You know, I have been reading this and other forums for awhile now, and to begin with I am a potter, so lets talk about Chineese competition.
The chinees can make and ship and sell BETTER LOOKING, BETTER MADE pottery than most of the potters here in the USA. I don't care if the pottery is handmade, even here in the USA, most of it is junk and is a waste of the material.
I realize it. I deal with it. I know what my public likes.
Now similar to potters, I get the idea most of the beekeepers are solitary people. Spending way too much of thier time alone in thier own minds worrying about things they have no control over.
Time to get yourself out of your mind.
Now, you cannot tell me that if you had the chance to buy woodenware for 20 to 30% what we pay here you would ignor that?
I want you to go and look in your closet, look at your clothes, are you sure they are all made in the USA, how about your shoes?
Your powertools? your houshold appliances? your silverware?
I can go on, but I won't.
I am from the midwest, Lincoln Nebraska, and the sandhills, Micheal is probably one of the only people ont he board that knows about the sandhills. So I understand the mindset. But we are talking about survival here.
Big imported honey is here, it is a global economy. It is time small beekeepers realize they will have to package themselves differently.
Small scale beekeepers cannot compete with international imports.
So you have to look to a different model.
Look at the artisnal cheese industry that has grown up in the country in the last 10 years. They make cheese that rival and beat the europeans for quality.
Beekeepers who want to make part of thier income from Honey will have to look to promote themselves on a regional level. Get together as a group and do this, I know a lot of you do this, but I mean a concerted effort, but this goes against the solitary beekeeper mentality, I bet you couldn't get 10 medium sized beekeepers in a room and get them to agree on a business model even if I layed it out and pointed to it and SAID, this will make you more money.
Lastly I think people should learn to read the posts, several times.
Then ask yourself, what is the post asking? Not what you think the poster wants to debate, If I wanted a debate on importing stuff that would have been in the post.
In the end I am just a curious Artist who likes the idea of keeping bees for the playing with the genitics of it.
Thanks.