SBDC - Issues and Options

Saskatchewan's contribution to Honey Council
Corey Bacon

There will no doubt be a debate as to how Saskatchewan collects their honey council commitment. As we have two organizations, we have several options.

1.      Contribute through SBDC
2.      Contribute through the SBA
3.      Contribute through a combination of both the SBA and SBDC

The boards of the respected associations will need to investigate legalities and implementation of any such contribution and work with Honey Council to determine the method for collection ofthis commitment. I ask that you keep an open mind until the two boards come to an agreement on an allowable method to contribute these funds and present them to the organizations. Once the information is available, lets make an informed decision that is best for the majority of Saskatchewan beekeepers.

Hopefully this can take place at the field day at Rehaluk's Honey Farm in Tisdale during the Saskatchewan Beekeepers Association Annual Field Day to be held June 23r4, 2007. There are pros and cons of each method. Personally, I think option three may be the best, where the assessment is contributed through the SBDC and the delegate fee through the SBA. My reasons are similar to the exact reasons almost all beekeepers in Saskatchewan supported the formation of the commission. A11 beekeepers benefit from research, promotion, etc. and thus all beekeepers should pay. A11 beekeepers are represented by the actions of the Canadian Honey Council and all beekeepers should pay as well, if we are to have a truly functional National Organization.

All commercial beekeepers (100 colonies or more) in Saskatchewan are required by law to register with and submit a registration fee as well as a check-off on a colony basis to the SBDC. Though the check-off is refundable, only 4.4% of beekeepers required to participate requested a refund and less than 1% are currently in default. It is obviQus, through this example, that most beekeepers buy into and support the idea that we all benefit, we should all pay. Because of this requirement to register by law with the SBDC, the SBDC represents almost all the hives in the province. This cannot be said for the SBA where participation greatly fluctuates from year to year and is totally voluntary. With this volunteer mandate, in any given year the colonies financially represented through the SBA (through memberships) could be as low as halfofthe colonies financially represented by the SBDC.

Extracted from the SBA Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 1., Spring 2007.


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SBDC - Issues and Options Saskatchewan's contribution to Honey Council *Corey Bacon* There will no doubt be a debate as to how Saskatchewan collects their honey council commitment. As we have two organizations, we have several options. 1. Contribute through SBDC 2. Contribute through the SBA 3. Contribute through a combination of both the SBA and SBDC The boards of the respected associations will need to investigate legalities and implementation of any such contribution and work with Honey Council to determine the method for collection ofthis commitment. I ask that you keep an open mind until the two boards come to an agreement on an allowable method to contribute these funds and present them to the organizations. Once the information is available, lets make an informed decision that is best for the majority of Saskatchewan beekeepers. Hopefully this can take place at the field day at Rehaluk's Honey Farm in Tisdale during the Saskatchewan Beekeepers Association Annual Field Day to be held June 23r4, 2007. There are pros and cons of each method. Personally, I think option three may be the best, where the assessment is contributed through the SBDC and the delegate fee through the SBA. My reasons are similar to the exact reasons almost all beekeepers in Saskatchewan supported the formation of the commission. A11 beekeepers benefit from research, promotion, etc. and thus all beekeepers should pay. A11 beekeepers are represented by the actions of the Canadian Honey Council and all beekeepers should pay as well, if we are to have a truly functional National Organization. All commercial beekeepers (100 colonies or more) in Saskatchewan are required by law to register with and submit a registration fee as well as a check-off on a colony basis to the SBDC. Though the check-off is refundable, only 4.4% of beekeepers required to participate requested a refund and less than 1% are currently in default. It is obviQus, through this example, that most beekeepers buy into and support the idea that we all benefit, we should all pay. Because of this requirement to register by law with the SBDC, the SBDC represents almost all the hives in the province. This cannot be said for the SBA where participation greatly fluctuates from year to year and is totally voluntary. With this volunteer mandate, in any given year the colonies financially represented through the SBA (through memberships) could be as low as halfofthe colonies financially represented by the SBDC. *Extracted from the SBA Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 1., Spring 2007.*