresh and rested”

5. “My daily life has been filled with things that interest me.”

Respondents indicate the frequency with which they agreed with each statement over the previous two weeks on a 0–5 scale, with 0 indicating “at no time” and 5 indicating “all of the time.” Summing the score over the five statements yields an overall score ranging from 0 to 25. Scores of 18 and above are indicative of high well-being and positive mental health while scores of 13 and below generally suggest poor well-being and a higher likelihood of experiencing mental health challenges, such as anxiety and depression.

The Cantril Ladder (Cantril, 1965) is also widely used to measure subjective well-being. Using a ladder as a metaphor in which the bottom step (labeled “0”) represents “worst possible life” and the top step (labeled “10”) indicates “best possible life,” respondents are prompted “on which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?” This measure is widely used to measure life satisfaction, with scores of 6 and above indicating “high” life satisfaction (WHO, 2023).

The Cantril Ladder measure is routinely included in nationally representative surveys undertaken in more than 160 countries; these data are reported in the annual World Happiness Report (Helliwell et al., 2023). Factors reflecting local context have been shown to strongly influence average scores. For example, wealthy Finland and Denmark reported the highest average scores in 2022 at 7.80 and 7.57, respectively, with NZ coming tenth at 7.12; respondents in Afghanistan reported the lowest average score at 1.86.

Results

Beekeeping is a largely commercial endeavor in NZ, with 4% of beekeepers operating 80% of production colonies in 2022. High colony losses, poor financial settings, and other demands of beekeeping disproportionately affect those who make their livings from beekeeping (Stahlmann-Brown et al., 2023), hence our analysis focuses on commercial operators who own their beekeeping businesses.

The average WHO-5 score for commercial owner-operators is 13.38. Nearly half (48.5%) of these respondents score 13 or below, which is indicative of poor well-being and a higher likelihood of experiencing mental health challenges, underscoring the strain of NZ beekeeping in the current environment.

The average score for the Cantril Ladder is 6.18. While this figure is substantially lower than for NZ as a whole (Helliwell et al., 2023), it remains above the threshold for “high” life satisfaction (WHO, 2023).

Context has been shown to influence well-being scores at the sub-population level. For example, Gevaert et al. (2018) report that farmers report lower WHO-5 scores than the general European population as a result of factors, such as financial insecurity, long hours, unpredictable weather, and social isolation. To provide greater context for our figures on beekeeper wellbeing, we compare beekeepers’ wellbeing scores to those reported in a separate survey of NZ’s primary sector (Stahlmann-Brown et al., 2023) conducted two weeks before the NZ Colony Loss Survey.

Beekeepers have lower WHO-5 scores, on average, than sheep and beef farmers, arable farmers, horticulturalists, and foresters and higher WHO-5 scores, on average, than dairy farmers (Figure 1). Average scores for the Cantril Ladder are lower for beekeepers than for those engaged in any other primary industry (Figure 2).

Figure 1. Average scores of WHO-5 Well-being Index (0–25 scale) across NZ primary industries.

Figure 2. Average scores of the Cantril Ladder measure of life satisfaction (0–10 scale) across NZ primary industries.

To better understand how NZ’s beekeeping context may impact wellbeing, the survey further asked how each of the following factors affect feelings at the present time (if at all): honey bee health and biosecurity; financial aspects of beekeeping; regulation and compliance; workload and time management; weather and working outdoors; other beekeepers and landowners; physical aspects of beekeeping; and technical and financial support for beekeepers (the selection of these factors was informed by a review of the growing literature on wellbeing in the primary sector, including the recent meta-analysis of farmers’ work environment and mental health by Lundqvist et al., 2023). Respondents answered on a “very negative” to “very positive” scale. In addition, respondents were invited to describe other important factors that were not listed.

The distribution of responses is reported in Figure 3. Financial aspects of beekeeping and technical financial support were identified as having the most negative influence on well-being. Weather and working outdoors and physical aspects of the job were identified as having the most positive influence.

Figure 3. Beekeeper responses to how selected factors influence well-being at the present.

Finally, survey respondents were randomly shown one factor (e.g. regulation and compliance) and asked to specify considerations that influenced their evaluation, whether positively or negatively. These qualitative responses informed the discussion below.

