As 2020 gets closer, honey producers in Southern Manitoba are planning for their next crop.

Marc Nichol from Prairie Honeyworks near Bagot says they're working on a new way to market their honey.

"We're going to try and pre-sell, like a lot of other farmers would do with grains." he says. "Because we're finding that it's just a little too risky to go out and produce the honey, and be sure it's going to be sold for a profit. I think there are a few other producers that are in that same line of thinking. I think there's a little bit of optimism on the horizon."

Nichol says the last four or five years have been a bit slow, but this year could be different.

"We do collect the pollen grains from, the bees as well," he says. "That market's always been very stable for us, so we will continue to do that at the same level. And then, probably just up our honey production maybe ever so slightly for 2020."

Nichol tells us the industry as a whole is dealing a number of issues.

"I think honey bee health is a big one for us," he says. "It's a matter of keeping all of our diseases and everything in check, so that we can maintain healthy hives that in turn, will return better production for us. And of course, trying to maintain some markets that are feasible for producers to go into the future."