The Stinger: What My Job Is

Over the course of the next week or so I will be doing a series on the Australian Honey Bee Industry. If you have any questions, keep them in mind, they may actually be answered in the blog series. At the end of the series, if they're not answered, the final blog post will be created to answer them.

Most people don't really understand what my job is. My role is Bee Biosecurity Officer for PIRSA (Primary Industries and Regions South Australia) and I have equivalents in NSW, Vic, Tas, WA and there will soon be a Bee Biosecurity Officer in Queensland.

I am not a beekeeper. I don't have to be a beekeeper. I don't particularly want to be a beekeeper while I'm employed in this role.

My role is to educate and encourage compliance in beekeepers in South Australia. I have two compliance angles: the Honey Bee Industry Code of Practice; and the South Australian Livestock Act. Another education aspect of my role is to help beekeepers be able to identify various bee pests and diseases and what to do if they find them.

My role is not to save the bees. It is to save the beekeepers from themselves or each other depending on the situation. "Saving" the bees is a topic I will cover later.

The position is industry funded. In a convoluted way, I work for Plant Health Australia and PIRSA. This is all complicated so I will not elaborate further.

One of the worst bee diseases in Australia is called American Foulbrood. Undetected, it can kill a hive. It's highly infectious and therefore, easily spread. This is the main bee disease I focus on though there are others. American Foulbrood is not uncommon and is a notifiable disease in every state and territory. Most beekeepers are pretty good at dealing with it themselves, some require help which I am willing to provide and some are just plain rogue and their path usually comes with a fair bit of anger, frustration and disappointment as a result.

I do not deal with federal issues. I have no control over honey imports from other countries  (covered in a later blog) or the use of chemicals  (covered in a later blog). I don't hate Capilano  (covered in a later blog). I just do my job as best I can for the industry that pays me in a fashion that is clearly set out by my two employers.

Stay tuned for way more interesting stuff.