Phil Ebert started keeping bees in 1980.
?I had a brother-in-law who used to work for a commercial beekeeper,” Ebert said. “When he came to visit, he?d show you bee movies, whether you wanted to watch them or not. I was mildly interested, so I took an adult education course in beekeeping.”
Ebert wasn’t going to keep bees, following the course.
The course instructor, however, talked him into.
?The guy who taught the course said, ?You have to have bees. I?ll give you some.??
Then, Ebert pursued beekeeping as a hobby.
?We started out with two colonies and (then) went to 10 colonies. It was a hobby,? Ebert said. ?Then it turned into a vehicle for my kids to make money. Then in the mid-90s, we got serious and this has been my living for the last 20 years.?
The operation quickly grew to over 1,000 colonies. Despite his early success, Ebert discovered challenges later on, as things started to take a “turn for the worse.”
?The last couple years have been really tough,? Ebert said. ?It?s getting harder to kill these parasites on the bees and consequently, our winter losses have accelerated. Cold weather does not kill healthy bees, but given all of the accumulated stressors on the bees, sometimes cold weather is the last nail in the coffin.?
?It?s a tough world out there for the insect,? says Ebert. The damage left from parasites leaves bees susceptible to viruses. Forage levels have also decreased, while insecticide usage has increased.
Ebert admits, “We’re making money packing honey and selling bees. But with beekeeping, sometimes I think we’re doing that for fun.” It has been a bumpy road, but Ebert says as an apiarist, you must adjust to change.
?Most beekeepers are not relying on honey production,” Ebert said. “Had we been relying totally on honey production to provide our income, we?d have been out of business a long time ago. I?d like to say we had a three-pronged financial stool to sit on, but one of the legs of the stool is packaged bees, and that?s been shaky.?
We’ll discuss the packaged bee part of the business tomorrow (Tuesday).
