APIS Volume 4, Number 7, July 1986
In this issue
- National Honey Board Created
- Long-Range Planning: Beekeeping Characteristics
- Can We Compete? Economic Options for Beekeepers
REFERENDUM PASSES; 87.5% OF THOSE VOTING SAID "YES"
Voting on the Honey Research, Promotion and Consumer Information Act is history. An astounding 87.3 percent of the volume of both domestic and imported honey voted "yes." Now comes the important task of selecting the Honey Board which will be responsible for administering the program. Mr. Bill Merritt, Star Route Box 145, Tallahassee, FL 32304, ph 904/962-9051 has been selected to be on the Nominating Committee. It is estimated the Committee will meet in about thirty days to provide the names of two candidates and two alternates for each position to the Secretary of Agriculture.
The Secretary will select one producer from each of the seven honey producing regions. Region 6 includes Florida, Georgia and Puerto Rico. In addition, two honey packers, two importers and one member from the general public with no connection to the beekeeping industry will be appointed. This thirteen member board will then meet, establish a budget and assessments will commence.
It is emphasized that the success of the Act will be totally in the Honey Board's hands. Those selected must be carefully chosen. The Nominating Committee has its work cut out because there exists no precedent for choosing a board like this and they will be necessarily "shooting in the dark" identifying candidates.
[Editor's Note 5/12/1997--This is for historical information only. The Act has subsequently been voted on a reapproved a number of times.]
CRYSTAL BALLING
The Cooperative Extension Service in Florida has embarked on a long-range planning effort that promises to be interesting and productive. As a part of this, I have been asked to provide a position paper on what might be happening in beekeeping within the next four years. Doing this kind of thing is hazardous. There are too many unknowns, but it can be instructive. I see management as the central issue for beekeeping during the rest of this decade. Only those able to manage every aspect of their operation can hope to survive. This is true for most of agriculture and has been dubbed, "The Managerial Revolution."
Specific characteristics of Florida beekeeping to consider when planning the future are:
- Many beekeepers market their honey wholesale , in the process letting much of the profit potential "beyond the farm gate" escape them.
- Possibilities for increased production of honey in the traditional manner does not appear to be great. Bee pasturage,all feral in nature, is highly susceptible to destruction by large-scale forestry, agriculture and urbanization.
- The potential for increased production of other bee products is also limited, but exploitable under certain conditions. The new growth product, bee collected pollen, is hampered by several aspects, including high moisture content and the ever present problem of contamination by pesticides and/or heavy metals. In addition, unless more research on the benefits of bee collected pollen are forthcoming, the market will remain small (see August 1984 and November 1985 APIS)..
- The queen and package business has been dealt an almost fatal blow by introduction of the tracheal mite. Potential introduction of the Africanized honey bee and the Asian mite, Varroa jacobsoni, also could mirror the devastation of the tracheal mite on these "products."
- Arrival of the Africanized honey bee may greatly effect beekeeping. Experience in Latin America suggests the bee will build to a relatively large feral population, resulting in more bee human-contact. This could result in massive stinging incidents. This might create a major public relations component in beekeeping; only those able to convince their neighbor or the landowner next door that their bees are "safe," would be able to retain their locations.
In conclusion, future trends in Florida beekeeping will probably mirror those of other beekeeping regions: better more intensive bee management, increased financial management and more marketing efforts, especially on the local scale. In addition, pollination will be increasingly important. It is important to remember that not all cultivated plants benefit from bee pollination. Traditionally, pollination for hire efforts have been directed toward melons, cucumbers and squash in Florida.
Given the information above, major long-range educational efforts in Cooperative Extension appear to fall into the following broad categories:
- Intensive bee management
- A. Floral resources will be constantly reduced
- B. Africanized honey bees and Varroa mites will result in a rethinking of management practices as well as loss of locations
- Intensive financial management
- A. Record keeping will continue to be all important
- B. Tracking expenses carefully will be emphasized
- Exploiting niches of profitability, especially in marketing products locally on a retail basis
- A. The value and art of marketing will be examined
- B. Smaller "up scale" beekeepers can expect to prosper
- Value of public relations will become increasingly important to those wishing to keep bees
- A. Will be a must when Africanized honey bees arrive
- B. Will be important in pollination where hard data is lacking
- Although no new technology in beekeeping is forthcoming, the use of the computer to educate beekeepers represents an opportunity of large proportion.
- A. True in financial management
- B. True for modeling a colony to determine inputs and outputs to teach intensive management/pollination
- C. True for marketing, pricing and exploiting new markets
CAN WE COMPETE?
The above title is in the May-June, 1986 issue of Florida Food And Resource Economics No. 70, published by the Florida Cooperative Extension Service. It principally addresses competing in foreign markets, but contains some no nonsense tips which are important to keep in mind for hobbyist and full time beekeeper. Dr. John Holt writes about the use of imagination, analysis, judgement and thought in strategic planning. All these can be brought to the forefront when trying to get the most out of a colony of honey bees:
Imagination: To Dr. Holt, this means converting problems into opportunities. If you are having a problem with bee management could it really be looked at as an opportunity?
Analysis: To Dr. Holt, this is manifesting itself into the numerous computer user groups around the country which are striving for effectiveness in acquiring information. To analyze successfully, however, requires data--in other words, adequate records. Do you really know how good your bee stock is or exactly where it came from?
Judgement: To Dr. Holt, this means establishing alternatives. Again, judgement and analysis require some basic information if they are to be effective. Is your judgement that the bees are not nutritionally stressed for lack of food (honey and pollen) adequate?
Thought: Dr. Holt writes that Harry Truman said, "Farmers have time to think. Some of them do, and that has made this country great." For the beekeeper good old fashioned "brainstorming" can work wonders, but it does require taking time to think about problems. According to Dr. Holt, the possibility of thought is the real ace that everybody potentially has in the hole.
Two other issues of Florida Food and Resource Economics have also been published. No. 68 is entitled, "1985 Farm Legislation: Taking Stock," January-February, 1986 by Dr. R. Carriker. It contains information on provisions of the bill, reactions to it, as well as discussion of the Farm Credit Act.
No. 69, "Agriculture's Importance to Florida," by several authors (March- April, 1986) provides an optimistic picture of the present and future value of agriculture to the state. Figures indicate sales activity of at least $15.7 billion in 1980. Including food distribution (retail and wholesale), the value jumps to $27 Billion. Data indicates Florida agriculture is a growth industry in the long term with an eightfold increase in receipts over the last thirty-four years.
Sincerely,
Malcolm T. Sanford
Bldg 970, Box 110620
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-0620
Phone (352) 392-1801, Ext. 143 FAX: (352)-392-0190
http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~mts/apishtm/apis.htm
INTERNET Address: MTS@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU
©1986 M.T. Sanford "All Rights Reserved
