APIS Volume 7, Number 12, December 1989
In this issue
- Taking Stock--1989 in Review
- The 1990s--What We Might Expect?
- Domestic/Export Sales Seminar-- NHB
- NHB Video for Youngsters--What's Buzzin'
TAKING STOCK--1989 IN REVIEW
New Year's Day ushers in a new decade. 1990 will also bring you the 83rd consecutive number of APIS, first published under that name in 1983. If you have suggestions about how this newsletter will better meet your needs in the next decade, please let me know.
A glance at the events of 1989 reveals that we are indeed in extraordinary times which require special tools to make decisions and that diagnostics of the bee colony is a concept whose time has come. Importing bee stock was on many persons' minds; so was ethics and the collapse of the negotiated rule- making federal Varroa quarantine.
Through the miracle of electronic communications, I was able to publish four issues while on faculty development leave in Italy. These described how Italians are coping with many of the same issues confronting Florida beekeepers. Finally, there were concerns about how changes such as mite infestations and introduction of the African honey bee will affect swarm collecting and what measures can be taken to eliminate nuisance honey bee nests.
A more detailed index follows:
- January--Reflection s on Management in Extraordinary Times; Making Decisions in Times of Risk.
- February--A Case for Diagnostics; Inserting Fluvalinate Strips, Melaleuca Survey, Using Terramycin Correctly.
- March-- More on Terramycin Use; Permitting and Bee Registration in Florida, Purchasing Microscopes .
- April-- Sabbatical Plans, Importing Bee Stock--Costs and Benefits, ; Mite Assessment in California, Beekeepers Get on the Pesticide Treadmill.
- May--On the Business of Ethics; Bar Codes on Bees and Honey, Bees and Intelligence.
- June--APHIS Varroa Rule-What Happened?; Pricing Your Product; Wild Bees in Arizona.
- July--Publishing APIS from Italy, Observations on Italy, Italian Beekeeping; Flyways for Bees.
- August--Observations on Italian Beekeeping.
- September-- More on Italy; Honey-Le Italiane lo Fanno Meglio; the EEC-A Force to Reckon with.
- October-- On Remembrances of Italy; Varroa in Italy--The Florida Connection, Rothenbuhler Lab Opens at Ohio State University.
- November--On Swarm Collecting; Stopping Bees Using Soap and Water; Drugs and Disease--American Foulbrood in Argentina; Menthol Registration: Caveats and Use.
THE 1990s--WHAT MIGHT WE EXPECT?
There seems little doubt that the apicultural event of the next decade will be the arrival of the African honey bee. It has been reported 200 miles south of the Texas border and on the move. Unfortunately, after a great many years of study, prediction, and controversy, we still do not know for certain how this bee will affect beekeeping in the United States. Reports of the Brazilian experience at the recent Apimondia meeting in Rio de Janeiro clearly showed that the arrival of this insect will demand change in management practices. Although many are focusing on the African honey bee, the 1990s will also bring attention to other issues which cannot be ignored when considering beekeeping's future.
Food safety and sustainable agriculture are certainly at the top of the list. An offshoot of the first term is the increasing interest in "organic" foods. This is good news for beekeepers; honey has a reputation as a healthful, organic product. At the present time, however, confusion reigns over this terminology. Because true standards don't exist, many use the word for their own purposes, defined in their own terms.
Ms. Pat Radloff in her newsletter, "Better Beekeeping," recently published a first draft of organic honey standards for the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association. Proposals include certifying each apiary as free of disease and chemicals. Other conditions: no chemicals to be introduced into the hive for mite or disease detection, no sugar to be fed colonies while honey supers are on, no wood to be treated with unapproved preservatives (creosote), and no product to be heated above 140 degrees F. Ms. Radloff emphasizes that these will only be enforced for products to be labelled "organic." However, the rest of the industry will not be immune from many of these issues in the next decade.
Agrichemical Age's editor, Mr. Len Richardson, also sees food safety as an issue that will change agriculture in the 1990s. However, he writes that resistance to this change by farmers and chemical manufacturers threatens to isolate them. Fortunately, there are some things that individuals can do to reduce the impact. He recommends:
- Backing legislation supporting a negligible risk standard for chemicals in food, as opposed to no risk and zero tolerance as is currently the case.
