Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.
-- Albert Einstein --

A pic from a yard of 15 hives that we thought above the flood line. Flood date 15 Feb 2004. Yes our company will pay up.
Kevin Gibbs, Masterton, New Zealand

Welcome! You are visitor number 2 , 5 6 8 , 7 9 3 , 9 8 2 , 7 52 Sure ya are

Before the day's program began, I was sitting at the computer in the lobby of the hotel checking my email -- they have a free high-speed terminal there for guests' convenience -- when I was approached by a member the AHPC board. He interrupted me to explain that he was feeling as if I had taken him outside and beaten him, after hearing (second hand) about my diary entry from the 18th. I listened to him and appreciated what he had to say, and I admit to feeling more than a bit of sympathy. I'm sorry if he takes it personally. As I see it, we are both victims of the same system. We are just on opposite sides of the same bad culture. I think the whole AHPC/BeeMaid management needs considering anew, especially since the Co-op and BeeMaid are not doing so well these days.

At no point did he tell me I was wrong in any of my facts, but I could see that he feels that by writing about my complaints about AHPC and BeeMaid here, that I am somehow being unfair. I gather he thinks that the board should be able to dictate and that the board's determination on every matter should be considered fair and final. I feel the board is abusing their power against me, particularly in regard to changing policy without consultation and what I consider arbitrarily assessments and even confiscation of my assets -- in spite of my protests -- and I feel that this is unfair, so I write about it in my diary, and that seems fair to me. This is how I ruminate and meditate over events and sometimes get some guidance or illumination from friends. AHPC may have decided that I have violated -- or not obeyed some of their rules and edicts -- but they don't seem to realize that they have violated some of my rules, or some of generally accepted rules of fair practice, particularly in regard to funds held in trust and disputed charges.

In the past, the Co-op boards have had almost absolute power over members. It was 'my way or the highway', and the boards are not used to being challenged or placed under scrutiny. Aggrieved members have found themselves powerless. Of course a member faced with an unacceptable board decision could always appeal again to the board, or once a year to the annual general meeting, but that is a somewhat unrepresentative sample of the ownership and chancy due to personality politics. Co-op members meet once a year, and not all attend, so any attempts to organize the membership to better recognize and enforce their own interests is difficult at best. Management knows that and makes sure they have a good presentation for the meeting. Rather than fight, many former members have voted with their feet and gone elsewhere over the years. I have asked for the membership list and have been told that I can look at it, but not have a copy. More on that later.

In my opinion, as a result of the inflexible and uninspired approach of the organisation to member relations and to 'purchasing'¹, and the uninspiring cash return over the years, the packing and bulk throughput has not been growing as it would if things were better. The Co-op, rather than being the customer of choice, has become the customer of last resort for many beekeepers, including some (many) members. If AHPC could only improve the returns by a small amount, they would have to fight off producers wanting to deliver honey, but an accumulation of mistakes over the past decade or so have made their record look poor compared to the competition. After all, a Co-op should be able to provide a superior return to its members compared to privately owned competitors by at least the amount of the profits that those firms pay to their owners, and I am certain that the competing firms must be making 5% or more on their gross sales.

My perception is that AHPC and BeeMaid are in a precarious position and rather sensitive to criticism, no matter how constructive. One reason that I have been very reluctant to start writing about what I perceive to be a dysfunctional culture at BeeMaid and AHPC, and a major reason why I have delayed facing this topic and tried other alternatives, is that I know that some of my friends are going to feel hurt. Laying all this out is also a big job, and is going to take me days, literally and I would have better things to do, if things had been handled a bit better over the past few years, as we shall see.

I tend to doubt myself, and I like to double-check my facts. I want to be very sure what I write is true and fair-minded. Shortly after the experience I described at the computer, I happened to have a chance to ask a former chairman of AHPC, who has been a vocal critic of current policy, if he ships his honey to AHPC. His response was, "Do you think I'm crazy?" I had asked him once before, not too long ago and the answer was the same. I just wanted to be sure.

In case anyone gets the idea that I want someone's head on a platter, I do not. I respect and like all the people involved in running AHPC, but I do not like the culture, or the way things have been going. I realize that some may take it personally and feel hurt when I say that I don't think that they have what it takes to run the Co-op or BeeMaid, but maybe they should know that I don't think for a moment that I have what it takes either. I have allowed my name to stand for the board (and been defeated - more on that later) several times, but if I had been elected, I would have pressed for better management and a more professional board structure. I believe that you get what you pay for and that a board that serves with no pay is worth exactly what it costs. Sorry.

