When we were wrapping up the lecture, Brian
made sure to reiterate his point,
“ANY new beekeeper is good for the
world—it’s a chance to be part of
something bigger than just an isolated
hobbyist or corporate operation.”
We at North 40 would like to encourage all our
braver customers to consider getting involved in
beekeeping. It can be something that can be as
simple (hands-off) or as complex (hands-on, ie. research, testing, gene selection, etc.) as the “beek”
(beekeeper) wishes it to be. Like anything related to agriculture or animal production, there will
always be an “in-between” when talking about
treated operations, or the “no treat” crowd. But
bottom line? Each side needs the other: if commercial bees suffer a pandemic collapse, they will
come to the natural bees to repopulate hives with
a stronger bee; and chances are the same hobbyists, when they lose theirs, will go to commercial
operations for packages and nucs.
Brian Rogers has been called
a modern-day Renaissance
man with experience in several space programs, military,
beekeeping, house inspection, construction contracting,
aquaponics and systems engineering to name a few. Brian, a
retired USAF officer, holds an AAS in Electronic Systems
Technology and a Bachelor’s in Electronics Engineering
and is also CEO of Wonder See Properties LLC as a ‘hobby’. The classes he instructs are several years’ worth
of knowledge presented in an easy, fun, user-friendly
format that allows plenty of opportunities to ask those
questions most beginners have of someone that has
‘traveled the road’.
Follow the Great Falls, MT Bee Club HERE
Brian left me with a nice piece of info for the notreat crowd, “Want to reduce your initial ‘detox’ or
‘chemical treadmill’ losses? Get with a like-minded beek supplier and buy a split/nuc from them.”
So while you can’t eliminate loss, you can try to
reduce it.
Final takeaways? “ANY new beekeeper is a great
thing. Even if you start 10 and lose 9 that’s still
60,000 bees that wouldn’t have been around if it
weren’t for one person’s efforts.”
So get out there –try something new, enjoy your
tea and honey, or at the very least plant more
flowers!
12