The Forum.

[Hivemaker.]

I wouldn't put the union flag on anything of mine and nor will I wear it.

Your Confederate then,otherwise known as a good ole Johnny reb.

 

[Somerford]

let's not start a political flag thing.....What I am suggesting is a label that is commonly and voluntarily used by the members of this forum to inform and educate the honey buying public about the bees and methods used to make the wonderful product, and provide some evidence of traceability if you like.

A bit like the little red tractor emblem for British meat/milk.

Of COURSE it wouldn't apply to any countries outside the UK !

It probably would need some icon, or header saying something like 'British Bees' or even a local moniker 'Essex Bees' or maybe 'Kernow Bees' (Cornwall)...

And a little info and a link to a website that explains more about bees, and our efforts to protect the gene pool of our bees and why the customer should only buy our honey if they are to be certain of it's provenance.

And to remind them that unlike animals that can be raised in an EU country and slaughtered here and then called British, we do not do this with our honey !!

regards

S

 

[TBRNoTB]

let's not start a political flag thing.....What I am suggesting is a label that is commonly and voluntarily used by the members of this forum to inform and educate the honey buying public about the bees and methods used to make the wonderful product, and provide some evidence of traceability if you like.

A bit like the little red tractor emblem for British meat/milk.

Of COURSE it wouldn't apply to any countries outside the UK !

It probably would need some icon, or header saying something like 'British Bees' or even a local moniker 'Essex Bees' or maybe 'Kernow Bees' (Cornwall)...

And a little info and a link to a website that explains more about bees, and our efforts to protect the gene pool of our bees and why the customer should only buy our honey if they are to be certain of it's provenance.

And to remind them that unlike animals that can be raised in an EU country and slaughtered here and then called British, we do not do this with our honey !!

regards

S

I agree Somerford, the union waistcoat was a stab in the dark it could be anything that is readily identified the country of origin. As I said the waistcoat was a bit twee, some will see politics in the most innocent of things.

 

[Tom Bick]

Somford it’s a cracking idea but don’t make the mistake of trying to organise everyone to adopt the same emblem it wont work.

 

[Mike a]

Wife came up with a simple logo for my honey labels using word. This is an earlier version but simple to create.

 

[mbc]

I think I must live in a bubble of naivety.
Since when is the craft of beekeeping in Britain so unsustainable that it needs queen imports by the tens of thousands ? Are we, as a beekeeping nation, so incompetent ( or is it lazyness ? ) that we need to continually replace our stock with reinforcements from abroad ?
Its about time we organised ourselves a bit more efficiently and if it takes communication through forums like this one to get our party started then lets do it.
Time doesnt stand still and may be running out for some of the rarer genetics we have on our islands, so we should grasp the nettle and get things going ASAP
On the other hand you can stick the union jack where the sun doesnt shine. ( tongue in cheek, possibly, but a phrase which neatly encapsulates why we havent got anywhere as a collective beekeeping nation yet )

 

[TBRNoTB]

On the other hand you can stick the union jack where the sun doesnt shine. ( tongue in cheek, possibly, but a phrase which neatly encapsulates why we havent got anywhere as a collective beekeeping nation yet )

I suppose you could say the same about the dragon, but wasn't that was done a few hundred years ago?

 

[Poly Hive]

Up until now mbc yes it was a, lack of comms, and b, unwillingness to take on board modern comms. I have an eye on Dave here, and he was so disappointed that his fav org would not run a forum. We discussed it two years running at Stoneleigh.

We could achieve a great deal.

When do we make a start?

PH

 

[Bcrazy]

PH I wish you and others well for your attempts to challenge the beekeeping fraternity to raise their own queens and to stop imports from abroad. But I have strong reservations about the final outcome of this venture. They're will always be the odd one that will buy from abroad because its easier to do that than to raise his/her own queens.
May I ask one question ;? How do you intend to stop beekeepers buying in from other country's?

Mo

 

[Poly Hive]

I don't.

No need to.

PH

 

[Bcrazy]

I understand that PH , so please would you fully explain to me (I am a bit thick) what is your ambition in all this hype?

Mo

 

[mbc]

Sorry, I'm not PH, but my ambition nwould be to positively co-operate to maintain and propagate bees with useful genetics so that they remain available to us and future generations of beekeepers

 

[Hivemaker.]

When do we make a start?

No time like the present...get out and buy hundreds or thousands of mating nuc's, and the support equipment and stock and just get on with it......action speaks louder than words.

 

[Bcrazy]

Hi mbc, while I applaud your commitment in trying to maintain a good breeding stock, what about the old lady down the road who just keeps bees for allowing them "a Natural way of life" and never checks for disease and only takes off the honey and her way of beekeeping is to Leave well alone? I know of two such women. Until every individual beekeeper does the same as everyone else then we have two hopes Bob Hope and NO hope. Sorry this Ill conceived idea will never work. Much is the pity.

Mo

 

[Somerford]

Hi mbc, while I applaud your commitment in trying to maintain a good breeding stock, what about the old lady down the road who just keeps bees for allowing them "a Natural way of life" and never checks for disease and only takes off the honey and her way of beekeeping is to Leave well alone? I know of two such women. Until every individual beekeeper does the same as everyone else then we have two hopes Bob Hope and NO hope. Sorry this Ill conceived idea will never work. Much is the pity.

Mo

You say that, but the fact he/she is a let alone beekeeper means that their bees will be very unlikely to be either re-queened with an overseas queen or started by means of a package nuc !

There will always be these types and although we should be concerned about diseased colonies in such apiaries, by flooding the area with our own selected drones we stand more chance of manipulating their gene pool.

It actually gives me an idea - flood the area around Down Ampney with drones from local colonies so that when new queens emerge and mate we stand a better than evens chance of them mating with local drones rather than more Nz ones. This might turn all 300+ colonies into nightmares, and you could accuse me of being an eco-terrorist, but I don't think I'd be prosecuted this way...

Regards

Somerford

 

[Haughton Honey]

When do we make a start?

No time like the present...get out and buy hundreds or thousands of mating nuc's, and the support equipment and stock and just get on with it......action speaks louder than words.

You old cynic you.

I shall be calling in the next couple of days to bend your ear..............!

 

[Chris Luck]

Genetic diversity anyone?

http://www.bienenforschung.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de/uploads/media/Bee_genetic_diversity__120_.pdf

Guess you've all read it anyway.

Chris

 

[tonybloke]

thanks for the link, Chris. very interesting document.

 

[Bcrazy]

There will always be these types and although we should be concerned about diseased colonies in such apiaries, by flooding the area with our own selected drones we stand more chance of manipulating their gene pool.

Sorry Somerford, can not subscribe to that it would create havoc with any gene pool. Flooding the area with one type of gene in the drones makeup is nigh on impossible. Great idea though. It takes two to tango remember that.

Mo

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Are there not two very distinct issues here -

1. Protection and improvement of AMM stocks

2. Stopping the import of queens

Personally, I'm not at all bothered either way about AMM specifically as a species (though I applaud those who spend time and effort in encouraging them), but I do think resisting imports as per both this post and Somerford's thread makes a lot of sense on grounds of disease control.