Author Topic: Texas Beekeeping rule change (Read 9445 times)

Gypsi · « **on:** February 24, 2015, 02:12:54 am »

Texas Beekeepers Association is collecting comments for the rule change coming up for Texas Beekeepers. Most of the changes are good, but honey sales from the back of your truck, etc, will have new rules. The "cottage" exemption will limit honey sales to hives personally owned by the beekeeper and worked by the beekeeper and all sales must be made by the beekeeper or the immediate family at the market, not your friend, mentor, mentee, etc, just you.

For keeps that manage hives and work them for other owners and get paid in honey this is not a happy rule change, as that honey can no longer be sold on cottage exemption since they don't own the hives.

More stuff. TBA sent out an email to their members. They comment period ends 3/2.

From my local group's facebook page, a summary of that rather long pdf email:
The latest proposed beekeeping legislation is floating around for comment. Honey was proposed to be addressed as something like cottage food ...which it is... EXCEPT the beekeeper can only use the help of immediate family and the honey can only come from hives owned and managed by the beekeeper. Here's my concerns: This would ELIMINATE honey sales where a mentee or friend help working hives, extracting honey; PROHIBIT mentees and friends from helping at a market booth; PROHIBITS honey sales from removals (honey not produced in a hive OWNED by the beekeeper) and honey extracted on a for share basis.

There is also legislation that would prohibit beekeeper-to-beekeeper nuc sales without an annual state inspection of the sellers apiary (inspection fee is a minimum $50).

I'm providing my comment to the State Association and my local clubs. Was wondering what others thought
----------------------------------------------------------------
I commented already.

Gypsi

Riverrat · « **Reply #1 on:** February 24, 2015, 08:27:24 am »

I would say the cottage rule would be hard to enforce. Once honey is extracted its impossible to tell who's hive it came from

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #2 on:** February 24, 2015, 08:31:24 am »

would wonder how they plan to enforce such sillyness? I had a BOOM year I got 500 lbs from each hive! I have leftover honey from last year so I still have half a ton left to sell!

In a limited way I like it.. We have farmers markets often, and there are folks who sell honey CHEAP.. three to four dollars a pound, which means I have no reason to even go to the farmers market. When asked, its not THEIR honey, and in fact, they know nothing about it, they are just selling it.

I have the same problem with nuc sales. It is not something they can enforce without an army of inspectors. The guys and gals who try to do things the legal way (notice I did not say RIGHT way?) are the ones who will be punished and have to pay, everyone else will continue with business as usual. IE; It wasnt a purchased nuc, it was a swarm trap or, I just did a split..
I dont see it being possible to enforce such a thing without costing the state a lot more money.
On the good side, there will be some positions for inspectors opening up.

G3farms · « **Reply #3 on:** February 24, 2015, 08:50:35 am »

There is no way this can be enforced or even monitored. The US has a hard enough time keeping after tons of honey being imported, let alone sales from farmers markets.

Tennessee only has one state inspector, lives in the next county over, and getting him to make an inspection on your hives is almost non existent. What TN put into place was a school for more advanced keeps to become inspectors, they can get some money out of this. The biggest things they are looking for are AFB, if found then the state inspector is called and confirms it. Most other things an advanced keep can help get others back on track. Bee sales and used equipment sale are also to be monitored but rarely are.

Yankee11 · « **Reply #4 on:** February 24, 2015, 09:26:38 am »

Arkansas has the Inspection thing also. It's free and you cant sell nucs or queens before being inspected and getting you certificate.

You also have to register all your bee yards before you can put bees on them.

It's just a once per year inspection, so there is quiet a few holes in the system, if you know what I mean.

Yankee11 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 24, 2015, 09:41:33 am »

I just had a conversations last week with our State Health Inspector about the cottage law, clean bottling rooms etc. He said to go after beekeepers
"would be like a couple of guys going after a iceberg with ice picks." his words not mine. Here they are not to concerned and consider beekeepers a hobby.

Now if you start getting into selling in a walmart, sams, kroger etc. They are not going to business with you until you cough up a health certificate for the bottling room.

My first thought with your Texas thing was also, how are they gonna know what hives the honey came from?

Keep us posted what comes of it.

Gypsi · « **Reply #6 on:** February 24, 2015, 12:11:40 pm »

well I have no problem with the rules except the cottage exemption one that states that only the beekeeper or his/her immediate family can do inspections, harvest honey and work a booth. A lot of older beekeepers do not have interested children, they may want to sell honey but under cottage law new rules they will not be able to if any non-related person inspected a hive or extracted honey or helps man the booth.

I spoke with Texas Asst Bee Inspector this morning, who was involved in crafting the rules, and he's going to email a few people about changing that "immediate family only" line. I am not his only phone call or email.

The rest of it, no problem, good to know the bees are healthy before you buy them, etc.

and if Texas visited farmers markets and found honey in them, YES heads would roll. Labels are required to state where from, and there is a list on who is registered. We are only a small government state for big business.

iddee · « **Reply #7 on:** February 24, 2015, 12:33:09 pm »

Just register the helper as a beekeeper and sell him 1% of each of your hives for 1.00. He is then the beekeeper, as a partner in ownership.

