> Data driven, yield charting, precision agriculture has become the norm for much of agriculture, but beekeeping is still rooted in the mid-1800s.

I also agree that the "quagmire" statement is a fair and accurate 
description of beekeeping today. Our basic manipulation techniques are 
similar to those used in the late 1800s. But our efficiency - due to 
vehicles, good roads, GPS, forklifts, and automated extracting - now 
allows a single beekeeper (with seasonal part time help) to harvest 
200,000 pounds as opposed to a few tens of thousands (with full time 
staff) in the old days. Technically, things are advancing so much that 
I've even heard that there is a scientist looking at ways to listen to 
the sound of a colony, remotely, apply Bayesian statistics, and generate 
health reports. Somewhere down in Montana, I think.

Ron Miksha, Calgary

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