It is very clear to all of us who are watching that this is the wave of the future. Although it will add cost and complexity, it is the only way we can guarantee continued good prices and continued consumer confidence, and the only way we can differentiate and defend our markets. At the meeting, in conversation, it was brought to my attention in Abeilles, the Quebec beekeepers' newsletter, that, oddly enough, the Canadian government is giving $20 million to China to improve their rural food processing as part of some wheat deal. I don't see that much being offered to Canadian beekeepers to get this program going, but the feds are putting some money into it and working with the industry to establish procedures that we all should find reasonable.

I was impressed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) people who attended our conference and think they are people we can work with. I haven't had that opinion of all the CFIA people I have met, and actually fired their inspection service for acting more like Gestapo than our allies in food safety. The ones who are supposed to be opening the border to queens seem to be out-to-lunch and sure to miss the boat for this year. Let's hope the positive and collaborative approach I am observing at this stage, on this project, with Don Wismer, extends into CFIA field activities.

9:30-10:30 Ralph Büchler: Integrated Varroa Mite control in Europe.
10:45-11:30 Medhat Nasr: Basics and Practices of IPM.
11:30-12:15 Sue Cobey: Breeding and Queen Production: Opportunities and Constraints.
1:15-2:10 Sue Cobey Queen Quality: The Big Unknowns and Expectations.
2:15-3:00 Ralph Büchler: Breeding for Varroa Resistance.
3:15-4:00 Medhat Nasr: Nutrition: Does it matter?

Medhat asked me to speak on bee nutrition in his slot and then followed up with some very apt comments. I quickly outlined the nutrition project we are planning to do together, but somehow have not managed to get underway. I am torn between dealing with the Co-op topic and diverting attention to this project. I'll be home for a few weeks and hope to get something done soon.

All the the talks at this meeting were useful. I won't comment on them all, but should mention that this event is annual and that it is not just for Alberta beekeepers. It is held at a nice and reasonably priced hotel at a time of year that gives beekeepers a chance to renew contacts and catch up on the news for the coming season. Mark your calendar for next year. At the rate it is growing in popularity, they may need to reserve a bigger room.

Friday : Sunny. Low minus 6. High plus 5. / Normals for the period : Low minus 12. High zero.

I slept in, then, around noon, Neil M. came by to pick up the wax tank, then went to Global to get his patties on his way back to BC.

In the afternoon, I took out ashes and filled propane bottles. I spent quite a bit of time at my desk as well.

Ruth, Flo, and the P-Ss came over for supper. Ruth brought her computer for repair. Windows would not recognize her modem. Apparently, she had done a Windows Update recently, and immediately after, found that she could not dial out. I had suspected a virus or dialer or some such tomfoolery, but she turns out to be pretty savvy and has her machine well protected and maintained. The problem seems to be that Update has uninstalled her modem driver. I've heard of such problems with bad patches occasionally, but this is the first I've seen She did not have the driver disk along, so she will fix it when she gets home. The fix should be simple. I hope.

Today, I again asked Aaron to relieve me from my (unpaid volunteer) job of moderating BEE-L. I have tired of reading conjecture, slogans, half-truths and rhetoric on a list that claims to be "Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology" and don't want to have to read it all any more. As a moderator, I have been bound to read everything thoroughly to decide about approval. As a subscriber, I can just pick and chose, and just delete all the junk without reading it. There are some writers that I can delete after just reading a few lines.

If you are wondering, there is no acrimony, just ennui, (or maybe it is just February angst). As always, Aaron is still counted among my best of friends, as are many of the folks on BEE-L.

I think I am in a cranky mood. Having to dredge up all this Co-op stuff and think about it is not making me particularly happy.

February is also not the happiest month, even though the days are much longer and brighter, and water is dripping from the roof. It is good to be home again, and we will not be off again until mid-March, when we will be in Rhode Island to help with the grandkids while Sarah has a minor operation on her wrist, so maybe I can get caught up a bit. The cattle seem to be doing well, although the prices could be better. At this point, no one knows what will happen; things could go one way or the other. The border could open or assistance or price controls could be announced. Or the market could continue to slump. For the meantime we continue to feed, and I won't worry about it.

The sunny days are looking so good that I must get to the mountains soon. I'm a bit concerned that I am a bit out of shape, but I'll have to just take it easy. This is time of year when the coldest, darkest days have passed, and the rocks are buried deep under snow. The best of the ski season is about to begin.

Today : Sunny with cloudy periods. High 7. / Tonight : Cloudy periods. Low minus 9. / Normals for the period : Low minus 11. High plus 1.

It's another beautiful day and I'm thinking of doing something outdoors like going to the zoo. Now that I have quit BEE-L, I am thinking of resurrecting Best of Bee. That was a list I started in 1997, and which contained the best posts (IMO) from BEE-L and other Internet sources. BoB quickly grew to rival BEE-L in size, but the large volume started to overwhelm my servers and I ended it. Now, with better technology and bandwidth, it might work again.

