Sailabee

If using a small extractor, you must extract within two hours of coming off the hive for it to be still liquid enough to extract preferably less, unless you try and reheat it - which is a mission in it's self.

The dairy farmers who joined the Biological Farming Group - where they decrease their urea over five years for example, and reduce number of stock slightly find they are then far more profitable - for example, vet fees reduce dramatically. Bit like beekeeping right now, if EVERYONE reduced their hive numbers by 30%, they would need less of everything, including labour, and would be a great deal more profitable, with healthier bees. Unfortunately hell ain't about to freeze over.

Biggest problem in trying to delete the coating of the seeds is Monsanto (now Bayer) own shares in all the major seed producers, and they are not about to give up that large section of their sales anytime soon.

It seems from what I have read elsewhere that if a hive has been used by bees, and it is outside - even with the entrance blocked, under the new charging system it will be counted as a hive by the Assure Quality, as will swarm bait boxes, so unless you have spare shed area, would still be an overhead to carry if you keep them.

Perhaps ours use bottom entrance as they are on the bottom side of the equator, and upper side use top?

Do as we did in Auckland, get those with backyard orchards as well as beekeepers to front up. We got enough to force the council to hold several sessions to hear all those who had put in submissions, and the elected councillors attended and we were sitting at tables - about 8 people/councillor or senior planner, and it worked, and they dropped the fees they had proposed.

There are specific bylaws - mainly relevant to urban hives. I know there was a thread on here at the time we were all fronting up to make submissions, as originally they were going to charge a poultice for the right to have bees.

If I only had 100 corporate hives within range of my hives, you could stand outside and hear me cheering.

Possibly part of the tribe, so thought to be more trust-worthy?

Drench resistance has advanced in NZ, because we didn't do what the Aussies started doing 40 years ago, and import and release dung beetles - it takes a long time for them to spread and cover the ground. The drench manufacturers companies commissioned bogus research in NZ to try and stop the import of the dung beetle, as they loose the bulk of their market - one of those rare situations where the Aussies are way ahead of us.

Ideas sure have changed- we had to dissect wetas when at college - either fifth or sixth form - one weta/two students - that would have been very early sixties.

When the NZ unit was built, walls were two foot thick concrete - the Aussie jobs I believe the walls are three metres thick, and they are several stories high, all completely automated. Capital cost would be huge.

There is a plant in Upper Hutt - built in the '60's. Was originally used to steralise dressing packs for hospitals etc, built by Tasman Vaccine Laboratory. In Aussie, they have huge plants where for jack zip, you put through all supers with frames, and totally steralised- including hive beetle, EFB and AFB as well as any viruses. Last I heard, about $15/box.

If being used for topical application, pretty sure needs to be radiated - which now has to be done in Aussie as the one local plant no longer outsources.

We use sacks from coffee roasters - and there's a few of them to keep the latte sippers happy. Hang them on a fence for the winter as some may have insecticides in them. The seed potatoes sold in the red shed are supplied in small sacks - try a grovel there, also need the fence treatment to burn nicely also.