Hello All,

I really did not want to go any further with this, but I do want to clarify 
my thoughts in my Quality Honey post.

Eric replied:

“It seems Ron isn’t the first person to say something like this in this
discussion.  I’m wondering what you all mean by “trashing another
beekeeper’s product.”.  Obviously, it would be “trashing” to say, “Mr.
Doe’s honey is [expletive]”, but what would you think if I (or another
beekeeper said to his customers, for instance, “Many beekeepers use a
couple different antibiotics, various synthetic pesticides including one of
a particularly toxic class of pesticides called organophosphates, chemical
fumigants, repellants, as well as flat out illegal substances in connection
with honey production”?”

Actually I was thinking more of all the beekeepers that do some or all of 
the above and then trash another beekeeper that doesn’t, stating “That’s 
hogwash!  All honey is the same and all that stuff about heating, filtering, 
and chemicals is just more hogwash!

However I am very much opposed to the “Many beekeepers…” statement.   I 
applaud anyone attempting to keep bees using few or no chemicals whenever 
possible.  I also get very upset when someone in any aspect of agriculture 
cheats and uses terms that would be misleading knowing full well they will 
not be challenged and can get away with it.  But just like in the rest of 
agriculture the use and not abuse of some chemicals does not necessarily 
make the product inferior or even dangerous.  Using the “many beekeepers” 
statement tends to suggest that any use of “chemicals” is evil and 
dangerous.

For years, especially when our children were young, we tried to live a more 
“natural” existence.  In fact, that is how I got started in beekeeping.  We 
used honey rather than sugar.  Somewhere along the line we thought having a 
few beehives would be a “good idea”.  I had a huge organic garden and made 
compost by the ton.  One thing I learned was that if you had healthy soil 
plants grew better.  I also learned that occasionally using a chemical 
fertilizer is not a sin that should be punished by banishment from the 
garden for life. I do believe that you cannot just depend on chemicals and 
give nothing back to the soil.  Whether it was our children, goats, pets, 
plants or bees; if they were sick, I was glad to have “chemicals” in my life 
to help cure them.  I am sure that some will agree and others will not.  But 
that has always been and will always be the debate.

If one claims to know anything about being “organic” then the name Rodale 
should be well known.  For almost 20 years I have kept bees at the Rodale 
Institute.  You can take that statement for what it is worth.  Does that 
mean the honey my bees produce in this area is better, healthier, safer, 
etc, than the honey I product on another farm four miles away?  Maybe, maybe 
not. Who knows?  However I am sure I could spin this to make someone believe 
it is.  I do tell folks is that we are very particular in where we establish 
our apiaries and won’t put our bees just anywhere.  I will tell them where 
my bees are located and why I have chosen these sites.  One of the main 
reasons is the sites are good for the bees!

As I stated earlier, a number of factors influence the quality of honey.  As 
it is with plants and healthy soil, good honey starts with healthy bees. 
IMHO some things have to be done to keep them healthy.  There is one great 
factor that affects keeping bees healthy and this affect is not shared by 
everyone on this list.  I am talking about winter.  If I do something wrong 
in the fall, I probably won’t have bees in the spring.  In milder climates 
of the south or southwest, you may get a second chance to fix what is broke 
as you don’t have a four month period where you can’t work you bees.  There 
is nothing in beekeeping that makes me feel more depressed then losing a 
bunch of colonies over winter.  That said I will do what I think needs to be 
done in order to prevent that from happening. Does that make me one of the 
“many beekeepers”? Who knows maybe it does, but with at least 20 winters 
under my belt I am willing to accept that charge if it means surviving and 
thriving colonies.

Ron Bogansky
Kutztown, PA

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