A Functional Industry Group? – Start by Seeding the Grass

  APIARIST’S OPINION: DAVE BLACK  

Seeking an excuse to get out of the house, retired beekeeper Dave Black ventured to New Zealand Beekeeping Inc’s (NZBI) Paengaroa event on June 6, with the occasion stirring him to make some astute observations on beekeeper representation both locally and nationally.

By Dave Black

I went to the NZBI Discussion Day mostly for an excuse to natter with someone – I don’t get out enough. I would describe myself as an interested bystander these days, I have no 'skin in the game', even if almost half my working life has been spent in the kiwifruit industry, and half my non-working life with bees.

Around 80 people attended a discussion day hosted by New Zealand Beekeeping Inc at Paengaroa Hall on June 6, including long-time commercial and now hobby beekeeper Dave Black who says “young visionaries” were hard to spot. Photo: Jody Mitchell.

There are a number of things that struck me which, although they might be taken as critical, I mean in a constructive way, and may encourage other people to comment.

First up on the day was Shane Max from Zespri. Now I know pollination isn’t for everyone, but around here it matters, and when an industry (Zespri) has an ambition to just about double demand for the service, and a credible track record to show that is happening, I didn’t expect it to be met, again, with what I took as a collective shrug of the shoulders and a lot of ‘what-about-ism’. “Meh! Mumble, mumble...disease, mumble... covered orchards, mumble... costs, labour, mumble, mumble... wealthy growers, mumble, mumble...GE...

All just too hard. To me, the core function of a business, any business, is negotiating the boundaries of risk and reward. To use the jargon, ‘see opportunities and innovate solutions’, otherwise what’s the point?

Commerce is tough; I know that, you chose it.

The morning break gave me a better chance to gauge the audience, it was a good turnout, 70-80 by my quick ‘tilt the box’ count. It’s always who was there that interests me. The Bay of Plenty might be different because of the history here, but the number of people I hadn’t seen for ten or 20 years was remarkable; old beekeepers emerged, as if blinking in the daylight, with something to say. The more difficult thing to spot were the young visionaries that should be waiting in the wings for their cue to come on stage.

The thing about visions, in my experience, is that visions don't just come true, more often they are brought to life by someone else.

There was an understandable call for a ‘changing of the guard’. I’d say, be careful, and selective. As I should now be thought of as one of them, I can say – don't write of the old folks. Their work is cheap, if not free, they've been around the block a few times, and have what posh human resources people charitably call ‘organisational effectiveness’; they have learnt which strings to pull and whose buttons to push to get ‘it’ done (some people less kindly call it ‘politics’). Generally, they are more self-assured and don't crumble when they can't get everything to go their way, they’ll put up with a long game. For us old folks, very often the problem, whatever it is, or something very like it, has happened before.

I find it disappointing a role for hobby beekeepers isn’t discussed at all and barely merits the box on the organisational chart. My advice is, disregard them at your peril. You need them on-side. Biosecurity will make sure you have to include them. Contagious diseases mean you have to consider them. Tree-hugging conservationists, who care about some of the things you do, are a modern lobby group you should be paying attention to. They are often hobbyists. They are your neighbours, voters, lawyers. Nowadays we talk about business, like yours (beekeeping), needing a ‘social licence’ to operate.

Hobbyists have time, money, and a wide, cheap skill-set. They have the freedom to fool around and find things out, and discovered and trialled many of the tools and treatments you use. Some of them can even type, bake, fix electronics, and run a Zoom meeting. Mostly they'll just be glad to be a part of something worthy. Don’t alienate them, use them.

As at 2024, in round numbers, from 8,400 beekeepers, 7,500 meet my definition of hobbyists. Given an irresistible membership offer there’s what, $300,000 a year? The equivalent of $370 from the 807 that have more than 50 hives and are much harder to please.

In the BOP there are at least two coherent, social, hobbyist groups that have been around for years. I could be wrong, but I’d reckon there has not been an equivalent for occupational beekeepers since the National Beekeepers Association.

Which brings me to the ‘top down vs grassroots/bottom up discussion. Nobody seriously believes any more that it possible to build any democratic organisation from the top down, except for some old political parties who are fast finding out you can’t.

Whether ‘grassroots’ beekeepers are aligned by a sectional interest (pollination best practice, disease-athons, skill development, a school, a protest) doesn’t matter. They have to find the common ground that creates the give and take that supports trust. It is not done by drawing a boundary on a map and declaring everyone inside it to be friends. Social relationships take time and effort.

I think whatever happens a national organisation (an ‘association’) will eventually be formed by small interest groups affiliating with the larger entity. The larger entity can only set wise rules about who it will affiliate with, something we would otherwise call a ‘constitution’. There will be nothing remarkable about it – resolutions from affiliates are publicised, debated and passed or vetoed by a board. Trust retained by transparency and participation.

Find any suitable model and copy it, it’s not rocket science.

Seeding and tending to the grass, the affiliates, is the only challenge.

Dave Black is a commercial-beekeeper-turned-hobbyist, and harvest, inventory, & pollen mill manager for Seeka Ltd in the kiwifruit industry for 20 years, now retired. He regularly contributes to Apiarist’s Advocate as a science writer.