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Date: | Wed, 3 Oct 2007 11:12:59 -0400 |
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Jim Fischer writes: “Also, very few stationary beekeepers
could be called "sustainable", and almost no hobbyists.”
As you have already stated, what is sustainable and what is not do not
have universally accepted definitions. If by sustainable we mean someone
who keeps doing it year after year no matter what then I’m sure we can all
agree there are a lot of us glutens for punishment out there that have to
keep buying packages every couple of years who would fit that definition.
I know a lot of hobbyist beekeepers, and I can’t say any of them have
broken out of this cycle yet, although we still think it should be
possible. Most of these people resist using any kind of chemicals in their
hives, and yet they don’t do much alternative stuff either because it would
involve really concentrating on beekeeping. I mean you should see the line
of crusty old beekeepers at the Beez Neez Apiary Supply store every year at
package pickup time.
The other thing that needs clarification is what is the difference
between a hobbyist and a commercial beekeeper. I think it makes sense to
define commercial as anyone who at least tries to break even financially at
beekeeping. The reason I say this is because anyone who has more that
fifty hives and still thinks of himself as a hobbyist probably needs some
kind of counseling. That includes a lot of sub-corporate, non migratory
beekeepers who couldn’t fill a 1 ½ ton, flat bed pick up, much less a semi
truck, with hives. But as a hobbyist, being really small kind of puts you
at a disadvantage as far as keeping it all going year after year without
outside help goes. A real breeding program is kind of beyond the scope at
this level. A hard winter, or any one of the multitude of dreaded be
maladies can wipe you out or at least put you down to one or two hives
which doesn’t leave you with much to build back up with. I really
appreciate the package bee industry out there trying to give us the best
bee for the job. And I do like cheap almonds although I could live without
them… if I had to.
Steve Noble
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