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Starting several years ago, Steve Donohoe wanted to find out more about beekeepers and how they kept bees. His travels took him to California, where he talked to Randy Oliver and Ray Olivarez, to Vermont to talk to Mike Palmer, then back the UK to...
Starting several years ago, Steve Donohoe wanted to find out more about beekeepers and how they kept bees. His travels took him to California, where he talked to Randy Oliver and Ray Olivarez, to Vermont to talk to Mike Palmer, then back the UK to talk to Murry McGregor in Scotland and Peter Little, who used to work with Brother Adam, then on to a New Zealand honey packer and finally to France to visit that country’s largest queen breeder.
These people were sort of his heroes, successful at their occupation and fairly well known in the beekeeping world. What he wanted to know was, what does it take to get to their respective positions, what do they have in common, and what don’t they have in common. He explored the biggest challenges they faced as a group, and as individuals.
It took several years to analyze the data collected, recount the interviews and gather the collective wisdom these beekeepers shared with him. He gathered this all and his book is now available so you don’t have to travel the globe to gather the information yourself.
Steve spent some time with us recently unwinding the tangle of his travels and finding the best in what he has learned. You will be glad you read this book and even better, glad you sat back and listened to this episode: Interviews with Beekeepers.
Links and websites mentioned in this podcast:
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Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today
Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com
This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help 
ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!
We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a quarterly magazine destined for
your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum.
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We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com
Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com
Thank you for listening!
Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"
Author
Steve is a beekeeper based in Cheshire in the UK. He is currently the editor of Bee Farmer magazine (for members of the Bee Farmers' Association) and runs a small bee farming business producing honey and nucleus colonies for local customers.
His recent book, Healthy Bees Heavy Hives, was a collaboration with Paul Horton (a successful migratory bee farmer in the UK). It focuses on UK commercial beekeeping and particularly on how to maximise your honey crop. The book has been well received by beekeepers at all scales of operation, and should prove useful to beginners as well as seasoned pros.
Steve's first book, Interviews With Beekeepers, was published in 2020 and has received great reviews from around the world. It features a series of interviews with well known beekeepers in USA, New Zealand, France and the UK. The experience of travelling to meet Steve's beekeeping heroes is documented in this unique book. The interviewees were: Michael Palmer, Randy Oliver, Ray Olivarez, Murray McGregor, David Kemp, Peter Little, Richard Noel and Peter Bray.
