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It makes all the sense in the world to me that
organic keepers might not have as much problem with CCD. Some of the
pharaceuticals used conventionally on bees help 'control' mites and other
parasitic creatures. Since they are insects, too, the products are
basically insecticides. (I'm a furniture restorer/hobby farmer, not an ag
chemist. Please forgive me if I'm not technically spot on here.) My
understanding is that the beekeeper is trying to dose the bees as strongly as
possible to eliminate the pests without actually killing the bees. Sorta
like chemotherapy for cancer patients, maybe. This would certainly stress the bees and leave them with much more
vulnerable health systems.
I try to think and operate as 'organically' as I
can. I live in the middle of a giant Iowa cornfield, so everything around
me is 'non' organic farming. But, regardless of definitions, I stay with
my original point: Healthy, happy, non-stressed disease free bees can
produce more, resist disease naturally, and live longer and better. And we
do, too, as a result.
Tim
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