Friends have written indicating support for my problems with AHPC and offering to intervene. I appreciate the offers, but, at this point, would prefer that they wait a while until I tell more of the story, since there are two sides and, besides I don't think that an ad hoc solution is needed. I think rather that the whole culture and attitude of the Co-op needs overhauling. Just dispatching my problems would still leave all my friends stuck in the mire, and the wheel would still keep spinning. I'll be proposing some solutions, just as I did to the (now former) CEO some time back. The response at that time was. "That would be good for the producers, but it would not be good for us".

In the meantime, I have a life, and it is sunny outside. Maybe I'll go lift a few lids. As longtime readers know, our hives are set up so that, even though they are insulated, they can be worked at any time of year just as easily as in the summer (see selected topics). And, to those who have been asking, I have about 50 hives left. but have promised them to Leroy, if they survive.

BTW, here are my BEE-L posts since December 15th, 2003. I haven't posted them here for a while.

Ellen & I decided to go to Red Deer and we met up with Jean, Chris, and Mckenzie for an afternoon of strolling at the Bower Ponds, followed with a visit to Bower Place. The ladies shopped for clothes, while Chris and I went looking at computers.

Today I have a lot of desk work to do, and need to order coal, as well as get the car serviced. The paperwork has piled up while I was away as well, and we have not done the T4s. We only have two to do this year, but the deadline is looming. We also need to spend some time looking at the cattle, and planning management.

The assessment of the Co-op is coming along better than I expected, but there is a lot of revision, and detailed history to add. I also should like to try to explain things from the Co-op's perspective to the extent I am aware of it. They do have their point of view, and there are things to be said in their favour. I hope to get around to that, but don't feel totally obliged to defend what has turned out, clearly, as predicted, to be a losing strategy, nor do I feel obliged to defend their policies or their implementation of them.

I intend to get around to discussing some of those aspects, however, at this point what is of interest is how current policies have contributed to inflexibility, shrinkage of supply, and lost opportunity. I will again outline what I previously suggested to Don Cozine -- a simple solution that would give members the best of both worlds: security, service, and the opportunity to take advantage of market fluctuations when they need to, such as when nearing retirement. It would enhance and expand the role of the organizations and, IMO, also bring in more membership and supply without burdening the organizations or diluting the returns. The idea works on incentives and choice, rather than pressure and punishment. We'll get to that soon, I hope.

Below is an email that illustrates a little of why the Co-ops are on a downstroke. Of course, for completeness, I also welcome letters that outline the co-op's points of view. I am focusing now on the problems that are plaguing the Co-ops and which have brought me to object to their treatment of me, but that is not the whole story.

I'm sending you a couple of pictures of a tracheal mite infested hive from last winter.

Here's an email that just came. My comments are in italics...

Hello Allen:

Reading with interest your battle with the co-op. Seems like there is a price to be paid for finding a home for our honey, no matter where we ship it. The retail food business in North America is full of kickbacks, rebates, bought shelf space and imported honey. I used to ship to the co-op and my father before me. It would seem a logical place to ship and get a good price but it WASN'T, OR ISN'T -- still.

On some store shelves you will find Bee Maid along with Smart Choice and a couple of other brand names [up to a dozen different brand names] all packed by Bee Maid. Are they competing against themselves?

The co- ops sometimes dump honey below market price into the bulk market. Several years ago at a bee convention I watched a well-known Canadian bulk honey broker offer her service, at reasonable cost, to a Bee Maid director, even guarantying a better return than they were getting by themselves. They refused her offer.

I know, and it galls me no end.

Some of us saw this possibility, and we actually managed to get our Co-ops to take a less adversarial and predatory approach to the competition for a while -- we thought -- but it seems that the potential for co-operation is easily lost. The co-ops definitely think they should, by rights, own the lion's share of the market in Canada, and rather than earn it by innovation, salesmanship, competition and hard work, they use the honey we place in trust with them to sandbag the other players. They don't seem to realize that producers have entrusted them with their honey to maximize profit and the goal is to maintain a maximum profitable bulk and retail prices for the benefit of members sales both inside and outside the Co-ops.

The management and salespeople have repeatedly revealed that regard themselves as honey packers rather than as a honey marketing firm working to obtain maximum return for the owners from the market, any way they can. Moreover, we, the owners and suppliers, have been told directly that they regard the high price of honey to producers as a problem, rather than a good thing for the owners of the firm, and an dilemma rather than an opportunity to be exploited.

