Increased Interest...WOW!

[James Burke]

It's great to see an upswing in the queen breeding / rearing forum. In times past, it was just a few of us who stopped by.

Kudos to Old Sol and the rest of us who trying to get back to the basics of strong genetics.

I sometimes wonder if honeybee genetics could go down the same path as our seed industry. ("terminator hybrids",and such, that would cause the rest of the industry to be held hostage to patented varieties...and then be held liable for infringement for propegating...etc...)


What do you think? Anything's possible, I suppose. Just look at how many crop varities have been lost over the years, and how monoculture has complicated things.

Regards,

Jim

[Michael Bush]

I think the "patented varieties" thing is already in place with the Russians. My fear is they will find the same strain of feral bees I'm raising, find out they are mite resitant and patent them and make me pay them a royalty for having them.

[Ian]

>> sometimes wonder if honeybee genetics could go down the same path as our seed industry. ("terminator hybrids",and such, that would cause the rest of the industry to be held hostage to patented varieties...and then be held liable for infringement for propegating...etc...)


It will happen if our govronments allow it. They have bent over backwards to accomidate industry needs, and totally forgot about us, the farmer. The farmer who should have the right to keep "his" grown seed over for next years crop. The arguemnent layes with the farmer being at a disadvantage due to inferiour seed grown without continual seed up grades. I think it is all a bunch of bull ****!!

We are now in a situation where industry dictates what and how we grow the crop. Record profits are being collected by industry, and I, the farmer is having trubble making a go of it. Technology and inovation is being focused on making money for the industry, not the farmer. I can say that confedently. I have not heard yet of plans on developing a drought resistant, low fertilizer input, fusaruim resistant wheat. For they dont care if we get droughted, and they want use to use lots of fert and pesticide.

I can only guess the same will happen with bees. Or maybe the payback is not big enough for industry to even care. How badly do you want a mite resistant bee,..

[Ian]

You know, the Argintien govronment stands up for their farmers. After Monsanto released their Roundup ready wheat to Arginten farmers, their govronment told Monsanto to stick their TUA (technology use agreement) (15$/acre of crop) up thier wing wang. Our govronment has tossed farmers in jail for thier incompliance to Monsantos requests. Whos looking out for who?

[Pugs]

I can't remember which site I saw it on this month, but someone is advertising their bees are patented. I couldn't believe it, but I've forgotten where I saw it. I'll look for it tomorrow and if I find it, post the link.

Pugs

[dcross]

http://www.mountain-honey.com/productionqueens.htm

[Pugs]

Thanks dcross! That was the place. I think this patent business has got out of hand. Software patents, business method patents, plant patents, animal patents, insect patents. Ugh.

Pugs

[JBJ]

How do they plan to control who their patented drones cross with from their patented queens? It would seem the patented traits would be free to move about the ole gene pool, uncontrollably. Kind of like what has hapened with many GM plants.

[Jim Fischer]

Sadly, the uspto patent search facility is down
at the moment, so I can't read the claims made
in the patent application.

But "patent pending" means that a set of claims
have been made to the patent office, not that
any of them have been approved as patentable.

It has been over a year since their application.
This is a long time, an indication that the
patent office may not agree that the claims are
valid.

I think it is strange that someone would go to
all the trouble and expense of attempting to
patent their queens (or breeding technique, it
is not yet clear which) when they are located
in Union County GA, an area infested with Small
Hive Beetle since 2002.
http://ceris.purdue.edu/napis/pests/shb/imap/gashb.html

If I were them, I'd first relocate the operation
to an area not infested by pests that would
prevent them from shipping to places like
Virginia, where I hope we continue to do all we
can to keep SHB out. (Its not as bad as being
within the AHB areas, but it is close.)

If one reads what some bee producers say, it
would appear that several of them want us to
believe that their bees are somehow "resistant"
to varroa. If these claims were true, I'd
expect to hear success stories from beekeepers
with enough experience and enough hives to
be credible sources of such reports.

Funny how we just don't hear such reports.

[Pugs]

fischer,

Thanks for pointing out the 'pending'. I saw that and simply forgot to take it into account. If you do find and read their patent application, please post your thoughts on it.

Pugs

[JBJ]

jfischer, I agree with your comments. Although I do feel mite reistant and mite proof are two totally different things. I have heard a couple of claims of mite proof bees this year. Of course Mite proof bees are the goal of every breeder, and some progress is being made in that direction. The journey is not over yet. One more argument for not letting Australian queens in, they have not been vetted through the heavy natural selection pressure of mites, and presumably carry a higher porportion on unresistant genetics.

[tarheit]

Don't forget the provisional patent. It gives you a year of 'patent pending' before you have to apply for a full patent. And the patent office seems to be very, very behind.

Plus the patent office seems to be giving patents for just about anything. I saw one patent filed last year for a disposable diaper (though the patent didn't call it that).