A dozen of the East Maitland farmer's beehives have been destroyed since a varroa mite emergency response was activated in the region in New South Wales. Matt Dennis is desperate to get bees on his vegetable farm to pollinate his pumpkins, zucchinis, squash and watermelons. He claims that, as a result, his standard pumpkin crop of 10 tons to the acre is down by about 70 per cent.
"If they're gonna wipe out all the bees we need something to do the job," he says. "Otherwise, it takes out probably a quarter of our income, it's gone, and that makes it hard, moving forward."
Australia used to be the only continent free of the pest, which cripples European honey bees. However, since the detection of the pest in sentinel hives at the Port of Newcastle last June, hundreds of beehives have been destroyed to try to stop the spread.
One year on, farmers across the NSW Hunter Valley region say they are still struggling to grow some fruit, vegetables and nuts.
Some want the NSW Department of Primary Industries to stop trying to eradicate varroa and help farmers and beekeepers adapt to living with the mite.
One side effect of the huge loss of bee numbers is some farmers are growing huge fruit and veggies because they're getting more nutrients, with fewer fruit on the vine. But larger produce is often unappealing at markets and major grocers.
Source: abc.net.au