Their insistence on selling our good white Canadian honey into the Canadian market when much higher prices for Canadian were available in the USA has resulted in returns to members that are 20% lower than those provided by the competition. In the past year, a nimble competitor -- one person -- with very little infrastructure and investment, reportedly managed to sell almost as much honey as the entire AHPC organisation, with an immediate cash return to producers of about 125% of what the co-op eventually announced.

The co-op rationale was to pack and sell cheap to maintain the market for future, but that has turned out to be a false hope and waste of potential, since, in the same period, a foreign competitor moved in and has taken a big chunk of the Canadian market -- in spite of the huge cost to members of that strategy.

Sarchasm:
The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who
doesn't get it.

Management and board think and talk primarily in terms of pounds packed, in preference to thinking of return on capital, or of profit as a percent of sales, the benchmarks of successful businesses. At one 'information' meeting, the board and management would have had the members in attendance believe that the business had shrunk over the previous year, since poundage was down marginally. In fact, sales had roughly doubled, but this fact only showed up after puzzled members questioned the assumptions in the presentation at the end.

As for profits, what does 'profit' mean when there is no cost placed on the members' honey? Yet profit is the basic yardstick for any non-communist business and the indicator whether a business is using its capital effectively or wasting it. More on this later.

Haven't shipped a pound to the co-op since 1972. They sell a lot of bee supplies and the profit from this must also subsidize their final payment. I've never been able to figure out exactly why they can't pay their members more than the going rate.

You are pretty smart. Many are not so astute. Bee Supplies is the ONLY profitable activity in the entire BeeMaid enterprise, if normal business accounting were used, with a price placed on raw honey delivered by members, at time of delivery.

The bizarre aspect of this particular point is that we are making the money off OURSELVES, and increasing our own input costs in the process compared to having supplies for members obtained on a non-profit basis. We are not making it off the public; we are making it off ourselves, then using it to subsidize the price paid to us for our honey! I've suggested that the co-ops close down the unprofitable 'profit centres' (honey packing and everything to do with honey) and open more bee supply outlets. (laugh here, if you can).

The thought of a BSE-type thing in honey and the loss of the US market would mean 35-40 million lbs of Canadian honey without a home.

Hey! you are stealing all my thunder, and I thought that nobody else could see potential disaster lurking in the wings and the risks due to lack of diversification faced by Co-op members who may have all their personal net worth tied up in bees and equipment, honey, and Co-op cash accounts. I have to say that, in view of the good work CFIA is doing, that the danger is looking more remote than earlier, but it is there

Many Co-op members not only have their honey sitting unsold in a co-op warehouse for a whole year, but they also own that warehouse that does nothing but store and package honey. Many also lend their life savings to the co-ops by leaving their excess cash in their accounts. Guess what happens if the unthinkable happens? I'll spell it out later for those who can't figure it out for themselves, and it seems there are many. At one co-op meeting, the management seemed pleased that AHPC is usually entirely member-financed.

Management did not seem aware of the risks to the members of such concentration of their risk in one commodity. At the same meeting, management revealed that the recent rise in the Canadian dollar to more normal levels had wiped out $75,000 of expected revenue from past sales. Apparently they had not taken inevitable currency fluctuations into account when planning and executing foreign sales, and had not hedged. To my mind, this is speculation and, as such, it is unwise at best.

Forex hedging costs almost nothing, but does require a little knowledge of markets, and it does lock in the revenue from a particular sale so that it is possible to see if the transaction in question will be profitable. There is no safe way to do business in foreign currencies without hedging, particularly when margins are slim. Previously, as I recall, AHPC had financed the new plant on floating rates, but sold the old one for a fixed rate. That time they were lucky, but it is clear that the management is speculating on large amounts without being aware of the risks.

Scary.

You bet! My standing instructions are to send me every cent that is deposited to my account the moment it is placed there. For some reason, I have had to remind them over and over. I'm also contesting some funds they have confiscated without my consent or input.

More on that later. We are only scratching the surface.

Best regards,
irwin

Thanks.

Let's cut to the chase. I'll get back to the boring details later, but for now, let's look at my major premise. Businessmen want (need?) to know what they are going to receive for their products when they are delivered, not a year or so later. The lack of such assurance is responsible for 95% of the Co-ops' PR and membership problems IMO. That seems to be at the root of current worries and the cause of many of us shipping elsewhere. Moreover, a packer needs to know what the product inputs cost to judge performance. That is a huge part of BeeMaid's performance problem, and a major reason they are considered to be an unfair player in the Canadian market by other players.

