News The Midwest Manitoba: Beekeeper opposes being forced to join association | Manitoba: Beekeeper opposes being forced to join association |
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| Sunday, 24 January 2010 | |||||
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Phil Veldhuis isn't against the principle of paying mandatory membership fees. But the Starbuck-area beekeeper said he's opposed to having to be a member of the Manitoba Beekeepers Association (MBA). "It's not that I disagree with the fees per se, I disagree with being forced to be part of the association," Veldhuis said. STINT AS PRESIDENT At one time the beekeeper was involved with the MBA, including a stint as president. However a group of beekeepers had a dispute with Veldhuis. And after much acrimony he not only resigned but gave up his MBA membership. He said the fallout from the dispute is the main reason why he doesn't want to be an MBA member again. "It's like finding yourself in a shotgun marriage to your ex-wife. Too much bad water under the bridge." Since March 2009 beekeepers with 50 or more hives are required to pay a MBA membership fee of $200 plus 40 cents per colony up to 1,000 colonies. Veldhuis, who has 900 hives, noted a hive can have between 20,000 to 100,000 bees depending on the time of year. Local NewsBeekeeper opposes being forced to join associationPosted By Glen HallickUpdated 2 days agoPhil Veldhuis isn't against the principle of paying mandatory membership fees. But the Starbuck-area beekeeper said he's opposed to having to be a member of the Manitoba Beekeepers Association (MBA). "It's not that I disagree with the fees per se, I disagree with being forced to be part of the association," Veldhuis said. STINT AS PRESIDENT At one time the beekeeper was involved with the MBA, including a stint as president. However a group of beekeepers had a dispute with Veldhuis. And after much acrimony he not only resigned but gave up his MBA membership. He said the fallout from the dispute is the main reason why he doesn't want to be an MBA member again. "It's like finding yourself in a shotgun marriage to your ex-wife. Too much bad water under the bridge." Since March 2009 beekeepers with 50 or more hives are required to pay a MBA membership fee of $200 plus 40 cents per colony up to 1,000 colonies. Veldhuis, who has 900 hives, noted a hive can have between 20,000 to 100,000 bees depending on the time of year. Advertisement He also objects to smaller beekeepers being exempt from paying the membership fees and a cap for larger beekeepers. In the Dec. 17 Manitoba Co-Operator, Veldhuis wrote an opinion article explaining why he shouldn't be forced to pay fees to the MBA. One of the reasons he stated was the MBA lacks a viable marketing plan. "[A] marketing commission that doesn't have a marketing plan is an empty shell. It doesn't deserve any support or my money," he wrote. Instead Veldhuis joined the Bee Maid, a producer cooperative. "It already does a pretty darn good job of marketing honey." He suggested the MBA could follow Bee Maid's marketing model. MORE THAN ENOUGH? However Veldhuis cautioned Manitoba beekeepers produce more honey than is consumed in the province. "Supply management or something like that really isn't feasible. Single-desk selling would probably be the only model that would work. But there's no appetite for that within the beekeeping community," he said. "The idea of having a producer board that is going to take itself seriously, to act as a producer board, there's not political appetite for that." The beekeeper also suggested the MBA needs to be more concerned with invasive pests and diseases rather than collecting fees from its members. BIGGER CONCERNS In particular the Varroa mite which is a parasite, about the size of a wood tick, attaching itself to a bee's body. "As it's biting bees it's also spreading viruses. It seems to be those viruses that are causing the catastrophic losses that some people are experiencing." Since his article was published, Veldhuis said he has been contacted by other beekeepers with similar concerns about forced memberships. "I don't think I'm a lone voice here. It just seems very odd to me that you can have a producer board that really isn't a producer board," Veldhuis said. "They want those powers, but not for the purposes for which they were intended." Local NewsBeekeeper opposes being forced to join associationPosted By Glen HallickUpdated 2 days agoPhil Veldhuis isn't against the principle of paying mandatory membership fees. But the Starbuck-area beekeeper said he's opposed to having to be a member of the Manitoba Beekeepers Association (MBA). "It's not that I disagree with the fees per se, I disagree with being forced to be part of the association," Veldhuis said. STINT AS PRESIDENT At one time the beekeeper was involved with the MBA, including a stint as president. However a group of beekeepers had a dispute with Veldhuis. And after much acrimony he not only resigned but gave up his MBA membership. He said the fallout from the dispute is the main reason why he doesn't want to be an MBA member again. "It's like finding yourself in a shotgun marriage to your ex-wife. Too much bad water under the bridge." Since March 2009 beekeepers with 50 or more hives are required to pay a MBA membership fee of $200 plus 40 cents per colony up to 1,000 colonies. Veldhuis, who has 900 hives, noted a hive can have between 20,000 to 100,000 bees depending on the time of year. Advertisement He also objects to smaller beekeepers being exempt from paying the membership fees and a cap for larger beekeepers. In the Dec. 17 Manitoba Co-Operator, Veldhuis wrote an opinion article explaining why he shouldn't be forced to pay fees to the MBA. One of the reasons he stated was the MBA lacks a viable marketing plan. "[A] marketing commission that doesn't have a marketing plan is an empty shell. It doesn't deserve any support or my money," he wrote. Instead Veldhuis joined the Bee Maid, a producer cooperative. "It already does a pretty darn good job of marketing honey." He suggested the MBA could follow Bee Maid's marketing model. MORE THAN ENOUGH? However Veldhuis cautioned Manitoba beekeepers produce more honey than is consumed in the province. "Supply management or something like that really isn't feasible. Single-desk selling would probably be the only model that would work. But there's no appetite for that within the beekeeping community," he said. "The idea of having a producer board that is going to take itself seriously, to act as a producer board, there's not political appetite for that." The beekeeper also suggested the MBA needs to be more concerned with invasive pests and diseases rather than collecting fees from its members. BIGGER CONCERNS In particular the Varroa mite which is a parasite, about the size of a wood tick, attaching itself to a bee's body. "As it's biting bees it's also spreading viruses. It seems to be those viruses that are causing the catastrophic losses that some people are experiencing." Since his article was published, Veldhuis said he has been contacted by other beekeepers with similar concerns about forced memberships. "I don't think I'm a lone voice here. It just seems very odd to me that you can have a producer board that really isn't a producer board," Veldhuis said. "They want those powers, but not for the purposes for which they were intended."
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