Most concerning to me is that the commercial beekeepers have the 
ear of Minnesota Dept of Ag (MDA) more then the little guy/gal. 

There is a line of communication betweeen the Minnesota Honey 
Producers Association (MHPA who have made this request) and MDA 
that does not exist with the 100's of  sideliners or backyard hobbyists. 

I can't speak for Marla but its widely known that she has a very good 
working relationship with MHPA and is much more of  a resource then 
MDA. 

I hope all who received the letter express their opinion.

I've noted here before that last season 4 commercial beekeepers 
were found with small hive beetle infestations in MN . Seems to me 
then that the apiary law is working and usefull. Currently MDA has no 
sampling plan for AHB nor any internal protocol for testing etc.

MHPA is not very happy with the lack of support by the state over the 
poplar tree/sevin lawsuit and the apperent (but denied at MDA) 
removal of Blaine White as the main bee person at MDA for his 
support of the bee industry.  A stiff increase in the apiary liscense fee 
was also quickly reccomended and approved by MDA in 2005 in what 
seem liked retribution over the large damage settlement the state had 
to pay out.

I guess I can understand the harsh feelings given I have not really 
seen the MDA or DNR come out publicly and show any support  or 
understanding of the seriousness of that incident.  

I think the state should not have allowed it to go to a lawsuit and 
instead admitted it was not good policy to be promoting an industry or 
spray progam that was injurious to the beekpeeing industry.  The word 
I've heard is that the state did not want to lose the fed grant money they 
acquired for the poplar tree plantation project and the lack of state 
funding for MDA made this a survival issue within MDA. Poor  
desicions may have prevailed in the face of job security. 
.
....so its a cat fight .

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