Beeks not in Associations

[Murox]

"BeeBase is the Animal and Plant Health Agency's (APHA) National Bee Unit website. It is designed for beekeepers and supports Defra, Welsh Government and Scotland's Bee Health Programmes. BeeBase supports the aims of Healthy Bees Plan 2030, which focus on protecting and sustaining our valuable national bee stocks. "

yes , but my question was what benefit do I get ?? The grandiose wording amounts to nothing but a mission statement what does it actually do for me ??

 

[user 20297]

yes , but my question was what benefit do I get ?? The grandiose wording amounts to nothing but a mission statement what does it actually do for me ??

Maybe the question was partly answered already by @BigAshW with the post above, Beeks not in Associations
I see the major benefit being something not tangible to any specific person, but rather, it is an organisation which benefits beekeeping as a whole. In order to do that they need our data input, which costs me nothing, so I'm happy to give it.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

somebody remind me, what benefit do I get from Beebase??

Starvation warnings - which get sent out at alloted times whether the bees are starving or not, and usually four weeks after beekeepers have actually noticed the bees are short of food and taken the appropriate remedial action
Other warning emails, usually just stating the bl--dy obvious.
Disease warnings if there is an outbreak in your area, prompting the beekeeper to be extra vigilant and prepared for an SBI visit.
Poor advice from the BBKA book of beekeeping by numbers advocating constant shook swarming, 'ventilation' and matchsticks.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Problem would be actually policing this. Would be very easy for people to ignore this and if they have hives tucked out of the way nobody would know. The finances required to recruit enough enforcing officers to scour the country looking for hives would be prohibitive.

and consider as well that a big chunk of money currently used to finance the NBU was European funding, and we ain't in that club any more.

 

[Murox]

Maybe the question was partly answered already by @BigAshW with the post above, Beeks not in Associations
I see the major benefit being something not tangible to any specific person, but rather, it is an organisation which benefits beekeeping as a whole. In order to do that they need our data input, which costs me nothing, so I'm happy to give it.

I'm trying not to be bl==dy minded about this but I still do not see how this organisation benefits beekeeping as a whole - or offers the individual even one advantage

 

[user 20297]

I'm trying not to be bl==dy minded about this but I still do not see how this organisation benefits beekeeping as a whole - or offers the individual even one advantage

Having watched a Zoom presentation fronted by Luis Molero, I do believe that Beebase is operated by people passionate about bees and who are legally empowered to do things for the overall benefit and protection of beekeepers and bees; that's from me, a committed cynic. I'll leave it there and get back if there's ever a moment where I feel the opposite to be true.

 

[Into the lions den]

Having watched a Zoom presentation fronted by Luis Molero, I do believe that Beebase is operated by people passionate about bees and who are legally empowered to do things for the overall benefit and protection of beekeepers and bees; that's from me, a committed cynic. I'll leave it there and get back if there's ever a moment where I feel the opposite to be true.

Some yes...and some are relatively unthinking rule followers.

However...back to the original point...

From the people I know the majority will not be association members. the bigger outfits DO tend to all be in the BFA..but the smaller guys I doubt 40% are members.

From off forum correspondence on the now closed Irish thread...of the 13 larger units who have now asked to be involved 11 of them say they are not members.
However that seems to be down to the local conflict issues. I think that is extreme.....and no place in the UK will have that sort of pattern.

We report to Luis when we see previously unspotted apiaries in our areas, and also abandoned hives (there are a vast number of those around in various stages of decay) and only a minority are known to the authorities. A mix of the secretive, the independent minded, the disillusioned, the mean (not wanting to pay for ANYTHING), the paranoid, the unsold hives of former keepers, and those who belonged to the deceased.

 

[coffindodger]

quote' I joined this forum because it was independent of any affiliations and fixed ideas. '
I am a member of a local association because I believe it is the right thing to do, but no longer attend meetings as the 'leaders' really do have fixed ideas - some of which are just plain wrong.

 

[Amari]

I'm trying not to be bl==dy minded about this but I still do not see how this organisation benefits beekeeping as a whole - or offers the individual even one advantage

There was an outbreak last summer of EFB about 6km from here. The SBI was quickly onto the case and we all got a welcome apiary inspection. That's the value of BeeBase.

 

[North End Bees]

I considered not rejoining this year as my branch hasn't even attempted to run Zoom sessions. How difficult can it be?

You're right, it's not difficult at all.

When in-person meetings were cancelled, our BKA decided to run zooms. A couple of us organised speakers, booked the sessions and these have been very enjoyable over the last few months. It's great to see familiar faces and have a little catch-up which we probably wouldn't get around to if the zooms weren't scheduled.

If no one in your BKA is feeling tech confident enough, perhaps you could offer to organise them?

 

[Newbeeneil]

somebody remind me, what benefit do I get from Beebase??

You get an email when someone (also registered) has a recorded case of foulbrood withing 3km.

 

[Bob Williams]

I joined the local BKA in order to meet other beekeepers in the area. Of course, Covid put the mockers on that idea, so I setup a mailing list for members to ask questions, share knowledge, etc. (a sort of cut-down version of this forum). Unfortunately, I've failed to persuade the committee of the benefits of my mailing list, so I'm currently the only one in my personal echo chamber!
All the knowledge in the division flows from the centre outwards (eg. very good speakers at the monthly Zoom meetings), but I am looking for somewhere to just chat with fellow beeks in my area.