A few years back, Roy tried guessing and proposing a price at delivery time, to set a reasonably high target for the competition to meet, partly as a result of my prompting, and fears that, in a price vacuum, beekeepers might sell low to competitors and kill the market. He was close the first year, but proved to be a long way off the next. I took an advance against that number the second year, and wound up owing the Co-op money at year end and into the next year. That was fine, and I respected Roy's attempt to assure us of a return, however, we learned that the market cannot be guessed in advance. And, that is why the Co-ops do not price honey until it is sold. Smart, actually, but there are side effects of that solution that are toxic and have been a thorn in the side of the Co-ops as far back as I have been involved, and before.

At this point, you probably perceive that I have a very strong affection for my co-op, and will recall that I have already mentioned that the decision to ship outside was a very hard one for me. I am sure it was very hard for the others, too, but the current system simply forces us to do it. That is why I suggested an obvious alternative and why I was so surprised and discouraged when it was dismissed as "...good for the producers, but ...not be good for (management)"

I got a start on the huge pile of paper on my desk, but hardly made a dent before I had to take the car in for an inspection at one. The Achieva now has 125,000 kms on it now and, besides, I need to register it here in Alberta. The inspection cost $140, and It turns out that it needs about $750 in additional work. Seems $1,000 is the magic number for any car that I show to a mechanic these days. The work is all legitimate and I'm not being not overcharged.

Anyhow, I said, "Go ahead". The parts are on order, and the work will be done on Thursday. We also ordered our tickets for our planned trip to visit Jonathan, Sarah, and our grandkids.

Today : Sunny. High 9. / Tonight : Clear. Low minus 7. / Normals for the period : Low minus 11. High plus 1.

It's foggy out this morning. After a much colder than normal winter, we are finally having a stretch of warmer than normal weather. Lately, we've been running temperatures that reach well above freezing during the day, and have experienced mostly mild temps at night. The days are stretching longer, and we are getting close to spring. Spring is less than a month away, now.

I'm back at the desk and hoping to make headway against the paper. I also started a page for the SABA Bee Nutrition Project and hope to get more done in that regard.

I'm giving the AHPC project a rest for a day or two, since I'm short of time. Besides, the job is quite painful. Contemplating the many lost opportunities, errors in judgment, outdated, petty policies, disenfranchisement, and confiscation of our assets is not a pleasant activity, no matter how badly it needs doing. So far, I've just scratched the surface.

I notice that readership has jumped, so I gather the Co-ops and their culture is a topic of interest to many. Apologies if I take my time, and deal with more urgent matters as I work through this. Please write me if you have anything to offer one way or the other on this matter. Emails I receive are considered confidential unless you state otherwise.

Speaking of uphill battles we've been forced to fight against injustice and oppression, and one that seems to have been won, I'm told that the importation of mainland US queens is pretty well certain for this year. I'm told that it is a done deal. However, I'm also seeing that the queens may not make it into Canada in time for the period of maximum need, which occurs in April and May.

Although traceability is an issue for some provinces, it is an entirely separate issue and not a federal matter. The traceability question has, by consent of all participants, been separated from the question of obtaining imports ASAP, and is now an entirely separate matter to be decided by the provinces who care about it, at their own pace.

The day was spent in paperwork, but in the afternoon, I went for a bike ride, and on the way back, dropped in on our neighbour who tends our cattle to discuss the management and look them over. Jim and his son do the day-to-day feeding and yard work, since he has a feedlot, the equipment, and the expertise, but we have to make the decisions as the project proceeds. Since the cattle have now been here for a few weeks, the weather is better, and they are settled in, we are better able to appraise them than when they arrived, back during the bitter cold spell. He is very pleased with the quality and performance. So far there have been no problems, but we are going to treat for lice, since some show signs and the problem only gets worse, not better.

We have them on full feed and plan to weigh them at the end of the month to appraise the gain. Feeding seems to be contrary to what most others are doing right now. Most are backgrounding, I am told to hold the cattle back pending a border decision. Fools rush in and we are looking at June or July delivery. To me that seems as good a time as any, and maybe we will get lucky. Since, unlike some, we are paying by the day for labour and yard space, time, as well as feed, costs us money. When we figured it out, we decided, as the Chinese say, that a short pain is not like a long pain.

Today : Sunny with cloudy periods. High 10. / Tonight : A few clouds. Low minus 3. / Normals for the period : Low minus 11. High plus 1.

I was up off and on during the night working on a computer that had been dropped off here by a friend. I used the software listed on my security page and found at least six viruses and trojans with my first sweep, as well as about 10 dialers or references to dialers. Then if found over fifty pests with the next program, and another dozen or more with a third. I had to drop into DOS to kill one particularly nasty bug that had protected its files in Windows somehow, and also manually delete a dialer connection from 'Dialup Networking'.