- Supporting strong, uniform national guidelines or face regulatory decisions at every level, including your local supermarket.
- Encouraging investment in research to rebuild an environmentally strong, value-added agriculture.
- Recognizing that public perception is a stronger reality than scientific or economic fact.
- Understanding the need for change. The old, single focus on production and yields must give way to a systems approach that integrates production, processing, marketing and public constraints into a more profitable agriculture.
Mr. Richardson's last item points directly to the tenents of sustainable agriculture. Again, like the word "organic," sustainable agriculture means many things to many people. However, the ideas behind the terminology cannot be ignored. Dr. Eric Mussen in "From the UC Apiaries," believes it is so
The same advice is applicable to beekeepers in the 1990s. This is especially true now that pesticides are playing an increasingly larger role in reducing mite populations in beehives. Most agree that chemical treatment can only be looked at as a stop-gap measure. It is the long-range strategy, however, encouraged by the sustainable agriculture concept, that will prevail. As Mr. Richardson concludes: "Our country, to say nothing of manufacturers, has a short term, tomorrow's quarterly report, investment focus. Instead of short term manipulation of money, the United States should be concerned with productive long-term investment in agriculture and manufacturing."
Predicting the future of beekeeping in the new decade is risky business. One reason is that there are so many levels of the activity, from the few outfits that run tens of thousands of colonies to those with less than ten. However, some principles will apply at all levels. Changing from extensive beekeeping to more intensive, efficient management will be necessary. Innovative ideas are needed to help beekeepers find, mark, select and certify queens. Managing excessive stinging, swarming and absconding will be major challenges presented by introduction of the African bee. Genetic resistance to diseases and pests with less, not more, reliance on chemical treatments must also be on every beekeeper's agenda. Discovering new outlets and ways to market the natural products of the honey bee should be part of any long-range strategy, as will intensive financial management. Most authorities believe that the chance of finding the greatest efficiencies is not in producing, but in marketing and fine tuning finances.
As mentioned above, developing solutions to the future's agriculture problems will require asking different, broader questions. For beekeeping it will mean looking at the whole enterprise rather than breaking it down into smaller and smaller parts. The 1990s can be looked at as a disastrous era when unexpected changes only mean failure and despair or an exciting time which presents fresh challenges. In the final analysis, it will depend on whether those involved perceive their cup as half empty or half full.
DOMESTIC/EXPORT SALES SEMINAR BY NATIONAL HONEY BOARD
The National Honey Board is holding its annual domestic and export sales seminars in New Orleans. The Domestic Sales Seminar is on March 1 and includes presentations on consumer, foodservice and industrial market research, as well as the National Honey Board's plans for 1990. The Export Sales Seminar will take place the following day (March 2) with reports on the honey markets in Japan, Saudi Arabia and West Germany.
I have heard nothing but rave reviews about last year's seminar held in Nashville. Mr. Bill Merritt, who represents Florida on the Board, attended. You might contact him (phone 904/962-9051) for further information. Advanced registration is $150 which includes breaks, lunches, meeting materials and speaker costs. Individual registration for the Domestic Sales Seminar is $65.00 and for the Export Sales Seminar, $95. After February 15, the costs rise to $180 for full registration or $75.00 and $105.00 for the Domestic and Export Seminars. Special room rates of $69/single and $79/double are available at the Fairmont Hotel in New Orleans as are 50% discounted airline fares. For more information, contact Tina Tindall at the National Honey Board ph 303/776-2337 or facsimile (FAX) 303/776-1177.
WHAT'S BUZZIN' --NATIONAL HONEY BOARD'S PROGRAM FOR KIDS
The National Honey Board is distributing an educational packet for school use. It contains a videotape, teacher's guide and worksheets. The information is tailored to grades 4-6 and features child reporters. Their newscast, "What's Buzzin'" shows interviews with Dr. Jim Tew and Mr. Dwight Stoller. To order materials, send a check for $15.00 to: National Honey Board Educational Video, 421 21st Ave., Suite 203, Longmont, CO 80501-1421.
Malcolm T. Sanford
Bldg 970, Box 110620
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-0620
Phone (904) 392-1801, Ext. 143 FAX: 904-392-0190
http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~entweb/apis/apis.htm
INTERNET Address: MTS@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU
©1989 M.T. Sanford "All Rights Reserved
