>It would be interesting to compare trends (number up + , or numbers down-)
and then to compare management objectives and style.

This is exactly what successful commercial beekeepers do all the
time--gauge their success against that of their friends and competitors
(who are often one and the same).

I speak with many of the most successful commercial beekeepers on a regular
basis.  The common thread is that they learn and adapt, and change their
management to keep ahead of the constantly-evolving challenges facing
bees.  And they are currently enjoying one of the most profitable periods
in memory for the keeping of bees as a business.  And they universally
dismiss what they call "crybaby" beekeepers, whom they feel practice PPB,
and then complain loudly when their colonies die.

Those are not my words, and I feel for any beekeepers who consistently
experience problems (and also feel for their bees).  I'm simply reporting
what I hear.  Just yesterday, a well-known and very successful
beekeeper/bee broker shared an email diatribe against PPB's (which I
hesitate to post) with a number of major players in the industry.
-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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