On Mon, 10 Sep 2007 15:00:28 -0700, Mike Stoops <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Don't complain about big business situations.  Find your niche and go for it.  I'm trying to get to 
300 hives and my own distribution system so I can bypass the wholesale buyers. 


I'm pretty much there with 300 hives and my own distribution. We rely heavily on Farmers markets 
too with the honey apples and candles. I get top dollar for my raw varietal honey. 

My beef is that this nonsense which has evolved with migratory pollination and huge monocrops 
threatens the livelihood of the rest of us. The system is becoming clearly not sustainable. I predict 
a never ending stream of hive crashes and bee shortages which has now become the norm. 

The fed's should not be bailing out or assisting this nonsustainable madness.  Maybe some of the 
authors of the paper have a hidden agenda and beleive something similar? My experience in 
industry taught me that issues like this get resolved in an indirect way with policy changes. 

I sense a battle unfolding with common sense and sustainable farming on one side and greed and 
Industrial farming on the other. This battle is not confined to the pollination and almond arena 
either. People are getting sick and tired of a small number of Agri-business interests shaping the 
rural landscape and the environment.  Descsions should be made that include all interests not 
exclude the small farmer who is trying to do something more sustainable. 

Look over in the EU and you find more thriving small producers that are embraced by their 
community or region as an important asset. We have this goofy notion over here that nobody 
counts in farming except the big guys and big Ag. 

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