>
> >Assuming this is the same Remebee that is active against IAPV that we
> have read about, I have to assume that you think IAPV is a serious problem
> in your apiary, no?


No, I have no reason to believe that it is currently a *serious* problem.
 But there a "normal" percentage of my colonies that are not thriving.
 What I do have, as do others in the trial, is a curiosity to see whether
Remebee makes a noticeable difference in colony strength going into almonds.

> Why else would you spend the money and take the risk (there is always a
> risk).
>

For the benefit of beekeepers, of course!  Little progress is ever made
without someone willing to stick their neck out and take a risk. I want to
collect the hard data myself, so that I can interpret the raw data myself.
 The trial is actually a pain--having to carefully mix and feed the two
solutions to the right hives in each yard.  Then it takes half a day of
back-straining work each time to grade 100 hives for strength (two groups
of 100, scattered among about ten yards, each needing to be graded three
times).  And then pay for the solutions (one being a placebo) on top of
that!

Then it will be many hours of entering the data into Excel, and analyzing
the results.  Afterward, I will publish them for free access to all
beekeepers.  For that, I will get called a pawn for Monsanto!

>
> >If IAPV isn't a significant problem (I don't think it is for most), then
> are you in the position of paying for Monsanto's research?  That seems a
> bit weird to me.


Because beekeepers stand to benefit--Duh!  That is the only motivation that
drives me.  Remebee targets IAPV specifically, but also affects the closely
related ABPV and KBV.  I assure you that the three of these viruses are
indeed serious problems in apiaries worldwide, and strongly associated with
colony collapse, poor buildup, and hampered production.

But this trial is mainly for proof of concept.  I've seen that Remebee had
a noticable positive effect when we inoculated hives.  Now I want to see
what it will do under "normal" field conditions.  If it proves out, that
will give Beeologics (which is an independent company within Monsanto, and
solely dedicated to bees) the juice to pursue RNAi against nosema and
varroa, so that we won't have to use riskier treatments.

>
> >The other thing I took from your reply (and please correct me if I'm
> wrong) is that despite your freedom to talk about your experiences in the
> trials, you have signed a NDA, and some things that might come up in
> relation to Remebee and Monsanto might be covered under that NDA...you
> would be contractually prohibited from saying some things to the beekeeping
> public, even if you thought it was in their best interests to know.
>

I signed an NDA with Beeologics, not Monsanto.  Monsanto's not going to
tell me squat--so nothing to hide.  Beeologics has nothing to hide, except
perhaps proprietary sequences or plans in development, which would be made
public anyway as soon as protected from competitors.  This puts me in a
situation in which they may ask my advice on details or suggestions for
future research direction.  I would consider that proprietary.

If I were to revoke my NDA at this point, I doubt that much would change,
because very little is ever discussed that is proprietary--I don't feel any
need to know the details of their proprietary manufacturing process.

If any beekeeper at this point doubts my integrity, I don't really care--I
know who am I am what I stand for.  So as a reality check, think it
through:  the critics feel that Monsanto bought Beeologics as a greenwash
(I imagine that is partially true).  So how would it look if Monsanto threw
Randy Oliver in jail for speaking truthfully outside the bounds of a non
disclosure agreement.  Wouldn't look so good for them, huh?

>

Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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