> Just because no chems are used in the beehive doesn't mean that the bees don't come in contact with agricultural chemicals when foraging.  Would not that condition negate the possibility for being organic?

This is a sticking point with trying to be "organic beekeepers" in the USA. Whereas, in organic farm certification it is practices that are scrutinized, with beekeeping there is the additional requirement that the bees not be foraging in areas where there is conventional agriculture, on the notion that the honey might be "tainted". No testing is mandated; it's guilty with no trial. 

There are a few areas in the US where such beekeeping could be practiced, but clearly no evidence that the honey is different in any measurable way from honey produced in ag areas. In my case, all of the honey comes from non-cultivated flora, and I have never used anything on my current hives except thymol. 

But I am not considered organic by the regs, because there is corn grown in my township.

Pete

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