Apiculture NZ National Honey Competition names top producers

Photo / File

The best honey producers have been named at the Apiculture New Zealand National Honey Competition held at the industry's annual conference recently.

The conference hosted more than 1000 delegates from the apiculture industry at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre from June 24 to 26.

The National Honey Competition honoured producers across a range of honey categories and named the top overall producer at a gala dinner on Saturday evening.

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

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

Supreme Honey Award winner Jarved Allan (centre) with Maureen Conquer, head honey judge and sponsor Kevin Powell of Kiwi Labels. Photo / Supplied

The runner-up was Rotorua-based, non-commercial beekeeper Kim Poynter who received three gold medals, one silver and a bronze.

In third place were Jody and Ralph Mitchell of Kaimai Range Honey from Tauranga, who received one gold, two silvers and a bronze medal.

The judging panel was extremely impressed with the quality and taste of the honeys entered, Head judge Maureen Conquer said at the award ceremony.

Peter Molan Trophy winner Dr Phil Lester (centre) with Bruce Wills, chair of Apiculture New Zealand and Jane Calvert from sponsor Oha Honey. Photo / Supplied

"It was an absolute pleasure to sample these honeys over the past day and a half and extremely difficult to determine the winners.

"The number and quality of entries is continuing to increase each year, showing the true wealth of talent in our industry."

All entries were blind tasted, and an international scale of points was used to determine the winners across 12 main categories.

The awards were highly contested amongst beekeepers and honey producers, Apiculture New Zealand chief executive Karin Kos said.

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

Apiculture NZ Sustainability Award winners Carolyn McMahon and Barry Hantz of Hantz Honey with Bruce Wills (left) chair of Apiculture New Zealand. Photo / Supplied

The Apiculture New Zealand conference also was an opportunity to celebrate other successes within the industry, with awards presented to those making outstanding achievements in apiculture science, innovation, sustainability and photography.

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

Dr Phil Lester of Victoria University, Wellington, was awarded the Peter Molan trophy for his exceptional contribution to apiculture science, while New Zealand-based firm Ecrotek received the Roy Paterson Trophy for apicultural innovation for their plant-based, carbon-neutral bee frames.

Hantz Honey, from Leeston, South Canterbury received the Apiculture New Zealand Sustainability Award for their commitment to sustainability within their business, and Hawke's Bay beekeeper John Berry received the "Unsung Hero Award" for his outstanding contribution to the industry.

The winning image from the Apiculture New Zealand National Photography Competition's People's Choice Award, taken by Lindenberg Gomes. Photo / Supplied

The Supreme winner in the ApiNZ National Photography competition was Hazel Moran, a non-commercial beekeeper from Auckland, while the People's Choice Award was given to Lindenberg Gomes for his bee-filled portrait.

Find the full results from the Apiculture New Zealand National Honey Competition here.

Results of the other competitions are available here.