Moving Day, Friday June 27, 2008

This week I have had a first-rate opportunity to truly support local sustainable agriculture (and I would urge others to do the same). I have been able to do this not only with my own volunteer power, but also with the recruitment of ten thousand plus volunteers in the form of honeybees. The bees came from a multi-generational family apiary in nearby Cornelius. These social insects, known as Apis Mellifera, will visit not only the Artisan Organics farm throughout this and subsequent growing seasons, but also other fields and flowers within ten square miles of their hive as they gather nectar and convert it into honey.

Coaxing the very large swarm of bees into their new hive was not a simple task, and required a delicate touch and a bit of courage. The frames from the old hive that the bees were on were removed and the bees shaken off into their new home. A few puffs of smoke go a long way to help calm them during this process. Only one bee out of ten thousand found the process to be highly objectionable and felt the need to sting me on the wrist. After placing the bees in the hive, I placed the roof on top and left them to attend to the queen and hive. In one week I will open the hive to check the brood and make sure that the queen has begun laying. If there is no brood within two weeks, then I will have to provide a new queen for the colony.

The reasons for keeping honeybees on a farm are twofold. The first and most obvious reason to keep bees is to harvest the honey and beeswax that they produce. The beeswax is used to make a variety of household products, most notably candles, balms, and other cosmetic products. The honey of course is tasty to eat: being the preferred sweetener of foods in European cultures up until the 11^th century AD and the discovery of sugar cane. The second and often overlooked benefit of honeybees is the role that they play in pollinating crops. Although Einstein’s estimation that human extinction would follow four years after bee extinction might be a little bit of an exaggeration, we would expect to see crop yields drop by at least one-third. This would spell extinction for a large population of people. Modern methods of farming have done a lot to lead us down this road. We have lately seen the sudden disappearance of large populations of worker bees in many Western countries and have termed the phenomenon Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). The cause is largely unknown, although it is likely due to a combination of factors, which may include climate changes, increased pesticide usage, genetically modified crops, malnutrition, mites, and other pathogens. This is why I believe an organic farm is the safest place to keep my hive.

I will keep you updated on the health and progress of the colony as the honey flow season progresses.

Nathan Miller