On Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:48:31 -0500, Steve Noble <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>It seems to me there is a difference between the beekeeping model and the
>commercial agriculture model as they pertain to chemical use.  

I don't think so. To me pest control is not either organic or chemical; it is a continuum. Everyone 
who controls any sort of pest lies somewhere on this continuum at some point. IPM is about 
locating on the continuum at the point where costs and safety balance. Necessarily this point 
moves about as conditions change. Farmers in general see the benefit of IPM in the use of less 
chemicals as it may be cheaper to do without. Overuse of chemicals also reduces their 
effectiveness, hence the need to use pest controls tactically rather than as a blanket.


> Two; the chemicals beekeepers use seem to adversely affect mainly themselves, hence the 
diminishing returns.  

Excuse me, but what about chemicals in the honey? -- not to mention the loss of bees as 
pollinators if the beekeepers themselves are actually to blame for CCD as some (not I) have 
suggested. Seriously, I want US beekeepers and US farmers to succeed. I already buy plenty of 
foreign produce and I enjoy those products. But I DO NOT want to see the day arrive where I 
can't get a NY State apple -- or jars of local basswood and buckwheat honey. I want NYS cheese, 
sweet corn, etc. NYS red wine isn't there yet, but if we end up getting hot dry summers due to 
global warming, it could improve.

pb

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