Bydd gwenynwyr yn cystadlu am brif wobr y Sioe Frenhinol
Honey bees are an important part of the food chain. They pollinate some 40 per cent of the world’s food production, a little known fact but one which illustrates the global significance of the beekeeping industry. It is said that every third mouthful of food we eat is provided through pollination by honey bees. Pollination is worth £166m a year to the UK economy.
The Royal Welsh Agricultural Society is recognising the value of honey bees by this year offering its most prestigious prize, the Sir Bryner Jones Memorial Award, to the person who has made as significant contribution to beekeeping in Wales.
There are more than 2500 beekeepers in Wales and the beekeeping industry encompasses not only the production of honey but all the ancillary activities such as the manufacture and supply of beekeeping equipment, the scientific and research work that is continuously in progress and the retailing sector handling the sale of honey and other bee products.
The decision of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society to offer its premier award for 2008 for competition by beekeepers comes at an important time for the industry. Many colonies of bees are being destroyed by disease especially in the world’s largest honey producing areas such as California in the USA where the industry is worth a massive 14 billion dollars.
The varroa mite which attacks bees has done enormous damage in this country and it has wiped out feral colonies in Wales. However, in managed colonies the disease is largely under control.
Entries for the Sir Bryner Jones Award, which are nominated by the RWAS county advisory committees, close on April 7 and the presentation to the winner will take place on the opening day of the Royal Welsh Show in July.
Sir Bryner Jones was Professor of Agriculture at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and subsequently Welsh Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture. He was chairman of the RWAS Council from 1944 to 1953 and president of the society during its Golden Jubilee year in 1954.