How do I answer this criticism/concern about the Flow Hive

Let’s face it, it’s the coolest beekeeping “Expensive Gimmick” to come along in 150 years…

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And that is coming from the famous Michael Bush - What better endorsement than that!
:blush: Yes I’m A Fan :bee: :bee: :bee: :bee: :bee: :bee: :bee:

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Just by having a flow hive our opinions have been made clear :smiley:

Maybe an Arnia monitor might give it a close run

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I became a farmer, I grew from 4 laying hens to 200. I have never owned bees I never owned chickens. But I can learn as I have learned how to care for my hens and my farm. I choose the flow hive not another version, did the crank open sell me yes. Did the minimal interaction with the hive interest me yes. But I will keep my hive healthy and learn. I now know I will have to open them. The old hives did not excite me I guess. I will look up the dvd and read the book. Plus I am letting my friend bring his bees from the city to my farm and he will split his hive share his bees and I will learn from him and he will learn about the flow hive. I just learned about someone who works with their bee in their undergarments. What a interesting group of people bee keepers are :wink: Learning lots

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Hi Neuman, That’s fantastic, I always wanted to learn about bees & baking great bread. I did the bee thing when I was 40 & the bread thing when I was around 60, i hope I’m still learning @ 80

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Expensive? The first calculator was expensive, the first mobile phone was expensive. If our gutfeel is correct, then the Flow will be adopted rapidly throughout the world and when the orders keep rolling in, the hives are bound to become more affordable. The Flow idea is brilliant, it is supported by years of testing.and it is easy on the bees. I will eat humble pie when we are proven wrong, but until now, I am convinced it will be a success. I can’t wait to be the first one in our area to try is out.

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Just a couple of thoughts…

The phenomenal sucess of the Flow Hive concept caught most by surprise - even the inventors. For a start-up holding out their ‘can’ in the hope of aquiring 70 thousand dollars to then realising a mulitimillion dollar beginning in the space of a few months of online exposure speaks more to me about the desire of thousands upon thousands of people who just want to contribute and become part of SOMETHING that takes a small step towards a reconnect with the third ball of rock from the sun.

'There is NO planet ‘B’ - one of the better bumper stickers I’ve seen of late.

We’ve had cars for over a century, but people still enjoy getting around on the back of a horse. We’re still using oil paint on canvas despite some cool stuff coming out of 3D printers. People climb Mt. Everest even though they can see it in ultra HD on a curved TV screen from their home.

The point is that OF COURSE there’s a place within the ancient husbandry of bees for the flow frame concept - but there’s some ‘give’ from the traditional and a whole lot of ‘take’ from the modern required. There is something for everyone here. I think that ultimately the bees win.

The worlds Bee Associations would be foolish not to recognise the huge opportunity here.

Open minds are needed by all. Some minds will be, some not - that’s the way humans go.

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I figure there was plenty of grousing when it was first suggested that skeps might not be the best way to keep bees… Some people embrace change and some resist it. Which is good. It balances things out.

On the other hand; skeps sucked for the bees and the keepers… so…

; -)

Well said @Dragonfly, I think the biggest and most important win here is for the bees and I hope we have inspired beekeeping of all varieties. We now have tens of thousands of new or freshly inspired beekeepers out there all thinking about bees and taking the time to connect with nature a little more.

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And that, I think , is singularly your most important contribution to the craft…so well done.
Fingers crossed all these folk learn how to keep bees.

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Yes. When I first saw a microwave it was the early sixties (and they had been around before that, but I hadn’t noticed) and they were several thousand dollars. I saw a fax machine around the same time. I don’t know the price, but I would guess it was pretty expensive…

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This is so correct. The only difference between a Flow hive and a Langstroth hive is the extraction process. Sara can learn so much about bees from other beekeepers, things that would take years to learn on her own. You (Sara) should take advantage of that knowledge and you will become a better beekeeper. You don’t have to talk about having a Flow if you don’t want to, and most club members will just assume you are using regular supers if they assume anything at all. The extraction part of beekeeping is so small, it might not even come up.

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Valli,

It can take years to learn the pattern of honey flow in an area, and it is valuable information for harvesting a good crop, regardless of how you harvest it. Be patient with your dyed-in-the-wool beekeepers. With any luck, you will become one too.

I can see what they are saying, I think. It looks like they take their harvest on the spring flow, and then let their bees lay a crop in for winter on the fall flow. This is reasonable, but like anything in beekeeping, it depends on your local area.

I agree that old-timers are often set in their ways. But try to see past it; they have lots of knowledge to offer. Try to go into receive mode, and you will learn a lot. I know it can be hard.

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I bet these same people hated milking machines also.

I would not answer them at all (sorry for getting back to the original topic) If they want to know or find out let them get with the program and find out! The “New way” of Caring for bees with this revolutionary invention has made others some what jealous and they procrastinate and try question the method. It might work and then again it might not! Chances are it will and the keepers of the Bees will have an army of well trained workers who don’t need to answer to criticism/concern they just go and get things done!

Tell them to ask the Hive if they want answers. :sunglasses:

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The flow hive has nothing to do with caring for bees. It is simply a different way of extracting some honey. You still have to take care of the bees in exactly the same way as everyone else does, ie. regular inspections, disease monitoring, swarm management, autumn feeding, emergency winter feeding possibly etc.

A lot of the criticism from the old-school was because the flow hive system was originally portrayed in the media as a way of beekeeping without any need to actually do any of the important stuff.

The flow frames will save you the trouble of extracting manually on one or two days of the year, but other than that you need to do everything the same as people with any hive configuration.

The worry is that if you don’t do all this then your hive could become a reservoir of disease which could spread to other colonies, or your swarms could be a nuisance to neighbours, or they might just die! (hopefully none of the above, of course).

I agree that a lot of the older beeks may seem rather negative, but their worries are somewhat justified. There are a lot of people on the other forums who have bees, but don’t have a clue what it actually entails, and disaster often ensues!

PS. Man people borrow an extractor from their local club, at minimal cost, so the comparison between the cost of an extractor versus flow frames is not particularly valid or helpful.

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Thousand
The flow hive has nothing to do with caring for bees.

I’m as new as it gets to Beekeeping but this remark really has me perplexed on why you would think it’s not any different or not having anything to do with keeping bees?

I was expecting people to question the price per Flow Hive and the owners using the “it will save you money with the honey extraction part” to be attacked as the Flow group Overpricing the product so they could entice the Commercial Beekeepers. Those way over inflated prices get dumped on regular more concerned customers who actually want to help the bees but in a sense the loyal customers are funding the Owners and paying IMO 2 times more than what the product is actually worth. The Owners are the true people who are prospering here not the bees or the folks who have paid an inflated price for this product. Lets face it it’s plastic we don’t buy a jug of milk because the plastic container is worth more than the milk is inside I’m sure the plastic does contribute to the price of the package deal but not nearly as offset as the Flow Hive.

That would be my only “I don’t know how to answer question” that I would not have an answer for and more than likely the Flow team would say" Over Time" it will pay for itself. 700$ US buy’s a lot of honey folks!

I can’t debate this I don’t have my Flow Hive “Yet” :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: :sunglasses:

Ah…but hobby beekeepers although renowned for being thrifty in some directions will pay for kit.
It’s the commercial guys who won’t.

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