Beekeeping NZ National Honey Competition names the best producers

The best honey producers were nominated at the National Beekeeping New Zealand National Honey competition held recently at the annual industry conference.

The conference hosted over 1,000 delegates from the beekeeping industry at the Rotorua Energy Events Center from June 24-26.

The National Honey Competition honored producers in a range of honey categories and named the overall best producer at a gala dinner on Saturday evening.

The 2021 Supreme Prize winner was Jarved Allan of 100% Pure New Zealand Honey, based in Timaru.

Jarved received four gold and four silver for a variety of honeys, including liquid honey, naturally granulated honey, creamy honey, honeydew and cut comb.

The finalist was Rotorua non-commercial beekeeper Kim Poynter, who received three gold, one silver and one bronze.

In third place were Jody and Ralph Mitchell of Tauranga’s Kaimai Range Honey, who received one gold, two silver and one bronze.

The jury was extremely impressed with the quality and taste of the honeys presented, Chief Justice Maureen Conquer said at the awards ceremony.

Beekeeping New Zealand and Jane Calvert of sponsor Oha Honey. Photo / Supplied” class=”article-media__image responsively-lazy” data-test-ui=”article-media__image”/>

“It was an absolute pleasure to taste these honeys during the last day and a half and extremely difficult to determine the winners.

“The number and quality of applicants continues to increase each year, which shows the true wealth of talent in our industry.

All entries were blind tasted and an international point scale was used to determine the winners in 12 main categories.

Prices have been hotly contested among beekeepers and honey producers, said Karin Kos, general manager of Beekeeping New Zealand.

“Our industry knows that a medal at the ApiNZ National Honey Awards indicates the highest quality honey. We have so many beautiful honeys available in New Zealand, but the National Honey Award winners have produced something really special.”

The Beekeeping New Zealand conference was also an opportunity to celebrate other successes within the industry, with awards given to those who have made outstanding achievements in the fields of beekeeping science, innovation, durability and photography.

Listen to Jamie Mackay interview 100% Pure New Zealand Honey CEO Sean Goodwin on The Country below:

Dr Phil Lester of Victoria University, Wellington received the Peter Molan Trophy for his outstanding contribution to beekeeping science, while New Zealand-based company Ecrotek received the Roy Paterson Trophy for beekeeping innovation for its executives plant-based and carbon neutral bees.

Hantz Honey, of Leeston, in the south of Canterbury, received the Beekeeping New Zealand Sustainability Award for his commitment to sustainability within his business, and Hawke’s Bay beekeeper, John Berry, received the ‘Unsung Hero Award For his exceptional contribution to the industry.

The supreme winner of the ApiNZ National Photography Competition was Hazel Moran, a non-commercial beekeeper from Auckland, while the Audience Award went to Lindenberg Gomes for her bee-filled portrait.

Find all the results of the national honey competition Beekeeping New Zealand here.

The results of other competitions are available here.