Gypsi · « **Reply #8 on:** February 24, 2015, 12:38:38 pm »

That is an idea. But Costs a bit to do that and he will have no bee yard to get inspected. This affects a lot of people and with the drought we are all bleeding money. Working on wording change first.

iddee · « **Reply #9 on:** February 24, 2015, 12:51:04 pm »

Wording change is best, but I was thinking of buying shares in milk cows to legally get raw milk. If you own the cow, you can drink the raw milk. People are doing that every day.

RLTS · « **Reply #10 on:** February 24, 2015, 02:19:11 pm »

I am not real familiar with the existing laws (I will look up laws after posting this), but here is my question -- what is wrong with the existing laws? this just seems to be government creating more regs to gain more power over the people and put more dollars in their overreaching hands. just someone writhing new regs in order to justify their position.

apisbees · « **Reply #11 on:** February 24, 2015, 02:58:23 pm »

Rule changes in government come from lobbyist and industry user groups. Lobbyists representing large commercial interests. Whether it is a combined effect to block cheap China honey dumping or to tighten the rules to control the resale of commercial produced honey under the discise of being locally produced.

RLTS · « **Reply #12 on:** February 24, 2015, 04:28:04 pm »

researched the current rules and regs and I learned a lot but could not find a copy of the proposed changes. Any links available to view the proposed changes.

Gypsi · « **Reply #13 on:** February 24, 2015, 07:56:29 pm »

I got some fairly loose permission to post them to a facebook group from another member of TBA who emailed them to me. Rather than blowing copyright law out of the water myself, someone want to go take a look and figure out how to share them on here? https://www.facebook.com/groups/190282311155155/files/

apparently a certain university is trying to fire a pollen specialist that identified 29 out of 30 honey brands at Whole Foods market as chinese honey, and that university is behind the rules change which might indicate that someone at the top is involved in bringing in chinese honey, which would be really dirty pool. However proving that will likely cost several people their jobs and likely that person at the top will not lose theirs so we just do the best we can.
at least 2 very large shipments of chinese honey apparently came in through Houston
When big money is involved it's a steamroller. It flattens people.

riverbee · « **Reply #14 on:** February 25, 2015, 12:42:55 am »

"someone want to go take a look and figure out how to share them on here? https://www.facebook.com/groups/190282311155155/files/"

gypsi, tell me specifically which file/s, i can upload them here...........

riverbee · « **Reply #15 on:** February 25, 2015, 11:08:42 am »

gypsi, here are the files........

tecumseh · « **Reply #16 on:** February 25, 2015, 11:10:27 am »

gypsi ask me to come over here and participate in this discussion. looks like instead I need to send those folks from down Texas way over here to look at the various takes on this new law.

one thing Gypsi failed to mention is that if you read the changes the first thing that the law allows is the big guys coming and going now can do so without an inspection. this of course opens the door for the massive movement of disease pathogens from the almonds in California to here in Texas and then distributed through out the mid part of the country with out any inspection.

and a lazybkpr snip..
'We have farmers markets often, and there are folks who sell honey CHEAP.. three to four dollars a pound, which means I have no reason to even go to the farmers market. When asked, its not THEIR honey, and in fact, they know nothing about it, they are just selling it.'

ya' think no matter what the intention of the law this will not become a wide spread practice here. we have a host of problem here in Texas and it just appears to this simple beekeeper that this law does not address any of those.

basically the commercial folks have written the law and they have tossed the smallest beekeeper a well chewed bone.

Gypsi · « **Reply #17 on:** February 25, 2015, 01:09:51 pm »

RLTS - the proposed changes must be commented on by 3/2, which is not much time. At the bottom of Riverbee's post that says "Gypsi here are the files", upthread, you will find the Texas Beekeeping Association's introductory letters and the actual proposed changes. To comment go to Texas Beekeeping Association dot com/contact and say specificially what parts you object to. But hurry, not much time left.

tecumseh · « **Reply #18 on:** February 25, 2015, 07:09:19 pm »

do notice iddee comments... I am not certain he meant me to take his words in this matter but it seems pretty obvious to me that this change in the law will allow folks to drive around this law with little or no problem and since there is 'no one responsible' the law will be fairly regularly abused. you should suspect the higher the price of honey in your area the more potential for abuse.

as to the cottage food law (which at this point I am not certain one way or the other if honey is actually included in this bill???) this would have been an excellent opportunity for bee clubs to have stepped up to the bat, self regulated their members and allow ALL to have sold their honey at a PREMIUM price at any place or shelf in the state of Texas. this small thing could have added lots and lots of value to bee club membership.

RLTS · « **Reply #19 on:** February 25, 2015, 08:04:18 pm »

thanks for the links to the changes. I am a new bk starting this year so I really do not have a dog in this hunt (yet) but if my plans work out I might some day.