I had the pleasure of working with a Bulgarian beekeeper this summer who
was trying to convert to organic honey production.  He was running his
bees in a government regulated watershed protection zone that
encompassed a large land mass in which any chemical application was
prohibited.  He was looking to organize all the beekeepers in his area
that ran bees in the watershed to form an organic cooperative. This
situation would not be uncommon in developing countries where chemical
fertilizers and pesticides are simply not available or too expensive for
use.  The trouble we have is getting third party certification that the
area was chemical free/organic and the other issue is organic mite
control.  The govt. of Bulgaria was working on certification by several
European certifying agencies, but I am most concerned about the
beekeeper's ability to keep mites below damaging levels with organic
controls.  We showed him the menu of currently available options,
stessed vigilence and monitoring, but I still fear for the long term
health of his bees.

Bill Lord
--
William G Lord
North Carolina State University
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
North Carolina Cooperative Extension
103 South Bickett Blvd., Louisburg, NC 27549
E-Mail  : [log in to unmask]
Phone   : 919-496-3344
Fax     : 919-496-0222