Updating Windows took about six hours of downloading, since I am on dialup. The connection got dropped at one point and I found the disconnect when inactive was set at 20 minutes. I unchecked that feature so things would proceed without hanging up again. I thought that I got pretty well all of the garbage off the machine, but noticed that I was getting a virus warning on boot. The offending file was in a 'system restore' folder.

The computer had been used on the Internet with no protection: no firewall, and no virus checker. In no time it had been plugged up with dangerous software that had come in via various routes. The most obvious symptoms were the flashing porn on the screen, I am told, (I did not see that, since I cleaned the machine immediately on bootup) and several large phone bills from the 900 number(s) the computer had dialed, unbeknownst to its owner.

Without basic protection of a firewall or virus checker, malicious attackers use various tricks to hijack machines. Cleaning these machines up can be a big job. Actually, the best solution is often to wipe the hard drive and re-install the operating system, then immediately install and update the firewall and virus protection, then Windows® before it gets infected again. This can be a bit difficult, since it may be necessary to download the virus software from the Internet, and there is a small risk of some 'exploit' coming in during the process! In retrospect, that would have made sense here, since the machine has not seen much use and had no important content. But I like a challenge, and I had some fun.

We took the car up for work in the morning. It took a while to get the truck out of the snow so that Ellen could follow and drive me home.

In late afternoon, the car was done and I picked it up. I decided to drop off the red car and get the shop to put in my parts for me, since I haven't gotten around to finishing the job, and have no great enthusiasm for it. I was too late to get the insurance and registration done on the same trip.

Today : Sunny with cloudy periods. Wind northwest 20 km/h becoming light this morning. High 9. / Tonight : Clear. Increasing cloudiness overnight with 30 percent chance of flurries. Low minus 3. / Normals for the period : Low minus 11. High plus 1.

If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get a million miles per gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.
Robert X. Cringely,

Here, just in, is the kind of email that I like to get. It addresses the issues in a calm manner and allows us to consider the issues coolly. I'll get to replying to it it soon, but, for now, here it is:

Hi Allen -- from Saskatchewan.

Regarding your comments in your diary:

"Actually, it is now becoming clear that the traceability issue was simply a smokescreen and stalling tactic. No province traces Australian or new Zealand imports, although the quality of the genetics and the potential impact on local breeding programs is likely to be worse from those stocks, than from US stock. The disingenuous nature of the traceability argument is perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that -- when asked for input on the standards for proposed traceability rules -- those provinces who have cried loudly for traceability have not -- AFAIK -- even bothered to reply as of this date. Get ready to laugh, though; Alberta promptly offered comment, and, so far, is the only one to oblige the bureaucrats to help them move that process along -- even if Alberta does not desire any traceability. See the irony here? And a pattern of delay after delay??"

The amount of information that has circulated in Saskatchewan regarding this issue is poor. When you say traceability, we have been told that that was more an area classification to protect buyers from resistant mites and AHB. Now I am not certain with what the intention of the traceability portion of the protocol is.

Actually, I was not thinking of Sask, so much as Ontario.

For one thing, I guess I had unconsciously scratched Sask off my list of credible participants due to the casual manner in which SK stats are collected, and didn't consider the Sask position as representative, due to reports I've heard about the punishment of dissent there. I do know what some very significant and respectable SK beekeepers say to me privately and it does not fit the party line. They do not dare speak up at SK meetings and are, thus, totally unrepresented. When I looked at provincial stats SK looked very fishy to me, and I concluded that we really do not know much about the reality of Sask beekeeping. We don't really know how many hives or beekeepers there are or how much honey is produced in SK. We just have guesses. IMO, it is time for an audit. Sorry about that. Anyhow, my mistake. Goes to show that these questions can get complex and that one often overlooks some thing or another. I confess a bias and will have to think about this. Any help -- like your note -- is appreciated.

Perhaps ON punishes dissent as much as SK, but I do believe the ON numbers, (understanding, however, that production figures tend to be understated wherever there are direct sales from the beekeeper to the public). ON has been throwing up roadblocks wherever they can, and I was thinking of ON more then SK. PQ has been a wildcard in the whole mess, at times for such irrelevant reasons as lack of translation, and I discount PQ since, when I sit down with a few friends for a beer, we few men represent more hives than are in the entire belle province.

At any rate, back to the issue: AHB quite definitely is not likely to be a serious risk to anyone in Canada. For that matter AHB are already in Canada, brought here deliberately and as such (no such deliberate introduction was AFAIK made into Alberta) and nobody seem to know or talk about this. According to Dewey Caron, AHB behaves itself in temperate zones. AHB has been taken throughout Europe numerous times. I know of specific cases. No problems have been reported, to my knowledge. Besides, the science for detection of AHB is flawed in several ways.

