Beekeeping in central Germany has changed significantly during the past decades, according to an experienced apiarist.
Rainer Hoffmann from Bad Hersfeld said honey farm managers were in charge of more bees in the old days.
Rainer, who owns three honeybee colonies, told the HNA newspaper: “Leisure-time apiarists used to own more colonies back in the days.”
The Hessian beekeeping enthusiast underlined: “My late father had between 30 and 35 colonies.”
Rainer, who did not elaborate on the reasons for this development, shares his love for beekeeping with his wife Doris. The couple harvest around 100 kilogrammes of honey each year from their hives which are situated in an organic orchard.
Speaking to HNA, the beekeeper from Bad Hersfeld also revealed that he had experienced changes regarding the period when the honey harvest would take place. Rainer cited climate change and differences in agriculture as decisive factors for this development.
Asked how he got into beekeeping, Rainer mentioned an unwavering determination to protect the environment and the fact that he had always loved honey.
The Bad Hersfeld Apiculture Association, which Rainer joined in 2017, celebrated its 140th anniversary earlier this year.
The organisation, which consists of teenagers as well as beekeepers beyond 90 years of age, embodies the passion for beekeeping among many residents of Germany.
More than 149,000 inhabitants of the country are members of the Federal Beekeepers Association.
Germany is among Europe’s 10 leading producers of honey. Blossom honey, forest honey, acacia honey and rapeseed honey are among the most common and popular variations of honey harvested in Germany.
Neither the large Central European country nor the European Union as a whole are self-sufficient when it comes to covering the soaring demand for the product.
Most of the EU’s honey imports originate from beekeepers in Turkey, Ukraine, China and different countries in South America.
