BBKA education

[oliver90owner]

Admin,



Regards, RAB

 

[Nellie]

Step one: Basic certificate issued by the BBKA.
Step two: compulsory registration overseen by the BBKA.

No thanks...

Rather them than the government, how's a charitable organisation going to enforce registration?

It's the downside to the sudden interest in beekeeping, there's a lot more people cropping up asking to put bees here, there and everywhere so correspondingly councils etc want to know that these people [should] know at least the basics.

Does make it harder to stay off the radar if you can't privately host your hives or sell your honey.

 

[tonybloke]

The original poster asked what people thought and I gave my thoughts.
.

How can you give an opinion on something you haven't done?


It would be like asking a person who has never driven a car what they thought of the driving test!

 

[BKF Admin]

Rather them than the government, how's a charitable organisation going to enforce registration?

By setting up a company to deal with the register ?
Just like they did when taking the money from Bayer ect

 

[Nellie]

Still gives them no legal power of enforcement. Personally I'd give the job to the bee unit what with them already having a database in place designed to the hold that information and inspectors with a legal right to inspect your hives on demand and all.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Personally I'd give the job to the bee unit

Is that not run by the government.

 

[Nellie]

It is, but if we're talking hypothetical situations here why not give the job to the department that's already got the infrastructure and legal weight behind it in the first place?

I know it doesn't add weight to the moustache twirling, nefarious plans of the BBKA to dominate global pesticide manufacture or something but I can't be arsed to find a conspiracy in everything the BBKA do.

 

[VEG]

Some Farmers Markets et al insist on basic certificate before you can sell your honey via them.

I think you may find it is a basic hygeine certificate needed to sell at local farmers market not basic beekeeping.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I know it doesn't add weight to the moustache twirling, nefarious plans of the BBKA to dominate global pesticide manufacture or something but I can't be arsed to find a conspiracy in everything the BBKA do.

I don't believe there is a conspiracy in everything they do.....but not so sure about the government,no matter which one it is.

 

[Nellie]

Long as we can convince this shower that beekeepers are neither poor nor single parents they'll probably leave us alone.

 

[Black Comb]

I think you may find it is a basic hygeine certificate needed to sell at local farmers market not basic beekeeping.

Veg & Hombre
I don't why you are doubting this.
My wife is part of Country Markets. You can not sell honey through them without a BBKA basic certificate. Fact.

 

[VEG]

All you need where I live is a basic food hygeine cert. Why would you need to have a beekeeping cert to sell honey unless you were taking the bees with you.

 

[Black Comb]

I don't know why they insist on this.
I'm guessing that someone in the organisation in the early days thought it was a good idea and it's stayed ever since.
I've passed mine (and the basic hygiene cert) so covered on all counts.

My major problem is producing honey, not selling it.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Is this the same organisation Pete.
http://www.country-markets.co.uk/

 

[Black Comb]

That's the one.

 

[oliver90owner]

Qualiffications to sell honey

Yes, jobsworth, or similar, this basic beekeeping certificate to sell the honey.

A simple analogy could be: a salesmen does not need an engineering degree, as might the designers of the product. It may help, but not strictly necessary, as any questions can be directed to the production/design engineeers.

With honey sales, any questions could be directed back to the packers/processors/beekeepers. The sales person may never have seen a bee hive, let alone delved inside one!

Regards, RAB

 

[RoofTops]

Things like farmers' markets guard their image quite tightly, for example in the ones round here you can only sell the produce you make or raise yourself. You can't buy meat (or honey) somewhere else and then set up a stall.

Insisting on a basic beekeeping certificate would be one way to at least ensure that people selling honey are beekeepers, as opposed to someone who bought it in Tesco and re-labled it. A qualification might also imply that they have some knowledge of both the product and beekeeping to answer customers' questions which is the sort of product knowledge people expect from stalls in farmers' markets - but not of course at the local supermarket.

So while it might seem a bit over the top to expect a qualification to sell honey I can see why they may be doing it. There is also a big waiting list for places at some of our local food markets so anything to sort out the serious from the amateurs is probably attractive to the folk running the markets who want to keep the standard of the market high.

 

[Nellie]

Suppose there's also the matter that the basic does cover requirements for Honey labelling so they can cover their backs that way too.

 

[Black Comb]

I think a lot of it is about covering their backs.
They are quite firm about it only being your own produce though.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Things like farmers' markets guard their image quite tightly, for example in the ones round here you can only sell the produce you make or raise yourself. You can't buy meat (or honey) somewhere else and then set up a stall.

Exactly the same with our local farmers market,and i think thats just how it should be for all the farmers markets in the country.