Nine Areas of Well-being Described

Honey bee Health and Biosecurity

Honey bee health can change rapidly in NZ. Varroa destructor (which arrived in 2000) and its associated viruses are now the main concern, and its ability to deteriorate hive health can leave beekeepers vulnerable to heavy losses. Results of the NZ Colony Loss Survey reflect the increasing impact of varroa on colony health: the share of healthy colonies lost over winter to varroa and related complications increased from 1.6% in 2017 (Stahlmann-Brown et al., 2022) to 6.4% in 2022 (Stahlmann-Brown & Robertson, 2022).

While varroa may be the main threat to hive health, other concerns remain. Beekeepers are legally required to euthanize colonies deemed to have become infected with American foulbrood (AFB). Part of this process is often the destruction of much of the associated hiveware. This loss of stock and equipment can negatively affect a beekeeper’s well-being, especially in instances of high AFB infections.

Invasive wasps prey on honey bee colonies in many parts of the country, by robbing honey from hives and by killing and consuming the bees themselves. This is a highly visible setback to a beekeeper’s stock which can be distressing if not adequately managed.

Other issues, such as failing queens, chalkbrood infestations, and nosema are troubling for beekeepers tasked with righting such problems amongst their stock. Conversely, when such issues of hive health as these are all kept at bay, it can be extremely rewarding to watch strong, populous colonies go about their work.

Biosecurity may not be seen as a threat by beekeepers who have not yet faced bee-related incursions and who may not realize the potential impacts to NZ. However, small hive beetle could cripple beekeeping operations until chillers are installed to keep the beetle larvae and its sliming activity at bay. European foulbrood could also cause issues until resistant stock is bred. Neither of these threats to honey bee health is currently present in NZ owing to NZ’s geographical isolation and strict regulations on importing honey and bee products (www.mpi.govt.nz/import/food/honey-bee-products), although both are present in Australia (Boncristiani et al., 2020). Should an unwanted incursion occur, biosecurity could become the dominant concern among beekeepers.

Financial Aspects of Beekeeping

The beekeeper ensures the health of colonies by facilitating honey bee productivity, whether for honey production, pollination services, or other hive products. Yet, optimizing productivity comes at a considerable cost for commercial beekeepers.

Labor, vehicles, bee health, and nutrition costs are the major input costs to beekeepers. To be effective, these inputs must be provided on time and without the beekeeper taking shortcuts.

Input costs have risen steeply in price in the past two years, alongside even sharper reductions in honey prices. Increasing expenses coupled with significant declines in income have forced many beekeepers out of business while straining the well-being of those sticking it out.

If a business is stable financially and has good access to extra finance, beekeepers can generally sit comfortably, knowing their livestock are healthy and profitability can be achieved. Even when things are not going so well, financially fit beekeepers can focus on fixing issues that arise. However, when funds are tight, beekeepers may need to make judgment calls on what is a priority or affordable. Any reduction in yield can ultimately impact future bee health and create a downward spiral effect on the business as the timing or quantities of management activities are compromised.

Beekeepers are generally passionate about beekeeping, but not generally well-rehearsed in operating a business that is under pressure from banks and other stake holders. However, the nature of beekeeping operations’ cashflow generally means reliance on seasonal overdraft facilities to enable the matching of costs and income. It is possible that a beekeeper may have to outlay 100% of the costs before receiving any income, the stress of which may be compounded by delays in selling honey and the receipt of payment.

Therefore, it is unsurprising that financial well-being was found to have the most negative impact, with 69% of commercial beekeepers reporting that financial factors negatively impact their well-being.

Regulation and Compliance

Older beekeepers can remember a time of few compliance regulations and little need for documentation of their operations. However, beekeeping has become increasingly regulated and compliance costs have dramatically increased in an effort to protect honey markets. While protecting the end consumer of honey and the honey markets on which NZ’s apiculture industry relies is important, the compliance costs imposed on beekeepers have a profoundly negative influence on wellbeing. Regulation and compliance were viewed negatively by 54% of survey respondents and positively by only 16%.

For beekeepers who export honey, the six-monthly audit to maintain their risk management programme (RMP) for export compliance can be particularly stressful. Failure to achieve a pass from the auditor can be crippling to a honey production business. Compliance demands for domestic supply can also be onerous, although beekeepers who do not register their premises for honey extraction, storage, or packing can avoid this area of compliance.

