From: "deelusbybeekeeper" <deelusbybeekeeper@excelonline.com>
Date: Sun, 4 Mar 2001 13:54:11 -0800
To: <BiologicalBeekeeping@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Clean wax for Organic Production?

Hi to all on Biological Beekeeping

A producer either going for "Organic Certification" or "Products Produced by
Organic Field Methods" (no certification but willing to stand for open
testing of products produced) without the use of chemicals, drugs, essential
oils, acids, etc., would most certainly have to use foundation that was
chemical free.

Where is the clean wax going to come from if W.T.Kelly and Dadant aren't
sure thay have enought clean wax for cut comb honey producers and already
residue levels are there (tolerances announced for fluvalinate and
coumaphos, etc) in beeswax? It was announced already last year by Sioux and Adee at the AHPA national meeting that residues were in beeswax.

It has already been said that organic certification is not only a marketing
tool, but a plunge into a commitment with the ecology framing one's
production syustem.Beekeeping and aspects of honey bee husbandry, without a partnership with one's ecological system, is a difficult agricultural
enterprise. This has already been said on Science agri bkpg.

You cannot have clean organic honey with wax particles and pollen floating
in like normal, just from skimming the honey with various treatments. Maybe
filtered out you would get clean honey, but then clean honey would not be
organic honey, without the floating particles.

Don't think all beekeepers have this fact in their minds yet! Organic is
like being able to eat the cappings wax with honey/pollen etc., and chew
like day of old. How many beekeepers can?

Now, we're capable of selling nucs this fall/coming spring 2002. If we were
to sell brood nest conversion packages (filing out the super with more comb
and then enough comb for another super above to make a two box broodnes), where would the clean wax come from to fill out the nucs for whole supers and then super another box?

If you buy the wax from a foundation maker would the wax be clean enough for organic standards and certification or saying produced by organic field
methods? How many beekeepers have held back clean wax to make the
conversion, thinking about future needs? What a dilemma! Just teach everyone to make their own and let a new industry grow? Crazy?

I think this is maybe something we should talk more about on Biobee! Where are the supplies going to come from?

Chow

Dee