Building on from columns analysing the failings of existing beekeeping and honey industry governance (The Future of Beekeeping Representation: Let’s Talk About It) and what he sees as an ideal governance structure for the future (Let’s Move the Conversation Forward), Darren Bainbridge now addresses the term thrown forward by many as an essential building block: “unity”.

I read Dave Black’s recent article, “No More Heroes (Any More),” with a mix of appreciation and concern. Appreciation because he voices something many in the beekeeping world feel but don’t always say out loud: the creeping sense that technology is being used to make us obsolete. Concern, because the trajectory he describes is real, and if we don’t address it, the very people who sustain pollination — the growers and keepers — risk being pushed to the margins.

Listening to everybody’s comments, ideas and opinions at the recent Apiculture New Zealand (ApiNZ) AGM and Industry Forum in Christchurch, my assessment was that industry unity in one way or another was hoped for by most and that we should get our act together pronto.

Despite 107 years of family-involvement in the beekeeping industry, up until business sale and retirement in 2024, Murray Bush has been removed from industry governance roles and even industry-body membership in recent years. Therefore, standing on the middle-ground of “The Great Unwashed”, the Marlborough apiarist offers his opinion on the considerations and compromises needed to move forth greater industry representation.