- Hello Dennis & All,
 I would like to point out that the commercial beekeeper Dennis was involved
 with is not the commercial beekeeper I see today. Which is why I get upset
 when some on the list try to bundle us all together.

 The May issue of the American Bee journal came today and there is an
article
 on page 487 about my friend John Miller. Although John is a fourth
 generation beekeeper we first met at the American Beekeeping Federation
 meeting in Norfolk in the early nineties.

 We found time to go to lunch. Spent an hour talking bees and bee industry.

 The older generation talking to the next generation of beekeeper.

 I was asked later my thoughts on John Miller. I said the industry is in
good
 hands if the next generation of beekeepers are like John.

I remember our conversation and John asking about the huge analog bag phone
I was carrying. I said that in the near future almost every beekeeper in the
restaurant will carry a hand held phone and the size will be of a credit
card. I let many people try the phone out at the meeting. Unlike my cell
phone the old analog would call from most locations without losing the
signal.

I remember John saying he had overheard me talking about burning down half
my honey processing area with fire so intense it completely burned a tire
off the loader which was in the area.
I told John the fire was a minor distraction as I had insurance to cover the
loss and the honey processing area should be completed by the time I return
from Norfolk. We discussed the value of insurance. When I returned the
construction was complete except for paint. I was asked by the company ( by
bag phone) while in Norfolk if they could pull part of the insurance
construction crew as they needed to start a job for Coca-Cola at a plant in
Kansas which had a fire.

I said ok as long as they absorbed my deductable. They quickly agreed.

My father and I had built my processing area and when the repair was
complete the job was not done as well as we had done originally and I found
a spot of smoke missed by the cleaning crew but the fire did not cost me
dearly as the beekeepers which have had fires and did not carry insurance
*and* three weeks after the fire the place was usable again.

Read the article and meet the future of U.S. commercial beekeeping!

bob h.

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