Outside of RMP audits, costs of honey testing in the name of compliance have also risen steeply. Testing for the absence of AFB spores as well as the absence of glyphosate residues is now required to access several key international markets. In addition, beekeepers must demonstrate the absence of toxins from the native tutu plant. This requires compliance activity too, which for commercial operators is usually achieved through honey testing.

Export standards for mānuka honey introduced in 2018 also require lab testing. If honey from areas with abundant mānuka does not meet the export standard—as has been borne out—beekeepers can struggle to understand and accept the rules. Coupled with other regulations, such requirements increase stress for many beekeepers.

Workload and Time Management

The autonomy available to beekeeping business owners is no doubt a rewarding part of the occupation and this is reflected in 74% of respondents deeming this category as having a neutral or positive impact on wellbeing. However, beekeeping, like any form of farming, has strict timelines that must be adhered to if maximum productivity is to be achieved.

These requirements can lead to undesirably high workloads at certain times of the year, e.g. during harvest and during spring when starvation and bee health risks are at their highest. Conversely, workloads in winter months are often much lighter, and thus beekeeping in most areas of NZ has a well-defined “off-season,” at least from work inside the hives.

Beekeeping businesses range in size from sole operators to teams of dozens of beekeepers spread over several regions. While a staff of beekeepers can help spread the workload at busy times, human resource management can create additional work for the business.

Good time management and an acceptable workload make for a less stressful working environment. The stress removed and satisfaction gained from a well-designed and implemented work program can lead to feelings of achievement and ease any self-doubt and negativity that can creep in when things do not go according to plan.

Weather and Working Outdoors

The art and business of beekeeping is to organize and build hives up to peak strength and place them on a chosen site just as the targeted flowers emerge. Thus—when hopefully combined with favorable weather conditions—a good honey crop or pollination result can be achieved. A sunny, warm, calm day in the apiary during the honey flow can leave beekeepers euphoric and feeling they have the best office there is as they watch their bees working a good honey flow.

However, island weather patterns can be erratic—even in summer—and idyllic conditions may turn poor, eliminating a year’s total nectar flow in a matter of hours. This makes honey production in many parts of NZ fickle, both economically and emotionally, which may in turn affect overall beekeeper well-being.

Spring and autumn can also be challenging as the weather is changeable. With hives to shift, pollination contracts to fulfill, feeding to do, varroa management to undertake, and honey crops to process, unsupportive weather wreaks havoc with planning, potentially raising beekeepers’ stress levels.

Extreme weather can also lead to extreme stressors for the beekeeper. Indeed, it is estimated that up to 8000 hives were destroyed during Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023 alone, with some beekeepers reporting that they lost over 80% of their living colonies (Rural News, 2023).

It is perhaps a testament to the attractiveness of working outdoors with bees that, even in a year of greatly reduced honey production due to the weather, including extreme flooding and cyclones, the draw of the outdoor lifestyle remains the most positive influence on beekeeper wellbeing: 42% of commercial beekeepers described the weather and working outdoors as having a somewhat positive effect on their wellbeing and 19% described it as having a very positive effect on their wellbeing.

Other Beekeepers and Landowners

The value of sharing knowledge within beekeeping circles is extensive, and having other beekeepers who can help out in times of ill health or high workloads is also very important. The trust and bonds that enable these things to happen develop over time, often through shared business interests and socializing, facilitate improved well-being.

However, NZ saw a rapid increase in both beekeeper and hive numbers in the second decade of the century, resulting in considerable friction. Established beekeepers saw costs increase, higher incidence of pest and disease, and falling production levels; some new beekeepers were locked out of prime areas and were blamed for bad behavior. Hive theft and vandalism became problematic in some parts of the country. Such attitudes and behaviors lower beekeepers well-being.

Similarly, relationships with landowners can be both very rewarding and very troubling for beekeepers. Beekeeping is sometimes a solitary role—especially for owner-operators—and positive interactions with landowners are welcomed and, oftentimes, the very foundation from which apiculture businesses operate. However, it is common in NZ for beekeepers to pay for the right to place hives and to enter into profit-share arrangements with landowners. If such agreements do not offer the beekeeper flexibility in tough times, landowner relationships can become strained and put stress on a business.

Physical Aspects of Beekeeping

Beekeeping is a physically demanding occupation with exposure to heavy lifting, repetition, and awkward postures. Such physical demands can lead to pain and limitations to movement. In addition, physical activities may put the beekeeper at risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders. Moreover, pain can manifest through sleep disturbance, affecting mood and concentration. Beekeepers need to be physically and mentally active to perform their tasks, and distractions resulting from pain may not only reduce physical capacity but also productivity and profitability.