As far as resistant mites are concerned, the current generation of chemical controls are nearing the end of their useful life -- partly because of the damage they do to hives and bees and the risks to honey and users. Other controls are in the pipeline.

Resistant mites and diseases, these things are coming, one way or the other, simply because the advantages of moving bees and buying bees are too important for many to be able to resist, and the benefits to individuals and society outweigh the costs of dealing with these pests. People can and will buy bees and move bees, no matter what the law or punishment is, because they simply cannot afford not to. Of course, some will not because they do not need to, or because they cannot see the advantage. More to come...

You state the Oz and NZ queens and packages are not traced in that way... ummm still to the best of the information I have, why should they?

Well, NZ has varroa, and likely form a different source than our original infestation. Aus has had incursions into its territory of varroa and is very close to potential sources of even worse things. their early warning systems are only good enough to -- hopefully -- save their domestic producers from disaster, but not nearly good enough to give their customers warning. They have a lot of coastline and a vulnerable location. Why not be worried about them? We now what the US has -- pretty much what we have, plus two other pests that do not thrive in our Canadian environment -- and that they can handle their pests at costs that are affordable.

When it comes to resistant AFB, resistant mites, AHB, hive beetles... these, to my understanding do not occur to us poor beekeepers because we read the package wrong or because the wind blew from the east when we applied medication rather from the south.

rAFB is pretty well everywhere, and apparently is caused by plasmid migration from other nearby microorganisms that are already resistant. rAFB's advent coincides with a widespread occurrence of resistance in other microbes and likely has little to do with our medication regimes.

The problem of disease and mite spreading is and always has been.... RUBBER WHEELS. Beekeepers spread disease not some natural resistance to treatments. That is bull crap that researchers try to shove down our throats that we are our own worst enemy because we don't read instructions.

I doubt that beekeepers can be blamed for the various resistances that pop up. They are natural phenomena and are certain to arise, given enough time and widespread use of controls. Nature readjusts.

RUBBER WHEELS bring good and bad. Throughout history, the good has outweighed the bad often enough that few chose to forego the benefits of communication, transportation and trade. Those that do, usually fall far behind and eventually fade away.

The Sask provincial apiculturist was asked about the natural spread of tracheal mite, then varroa, then resistance. And then I asked him how me as a beekeeper swapping formic acid treatments with Apistan treatment is going to do anything for me right now???

Not sure what you are saying, here. Not much, I'd venture, assuming that you monitor the natural mite drops before and after to make sure Apistan® still works. I'll also say this: formic will do in your tracheal mites, and John is very right about that. I was impressed that he was reporting the reemergence of tracheal as a problem and also reevaluating the effectiveness of the Hamilton board and the way it has been used until recently.

When those resistant mites show up in my back yard it will be because they hitched a ride in a truck and I get to deal with the results of those freeloading mites.

Don't worry so much. You'll be able to handle them. and, if you were able to buy good packages for a decent price, you'd also have an option if something else kills your wintering bees. It happens to everyone once in a while.

I shall say this, resistant mites started along time ago in a place far far away, and the damn things even evolved to tuck in there wings and sit tight on the back of a truck to spread where they have.

Could be. That's what I think. Knowing that won't change that, though. Trucks will run, and there is no stopping them. Might as well try to make that fact work for us.

The only problem I have with American queens coming into Canada is , Please not in my backyard. Several years ago when I first met you had told me about some of your neighbours and how the newest and grooviest disease are on your doorstep. At that time you said, " I am too old to start from scratch fighting these things again ". I had interpreted from you that dealing with resistant mites is best by walking away and letting the next generation take care of them... Is that true?

Well, there are a number of factors at play here. I have no doubt that I could handle all these challenges, but there is a time, once in a generation, when everything lines up and you get a chance to make a graceful exit. After that, you are trapped until the wheel turns again. My partner did not want to expand -- or even stay in the business -- and, when our pollination contract was cut back and we had a chance for a cash settlement, we took it.

We had expanded our hive numbers to maximize our potential for pollination and converted supers to broods. Moreover, when going into pollination, we had already been at the limits of our outdated extracting and storage facility. In leaving pollination, or even cutting back, we were faced with running twice the number of hives for honey that we had previously in an outgrown and outdated facility. Times had changed in the expectations for honey handling, and we simply had to either build and new, modern plant or quit. We quit.

Although I would never have willingly used coumaphos in a hive, I am convinced that oxalic and formic can do the job, in the hands of a good manager. See selected topics. In the meantime, a single strip of Apistan worked well. Although I do not like the idea of fluvalinate, the low dose I was using was a compromise I could accept until I could verify the efficacy of oxalic in my own situation.

