>Bob is right in that all commercial outfits are based on the bottom dollar,
never the long-term welfare of the bees.

The bees we use are continually being replaced like the cells in our body.
Four to six weeks and the bees are gone. Replaced by the next cycle. I buy
top quality queens every year with the best genetics.
I may be rare but *if* i am going to control varroa with chemicals then why
risk the latest fad in varroa tolerant bees?

I guess in that respect maybe Yoon is right. Bottom line first.

> When a beekeeper pimps his bees
from yard to yard, from one corner of the continent to another overnight,
for a myopic and immediate gain in his pocket,

Some have claimed migratory beekeepers are like ladies of the night.

this is a "pro-fit: operation in that anything
"fits" goes, a duct tape and baling wire operation.

Yoon please do not ask me to give up the baling wire & duct tape I carry in
each truck!

Also the loaded gun we carry in trucks.

 Missouri has always been the home of outlaws. Only today the outlaws drive
four wheel drive trucks and carry AK 47's. The country today in my opinion
is more dangerous than in the days of the wild west. Missouri has for years
had more meth lab busts than any stat in the union. Pot was listed as the
states largest cash crop for years. St Louis was listed as the most
dangerous city in the U.S. this year.

> There is no true
commitment (practice what one preaches) to save bees for the long haul when
the very livelihood of the keeper depends on it.

I don't quite understand Yoon. We work the bees like the Amish work their
field horses.

Years ago I said:
" A hive without a honey flow is like a duck without water" Bob Harrison
quote

Bees hoard honey. Bees like to expand the hive. We capitalize on these
traits and provide the nations pollination.

Would you take the work horse away from the Amish as the horse should be
simply grazing in a field?

 >No commercial outfit can
or will ever undergo not extracting honey a year, for instance.

What would be the purpose? Also the brood nests would plug with honey and
most hives would swarm.
I can see leaving plowed ground sit for a year but why the bees Yoon?

.>Hobbyists and some sideliners can and have stopped taking honey.

Wonderful but please buy local U.S. honey. If every person in America used a
tablespoon of honey daily we could not supply the demand.

 Thanks for the post Yoon!

Quite of resentment still exists against commercial beekeepers but we never
see it when those beekeepers are buying our packages & nucs.

Yes I treat my bees when needed and feed when needed and will continue. No 
plans to drop all treatments but great discussion!

bob

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