 

[pargyle]

I think there is a place in the UK for a national register of beekeepers ... I am on Beebase and a member of an association and I don't object to my details being retained - but, the difficulty of any national register is enforcement and cost. Unless there is a benefit to the Government it's not going to happen and if you want to make it compulsory then you have to have some means of enforcement - which has a cost - and no Government is going to insitute a regime of national registration if it requires a nett drain on finances !

So ... it ain't gonna happen.

There are benefits to be had from a collective organisation and unfortunately the BBKA do not seem to be sufficiently outward thinking to make it an attractive proposition .. BBKA registration comes automatically with membership of affiliated associations so their membership is almost guaranteed and this, I feel, does generate a deal of complacency. I belong to other associations which I pay dues to - but, I get back more in both discounts and added value to my involvement than I pay out in subscriptions. The general feeling amongst beekeepers I know is that the BBKA does not really represent good value for what it costs the beekeeper - and that is what needs to change.

25000 members is not a huge force but the number of beekeepers in the UK could be double or treble that and if you could attract all these beekeepers into a National Association that has more defined tangible benefits to belonging outside of the insurance and a monthly magazine (which I have to say - rarely holds my interest for more than a few minutes) - it could be a force to be reckoned with.

The difficulty with all such organisations is that the administration of them takes time and the people who volunteer to do the work (and I admire their involvement) are not always the people with the perspicacity to make it work to its best advantage. I'm sure it's evident at local level with societies and associations in a lot of different crafts. If you are not careful the clique of those who get involved with the running can stymie the voice of those with ideas of change .... and beekeeping, in particular, is not a craft that is always welcoming of change ....

 

[Newbeeneil]

I agree with Pargyle, people who want to run an organisation, business or government probably are not the best to do it.!
(Tones of Hitchhikers guild to the Galaxy.)

 

[Murox]

You get an email when someone (also registered) has a recorded case of foulbrood withing 3km.

Thanks -I guess that could be construed as a benefit.

 

[North End Bees]

All the knowledge in the division flows from the centre outwards (eg. very good speakers at the monthly Zoom meetings), but I am looking for somewhere to just chat with fellow beeks in my area.

Can you ask your local BKA if they could run break-out rooms for chats after the main presentation?

If not, perhaps join the zooms of other BKAs which do. E.g Somerset BKA run free fortnightly zooms with international speakers, followed by chat sessions in small groups for half an hour-ish.

I find it interesting to chat with other beeks on these zooms regardless of if they're in my local area. And it's nice to see friendly faces, something lacking at the moment with social restrictions.

 

[Bob Williams]

Can you ask your local BKA if they could run break-out rooms for chats after the main presentation?

If not, perhaps join the zooms of other BKAs which do. E.g Somerset BKA run free fortnightly zooms with international speakers, followed by chat sessions in small groups for half an hour-ish.

I find it interesting to chat with other beeks on these zooms regardless of if they're in my local area. And it's nice to see friendly faces, something lacking at the moment with social restrictions.

That's a good idea, but still limits contact to the times of the Zoom meetings (monthly in this case). My mailing list is email based, so if I have a question now, I can ask it, and probably get a reply (or several) before the end of the day. A mailing list provides a single address to which to write, the list-server then forwards the message on to all the subscribed members.

 

[B+.]

I was reading a now closed Thread and it made me remember a conversation with a Bee Inspector here in Northern Ireland, he said that the UBKA has about 850 members, but in his opinion there were an additional 750 beekeepers NOT members of any of the Northern Ireland Associations... 1600 beeks in total ! ! ! mmmm....... I would trust his assessment, especially as he has access to information not available to beekeepers (they're very strict about Data Protection, very..)

I have limited knowledge of beekeeping in the South (Rep. of Ireland) or on the island of Britain, but what is the opinion (what are you basing your opinion on??) of the members on this forum, of how many beeks are not members of Associations in Ireland (the country) and Britain (the island)?

Just wondering?

That is a good enough reason to join and any affiliation is secondary.

I'm a member of Bedfordshire BKA - which is not affiliated to BBKA. There is a quite large membership - I think I remember seeing somewhere it was in the 4-500 range. This may be due, in part, to the low membership subscription - £10/year.
Until a couple of years ago, I was also a member of North-Buckinghamshire BKA, which was affiliated to BBKA. The subscription was considerably higher, due no-doubt to the BBKA capitation. I resigned after the fiasco outlined here. I felt it was incongruent to support an organisation which clearly didn't represent my interests.

As for the OP. I am unaware of any beekeepers in Bedfordshire who are not members of BedsBKA. The subscription is so small that it is well within the reach of almost any beekeeper. The benefits of membership are not insubstantial either. It's a no-brainer!

 

[B+.]

yes , but my question was what benefit do I get ?? The grandiose wording amounts to nothing but a mission statement what does it actually do for me ??

Do you have a seasonal bee inspector? Do you receive communications from NBU on feeding (when necessary), disease, and other matters related to bee husbandry?

 

[ericbeaumont]

A mailing list provides a single address to which to write, the list-server then forwards the message on to all the subscribed members.

Bob, why not speed up the job and set up a WhatsApp group instead? You'd all chat in real time, post photos and send info links. We have them for apiaries, Committee, Trainers, and at the honey co. we use them to send in apiary reports.