Bob Binnie's guest appearances

Bob Binnie

The Contrary Beekeepers Show

Two Bees in a Podcast 

Bees With Ben 

Jeff Johnson

Jim Collins

Mark Smith

Shawn Brown

Dustin Thompson

Tim McCandless

Kamon Reynolds

OwlTail

In this episode of Two Bees in a Podcast, released on July 5, 2023, Dr. Jamie Ellis and Amy Vu speak with Bob Binnie, a commercial beekeeper and owner of Blue Ridge Honey Company from in Lakemont, Georgia, on using social media to promote beekeeping! This episode concludes with a Q&amp;A segment. Check out our website ufhoneybee.com for additional resources from today’s episode and Bob's YouTube channel.

In this episode of Two Bees in a Podcast, released on July 5, 2023, Dr. Jamie Ellis and Amy Vu speak with Bob Binnie, a commercial beekeeper and owner of Blue Ridge Honey Company from in Lakemont, Georgia, on using social media to promote beekeeping! This episode concludes with a Q&amp;A segment. Check out our website <a href="http://ufhoneybee.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ufhoneybee.com</a> for additional resources from today’s episode and Bob's YouTube channel.

Episode 143: All About the Commercial Beekeeping, Honey! with Bob Binnie

We’re celebrating! The Bees with Ben podcast has reached 100 episodes. And the 100 th episode is very special, being co-hosted Dan Curless from Curless Aussie Apiaries. Our distinguished guest is Bob Binnie of the Blue Ridge Honey Company from Northeast Georgia in the US. Bob has been a commercial beekeeper since 1981; after reading a book on bees he was introduced to a commercial beekeeper and pollinator in Oregon and the rest is history. He is a past President of the Georgia State Beekeepers Association as well as the Northeast GA. Mountain Beekeepers Association and the Macon County Beekeepers Club. In 2003, he was voted the Georgia State Beekeeper of the Year. Bob runs over 2,000 colonies; he also teaches beekeeping and is a popular guest speaker, as well as having a popular YouTube channel. The Blue Ridge Honey Company is a family business; Bob manages the apiary while his wife Suzette handles shipping and administration. Honey, pollen and beeswax products are offered for sale; the honey is pure, natural and raw and is not pasteurised or micro-filtered. Varieties include Sourwood, Tupelo, Orange Blossom, Gallberry, Tulip Poplar, Purple Starthistle and Wildflower. Obviously, the recent varroa incursion in Newcastle is foremost in the minds of Australian beekeepers at the moment, and although no-one would wish the varroa mite on their worst enemy, it is appropriate in one sense that this constitutes our 100 th episode, as Bob’s experience and advice makes for essential listening. Combatting varroa is a complex, expensive and labour intensive process, as demonstrated by the excerpts that follow, but to get the most out of this podcast, you really need to listen to the whole thing. Bob starts with some sobering comments about the varroa invasion in the US. He says that initial attempts to eradicate the mites were ‘absolutely unsuccessful’ and that colonies were killed, and beekeepers forced out of business before the authorities threw up their hands and said, ‘You’re on your own.’ Bob doesn’t think we can stop varroa here in Australia, but is certainly of the opinion that it is a good idea to get educated ‘ahead of the game’ and be prepared before it turns up In our apiaries. It is immediately apparent that Bob’s integrated pest management programme has been the result of a lot of research, thought and experimentation. For example, varroa often wipes out colonies in winter, but he treats his hives well beforehand around August 1, the idea being that he is treating the bees that will raise the winter bees. Oxalic acid vaporisation only kills mites that are on bees, not brood, so this is applied twice in early to mid-winter during the broodless period. Bob has used Apivar (active ingredient is amitraz) and Apiguard (active ingredient is thymol) effectively for his early August treatments, but the latter is temperature sensitive. Apivar in particular is very expensive (Bob’s bill three years ago was $18,000 US) and some colonies are now starting to show resistance to amitraz. Bob is not a fan of Apistan; its active ingredient, fluvalinate, proved very effective early on, but the mites quickly became resistant. Fluvalinate has a very long half life and will persist in comb for many years; it can also pose problems when mixed with other chemicals. This is an extremely informative podcast that should be listened to in its entirely. And it’s not all doom and gloom. Bob says that beekeepers in the US had to learn the hard way, but we need not ‘go down fast’ as there is now so much information available to help.

