Speaking of "organic beekeeping" --

On November 17, 2017 stakeholders from across Pennsylvania converged to State College to discuss beekeeping protocols for our upcoming research project. The project, funded by the USDA’s Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), will be a side-by-side comparison of honey bee health using three distinct management systems: conventional, organic and chemical-free. 

The López-Uribe Lab invited beekeepers that use these different management systems to participate in this meeting by providing details on the protocols they use in their operations. In addition, we requested that each group discuss a general definition of their management philosophies and new terminology to identify themselves.

Efforts to classify beekeepers into the various beekeeping philosophies is difficult. These management philosophies are a continuum more than discrete categories. However, for the purpose of the meeting, participants were split into three groups. One category grouped the beekeepers that are willing to use any product on the market to maintain healthy parasite-free colonies. These beekeepers, who we initially called conventional, re-named their group as ‘Adaptive Beekeeping’ because they are flexible in their decision making. 

The second group comprised beekeepers that do not use synthetic pesticides or antibiotics in their hives. Beekeepers in this group only use naturally-occurring chemicals, such as formic or oxalic acid, to treat pests. They also heavily rely on mechanical methods to control pests. Because they do not strictly use organic chemicals but multiple methods for pest management, they identify themselves as the ‘Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Non-Synthetic Management’ group. 

The last group of beekeepers was comprised of beekeepers who are unwilling to apply ‘non-bee’ derived products to the colony. Instead, these beekeepers rely on the bees’ natural mechanisms and their genetic disposition to keep the colonies thriving, only intervening with mechanical techniques when emergencies arise. This group identified themselves as the ‘Holistic Chemical Free Beekeeping’ group.

http://lopezuribelab.com/2017/11/20/comb-conventional-organic-management-bees/

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Comment: They got this right: there are "beekeepers that are willing to use any product on the market" -- legally approved or otherwise. Also, what does "non-bee derived products" include? Nothing, I suppose, but honey, pollen, and propolis. Sounds like a resurgence of the "bee-havers." It isn't beekeeping to let your bees die of disease when there are economical safe solutions.

PLB

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