by Cutter Streeby
Brian Rogers, a retired Air Force officer
and “soon to be Master Beekeeper,”
agreed to come into the Homestead
at North 40 Outfitters to help with our
first ever N40 eMag: Bee Edition as we launch
a new popular product line and develop a new
niche in our stores. His years of experience,
drive to educate and his genuine passion for
everything bees makes him an incredible local
resource and valuable source of insider knowledge on bees. Turns out he will soon be lecturing at MSU teaching, among other things, a class
on beginning beekeeping. So who better to provide a ‘crash course’ on the fascinating world of
beekeeping for North 40 staff!
His story began in 2008 with the obsessive, “immersive” research of one consumed by new interests. “I went into beekeeping expecting to
lose hives. I decided in the beginning I wouldn’t
treat my bees with antibiotics or harsh chemicals. Why? Because I wanted a model of hives
that would remain as close to bees in the wild
and function with as little intervention required
on my part as possible. It was apparent at an
early point that this approach would mean a
higher loss rate. I was mentally braced to see a
majority loss at first and guessed at a 90% loss
due to mites, disease and stress, any less would
be something that I consider success. My end
goal has always been bees with high, almost
‘natural’ survival abilities, and I was prepared to
work for them.”
“As one unfamiliar with beekeeping and just
starting out, a 10% survival rate seemed rather
low to me, so I wondered how that could possibly be good in the long term for the bees. I
learned the bees people buy from bee suppliers
are usually treated with a smorgasbord of antibiotics, chemicals, acids, oils and more. So it’s
entirely expected that there is a period where
those wear-off, and the bees become acclimated to their new environment and level of care
(or level of exposure).” Brian described this initial establishment time as a “detox period.”
“…it’s entirely expected that
there is a period where
those wear-off, and the
bees become acclimated to
their new environment.”
—The Detox Period.