We’re celebrating! The Bees with Ben podcast has reached 100 episodes. And the 100 th episode is very special, being co-hosted Dan Curless from Curless Aussie Apiaries. Our distinguished guest is Bob Binnie of the Blue Ridge Honey Company from Northeast Georgia in the US. Bob has been a commercial beekeeper since 1981; after reading a book on bees he was introduced to a commercial beekeeper and pollinator in Oregon and the rest is history. He is a past President of the Georgia State Beekeepers Association as well as the Northeast GA. Mountain Beekeepers Association and the Macon County Beekeepers Club. In 2003, he was voted the Georgia State Beekeeper of the Year. Bob runs over 2,000 colonies; he also teaches beekeeping and is a popular guest speaker, as well as having a popular YouTube channel. The Blue Ridge Honey Company is a family business; Bob manages the apiary while his wife Suzette handles shipping and administration. Honey, pollen and beeswax products are offered for sale; the honey is pure, natural and raw and is not pasteurised or micro-filtered. Varieties include Sourwood, Tupelo, Orange Blossom, Gallberry, Tulip Poplar, Purple Starthistle and Wildflower. Obviously, the recent varroa incursion in Newcastle is foremost in the minds of Australian beekeepers at the moment, and although no-one would wish the varroa mite on their worst enemy, it is appropriate in one sense that this constitutes our 100 th episode, as Bob’s experience and advice makes for essential listening. Combatting varroa is a complex, expensive and labour intensive process, as demonstrated by the excerpts that follow, but to get the most out of this podcast, you really need to listen to the whole thing. Bob starts with some sobering comments about the varroa invasion in the US. He says that initial attempts to eradicate the mites were ‘absolutely unsuccessful’ and that colonies were killed, and beekeepers forced out of business before the authorities threw up their hands and said, ‘You’re on your own.’ Bob doesn’t think we can stop varroa here in Australia, but is certainly of the opinion that it is a good idea to get educated ‘ahead of the game’ and be prepared before it turns up In our apiaries. It is immediately apparent that Bob’s integrated pest management programme has been the result of a lot of research, thought and experimentation. For example, varroa often wipes out colonies in winter, but he treats his hives well beforehand around August 1, the idea being that he is treating the bees that will raise the winter bees. Oxalic acid vaporisation only kills mites that are on bees, not brood, so this is applied twice in early to mid-winter during the broodless period. Bob has used Apivar (active ingredient is amitraz) and Apiguard (active ingredient is thymol) effectively for his early August treatments, but the latter is temperature sensitive. Apivar in particular is very expensive (Bob’s bill three years ago was $18,000 US) and some colonies are now starting to show resistance to amitraz. Bob is not a fan of Apistan; its active ingredient, fluvalinate, proved very effective early on, but the mites quickly became resistant. Fluvalinate has a very long half life and will persist in comb for many years; it can also pose problems when mixed with other chemicals. This is an extremely informative podcast that should be listened to in its entirely. And it’s not all doom and gloom. Bob says that beekeepers in the US had to learn the hard way, but we need not ‘go down fast’ as there is now so much information available to help.

EPISOSE 100!!! Bob Binnie, Blue Ridge Honey Company, Georgia, USA and Co-Hosted with Dan Curless, Curless Aussie Apiaries, QLD.

Join us for a conversation with Bob Binnie of the Blue Ridge Honey Company. In this video Bob Binnie talks about his beginnings as beekeeper, how he grew his business and what it takes to be a commercial beekeeper. Be sure to subscribe over at Bob's channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDyga7OtRJSzHzXXXurYCmQ Interested in Packages, Nucs or Feeder Plugs? Visit us at: http://www.naturesimagefarm.com/ Follow Dan Bokros over at: https://www.facebook.com/RedDogRanchOhio/

Join us for a conversation with Bob Binnie of the Blue Ridge Honey Company. In this video Bob Binnie talks about his beginnings as beekeeper, how he grew his business and what it takes to be a commercial beekeeper. Be sure to subscribe over at Bob's channel: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDyga7OtRJSzHzXXXurYCmQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDyga7OtRJSzHzXXXurYCmQ</a> Interested in Packages, Nucs or Feeder Plugs? Visit us at: <a href="http://www.naturesimagefarm.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.naturesimagefarm.com/</a> Follow Dan Bokros over at: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RedDogRanchOhio/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/RedDogRanchOhio/</a>