>Dr. Shimanuki addressed the alarming decline in beekeeping, which can be
>chalked up to "lies, damn lies and statistics".
 
Beekeeping must be one of the very few primary production activities where
the recommended entry path is "start small".  The best advice I had
(reflected by advice from others on the list) is "Start with 2 hives for the
first few years".  2 hives gives you options in the event of one hive
failing, comparison between behaviour of bees (if they are both bad-tempered
on the same day, it's not a hive problem) and practice in recognising what
is actually happening.  The amount of money invested is not great and if the
fascination does not last, the hives can either be sold or passed on to
another enthusiast.   After a couple of years, I graduated from the "Simple
beekeeping" books to the ABC and XYZ and was able to understand and learn
from what I was reading.
 
Expanding from 2 hives does mean acquiring your own extracting equipment
(instead of hiring, borrowing, improvising) but the same equipment will last
up to about 20 hives.
By this time you are producing more honey than you eat.  The next expansion
in equipment can take you up to 40 hives after which you should be looking
at mechanisation.
If you can run 40 hives successfully, you can run up to 200 with a little
help from the apiarists' supply company and you should have enough
experience to judge the economic viability of the investment.
 
Without the crippling capital investment required for other primary
producers in purchase of land and heavy equipment, you are contributing to
the nation's food resources in sustainable primary production.
 
Two factors inhibit entry to the industry by small scale beekeepers.
 
In Australia, the registration fee for 1 or more hives is in my view out of
proportion to the cost involved in administration.  In South Australia it is
either $40 or $45 (don't have my records handy), payable every 3 years.
 
The second problem I see in Australia is that beekeeping is regulated by
local government (whereas the registration fee is paid to State government
primary industry departments).  Local government is scared of bees and
terrified of the responsibility of granting permission.  Each council area
develops its own regulations and none of the regulations are "bee-friendly".
Bees are classed as feral animals with no regard of their services as
pollinators.  Council regulations generally forbid bees in suburban areas or
lay down rigid guide-lines (so far from roads, etc. that take no account of
whether the bees are creating a nuisance).  As the State Government Apiary
inspectors are responsible for dealing with neglected hives or nuisance
bees, surely the responsibility of deciding whether an apiary site is a
public nuisance could be transferred to them.
 
I see no possibility of politicians making courageous decisions to remove
obstacles in the path of new beekeepers but believe there will always be a
wealth of practical experience out there in the newbies that will translate
into a constant recruitment into the ranks of commercial beekeepers,
depending on circumstances and opportunities.
 
Betty McAdam
HOG BAY APIARY
Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island
j.h. & e. mcadam<[log in to unmask]
http://kigateway.eastend.com.au/hogbay/hogbay1.htm