I am of the opinion that much of what beekeepers might choose to do in
their management of
bees will be affected by goals, circumstances, and resources.

The methodologies and techniques used to produce raw "organic"
unheated, unfiltered
hobbyist honey might vary from those used by a commercial producer
producing for the mass
market.  There are economies of scale that enter into calculations and
decision making.  I
have no need for an expensive radial extractor or an automated
uncapping system.

I sure would not want to use top bar hives in a large scale commercial
honey operation with
thousands of hives, but I personally can tell the difference in taste
between my "crushed comb"
(cold pressed) honey and my extracted honey.  Ultra heated and ultra
filtered honey tastes different
yet.  Each item might also bring a different price.  I always charge
more than is charged for the
mass produced product.  I would hate to have to try and make a living
from beekeeping, so
I am willing to take losses that would put commercial beekeepers out of
business.  Since I don't
HAVE to be successful, and my livelihood does not depend on my
beekeeping I can use less
expensive and more primitive methods and equipment and still achieve
the results I want to have.

There are costs and benefits associated with each management decision
we make.  Sometimes
the costs are higher than the benefits that result from a particular
decision.  I wouldn't dream of
trying to run a commercial operation the way I do things, but my goals
are different and I'm
satisfied with the results I obtain.  This is not a "one size fits all"
activity.

Layne Westover
College Station, Texas

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