On the other hand, beekeeping activities can provide the movement required to maintain physical fitness and endorphin release unattainable in many jobs in the modern world. A physically fit and healthy beekeeper’s work can help them maintain overall health, all while completing productive tasks, and more than half of the respondents to the survey saw the physical requirements of beekeeping as positively influencing their well-being.

Notably, some aspects of beekeeping have been mechanized in recent decades, with improved abilities of off-road vehicles, various hive-lifting tools, palletized hives and pumps to facilitate easier feeding (to name a few of the more common examples) reducing the physical demands for many beekeepers. Nevertheless, many tasks require prolonged standing and awkward postures, often in hot conditions and with repetitive heavy lifting. These requirements of the job seem to be readily accepted by the majority of beekeepers though, as only 14% of beekeepers deem the physical requirements as a negative impactor on well-being.

Technical and Financial Support for Beekeepers

Beekeepers in NZ have fewer supports—both technical and financial—than those in other primary industries.

All hive owners are legally mandated to pay a levy to control AFB, supporting a management agency tasked with offering targeted technical support. The apiculture industry, however, lacks a wider levy, whereas industry levies support research, innovation, and marketing in sectors, such as viticulture, forestry, and dairy. Moreover, research support from the central government (e.g. Sustainable Food and Fibers Futures funding) requires significant industry co-funding. The Honey Industry Trust is a fund established in the 1980s that financially supports projects in NZ apiculture, but such monies are not readily available directly to the beekeeper.

Two industry bodies exist at a national level; both provide technical support to their members, but membership is voluntary. Numerous beekeeping groups and region-specific clubs provide in-person support to apiarists, although they are generally focused on hobbyist beekeepers. As such, most NZ commercial beekeepers rely on outdated or off-shore sources of technical advice.

Moreover, unlike many other primary industries in NZ, honey sellers do not have a combined trading model through which their produce is sold. This leaves beekeepers without the support that comes with structures, such as cooperatives and single-desk selling.

Financial support for beekeepers is also extremely limited. Banks generally do not value beehives as collateral, making access to credit difficult, and while the government established a $250,000 fund to minimize the escalation of disease in hives that have been affected by Cyclone Gabrielle, many beekeepers reported difficulty accessing this financial support.

As a result, just 13% of survey respondents described technical and financial support for beekeepers as having a positive effect on their well-being.

Other Factors

While the survey questionnaire asked respondents to reflect on the above categories, the survey also included an “other” category whereby respondents could provide written answers. The main factor that was raised was succession planning.

With 25% of responding beekeepers aged 60 or older, several beekeepers expressed concern about what would happen to their hives if something should happen to them due to an accident, sickness, or death. A robust succession plan could instill a secure feeling and peace of mind knowing that their bees would receive continued caring attention. Lack of a plan can elevate stress levels, especially if it will lead to financial hardship due to the lack of a profitable business sale.

Conclusions

While the results of this initial survey show beekeeper well-being below that of other primary producers in NZ, digging deeper into the contributing factors shows the potential for that to be reversed.

For example, honey markets have been volatile since the surge in demand for mānuka honey. With finances being the largest negative contributor to well-being at present, there is great potential for that to change. So too could regulation and compliance and technical and financial support since these are human-made (and thus human-controlled) influences.

Beekeeper well-being was buoyed by working outdoors, despite a cold and wet summer limiting honey production drastically, plus cyclones and floods affecting several parts of the country. Workload and time management are also positively affecting well-being, despite the financial strains inflicted on many businesses due to current honey prices.

Interestingly, well-being amongst beekeepers was lower than that of operators in most other primary industries, despite common underpinnings, such as climate, seasonal workloads, physical demands, and stock health. The greater negative impact of such common factors for beekeepers represents an area for further research.

This initial survey has shed significant light on where the apiarist’s well-being sits and how beekeepers view numerous factors as influencing their well-being. However, greater insight will be gained by asking similar questions of beekeepers in future years, from which data trends can be identified and influences connected. It will only be with the benefit of future connected surveys that we gain a more complete understanding of what leads to a beekeeper being “well.”

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, PSB. The data are not publicly available due to their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment through the strategic science investment funding for Manaaki Whenua–Landcare Research.