I generally avoid temptation, unless I can't resist it.
Mae West

Also I have always wanted to ask you about your assumption that Alberta has been held back. The USA has always been know to the premier capitalist country and when money is to be made and American shall do it first do it best and do it big. With all that said, why is it that the American hive count has not increased at a rate that you believe the Albertan hive count could have if American Queens were available?

Price and urbanization, but particularly price. All things considered it is amazing that they have held steady. More to follow. Canada has not.

If I am correct there are some 2.4 million hives left in the US down from what I was told was 4.5 million hives only 5 or 6 years ago. So tell me if you can why and American that can freely increase hive counts a lot quicker and easier than us poor northern Cannuck beekeepers, why haven't they? Why is each successive month in the USA less than the month before? Why Allen? Is there a dying industry in the US? Is is the diseases? Is it pesticide use? Why is it that in the most industrious country in the world, hives are going down in a market place whereby the exact opposite should have occurred three years ago?

Well, we all have been believing the Big Lie. Check here and here for the truth on the US hive numbers. In spite of punitively low prices and being targeted by cheap imports, they have held pretty much even -- at 2,590,000 in 2003 vs. 2,648,000 in 1995. See here for official details. Why do people lie to us?

Anyhow I am done droning for now I shall crawl back into my hole as I saw my damn shadow again see you again in 6 weeks, in spring.... later!

The young Ol' Droaner

Much appreciated. Thanks for the dialogue.

A reply came in...

Hello Allen:

A reply to my beekeeper friend in Sask, the young ol' droaner

"If I am correct, there are some 2.4 million hives left in the US down from what I was told was 4.5 million hives only 5 or 6 years ago. So tell me if you can, why and American that can freely increase hive counts a lot quicker and easier than us poor northern Cannuck beekeepers, why haven't they? Why is each successive month in the USA less than the month before? Why Allen? Is there a dying industry in the US? Is is the diseases? Is it pesticide use? Why is it that in the most industrious country in the world, hives are going down in a market place whereby the exact opposite should have occurred three years ago?"

If you look at the statistics -- lbs per colony yield, say in Calif., price of honey and pollination fees, current market price and downward trend of it from cheap foreign honey -- plus the RISK. of getting a crop to more than cover expenses. No wise gambler would be in this honey business, especially in the U.S. Large increases made in one year cost a lot in terms of production -- you cannot hang a honey crop on foundation. Besides the U.S. honey packers are addicted to that cheap foreign stuff and the ones in Canada are just getting started.

"The only problem I have with American queens coming into Canada is , Please not in my backyard."

Everything [disease, parasite] that is out there, is going to arrive in your back yard, sooner or later. Smuggling, colonies kept too close to the border, packages from New Zealand. Don't worry it will get to you.

Thanks Allen, good discussion

buzz

Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

When I studied the Canadian provinces and the US as a whole, I found that any US decline, such as it was, was pretty well all explained, mathematically, by the drop in their domestic price due to the strong US dollar and foreign competition. During that same time, Canadians were able to export into the US at prices that looked good to us mainly because our dollar was very weak. That saved us.

We must remember that, if breakeven is at $1.00 per pound (say, for example) then $1.10 gives us a 10% profit and $1.50, a 50% return (profit ) on our expenses. On the other hand, if the price drops to $0.90, then we are losing 10% and if it goes to $0.50, then we are losing 50% on our expenses. Even for a well-capitalized beekeeper, that cannot continue for long.

In Canada, we were making a little and getting by during the worst years, but, in the US, they were losing every year. Thus those who were hardest hit -- drought hits here and there every year and makes things even worse for some -- started cutting corners on treatments and other inputs such as labour and feeding.

We hear horror stories, blaming mites, but we all know human nature. They blamed mites and other factors because they were simply too proud to admit they were going broke and could not afford to keep up with bee management. Steel mills and other businesses were being boarded up during that time, and that was not due to mites. US businesses were just very uncompetitive under the strong dollar policy. Many are still marginal, even after the recent US dollar decline, since Argentina and China peg their currency to the greenback. These real reasons are too hard for many to understand, so we hear, "Mites drove us out". Those of us who bother to dig deeper know better.

Also, Canada was not on the honey exporting countries radar, yet. Now we are and, unless we can find some defense, we may be looking at $1.00 honey in Canada before the smoke clears. Most of my predictions are above that, in the the $1.20 CAD range and up. I am counting on the rest of the world to start eating more honey soon. Nonetheless, Brazil is a huge country with very low costs, and they are just discovering honey exports. Maybe I should be investing there?

See my articles on Beekeeping Economics in Alberta since Border Closure.

A Beekeeper's Diary