Backyard Beekeeping; Organic Sector Interest

There's a resurgence in backyard beekeeping interest and at least one region is reconsidering its ordinances:

Denver's zoning ordinances currently prohibit beekeeping. Fortunately, Councilwoman Peggy Lehmann is sponsoring a bill to allow Denver residents to keep bees in their backyards. The city council will consider the proposal on Monday evening.

This change would be good for the whole community. New beekeepers would have honey to share with friends and neighbors. Honey is a healthier sweetener than refined sugar or high-fructose corn syrup because it is a whole food, full of micronutrients from the flowers it comes from. For gardeners, more pollinators would mean higher yields of flowering plants like tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, beans, pumpkins, and zucchini. (And if you think higher zucchini yields are the last thing we need, you haven't tried my wife's zucchini bread.)

In Florida best management practices might be a way to interest municipalities in encouraging beekeeping: "We have just had approved the Beekeeper Compliance Agreement, "Best Management Practices for Maintaining European Honey Bee Colonies" and so has Maine it seems.

Check out the latest interest in the Organic sector in the Organic Trade Association's latest newsletter