Aug 10, 2020
In this episode, Kirsten chats
with commercial beekeeper Simeon Valkenburg, who runs a commercial
operation with his brother in Australia. He talks about building up
their commercial operation from scratch. They started with one hive
and are now up to about 1,000 hives in south east Australia.
The season kicks off with almond pollination. Yes, that’s
right—Australian almonds which bloom in August. They then move
colonies into crops like canola or beans or move into areas flush
with a low desert eucalypt, which under the right weather
conditions can produce a
huge honey harvest. In their summer they chase after pollen, not
for trapping, but simply for building up the bees or running from
bushfires. The conversation ranges widely, discussing everything
from ornery beekeepers with deep political connections to
conducting successful field days and the trade war with New Zealand
over the name ‘manuka’. Tune in to learn more about keeping bees
downunder.
UPDATED - Aug. 14
The report Simeon referenced in his talk with Kirsten is by Oregon beekeeper, Katharina Davitt: "Cavendish Bananas and their Nutritional Benefit to Honey Bees"
The report's author has the same information in a PowerPoint .pdf here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FrVf6_sIujaID-txJiUI33hlVV_pklpg/view?usp=drivesdk
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Kirsten's interviews are brought to you by 
BetterBee. BetterBee’s mission is to support every
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quality equipment. How do they do this? Because many of their
employees are also beekeepers, so they know the needs, challenges
and answers to your beekeeping questions. From their colorful and
informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational
activities, including this podcast series, BetterBee truly is
Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at
www.betterbee.com
This episode is brought to you by Global
Patties! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures
protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives
protein supplement patties will help 
ensure that they produce strong and health
colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow.
Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom
patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you
appreciate them sponsoring this episode!
We want to also
thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the
podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a new
quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the
magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators
and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own,
Kim Flottum.
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We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com
Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com
Thank you for listening!
Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong"