Subject: Re: Honey, Frozen Chicken & Beef

From: [email-masked] (Andy Nachbaur)
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 15:24:00 GMT

[email-masked] (norman R. Paterson)refer#: None
 wrote:
>Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping
>Subject: Re: Honey, Frozen Chicken & Beef
>Date: 27 Feb 1995 11:56:05 GMT
>
>There are two puzzles about this message.
>
>The first is what MT stands for.  I think it means metric tonne.
>1 metric tonne = 1000 kilograms.  The prices are reasonable.
>
>The second is why the poster thinks we want to know the prices per
>metric tonne of Chinese honey, US chicken, or Mongolian beef.
 |----end quotes---------------------------------|

   Hello Norman,

     I sometimes forget that this is an international news group
and others may not be interested in what a few US beekeepers may
be interested in. Sorry about that.

     What are you interested in or whats going on in the UK with
the bees?
                        ttul Andy-

---

From: [email-masked] (Norman R. Paterson)
Date: 10 Mar 1995 14:10:40 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
Andy Nachbaur <[email-masked]> wrote:
...
>     What are you interested in or whats going on in the UK with

Andy:

No apology needed!  I wasn't flaming; I was puzzled about the
original message.  Are you saying that US beekeepers -are-
interested in the prices per metric tonne of Chinese honey, US
chicken, or Mongolian beef?  If so, why?  I am curious.  I had
thought that the prices post was just noise, but your reply
suggests not.

As for beekeeping here in the UK: I am in Fife, Scotland.  We
don't have varroa here yet, though no doubt it will arrive in due
course.  Winter's not over, but we have occasional warm days.

My own setup is very small.  I keep up to 4 hives in my garage
(lock-up?) with a tunnel to let the bees out.  This keeps the
garage clear of bees and gives me a place to store stuff just
where I need it.  I usually combine my hives for wintering, and
split them up in the spring (the hope being that this will reduce
swarming - some hope).  I don't get a lot of honey by commercial
standards, but I sell the excess to the local baker at 1.30
pounds per half pound, which is not at all bad.  (The baker makes
his own bread and our two products go together Most Excellently!)

This year I have made myself some mead, as an experiment.  It
takes 12-18 months to mature, so I'll have to wait a while for the
results.

I must confess to being cowardly with regard to being stung.  My
aim is to have as little to do with the workers as I can, and I
wonder about ways of inspecting the hive with an endoscope or
similar.  But I do care for them: they work themselves to death,
and I steal their lifes' work.  Still, they get good living
conditions!

-Norman