It’s not an exaggeration to say I was quickly bit.
When I was an apiary inspector from 2018 to 2024, I was fortunate to work with beekeepers who had anywhere from 2 to 20,000 colonies. I fell in love with the entire industry, and it didn’t take me long to decide I wanted to devote the rest of my career to helping both the people and the insects that drive it.
It was a move that matched my personality—I grew up farming, hunting, and fishing, and had combined agriculture and conservation on my career path. Beekeeping is a natural fit within that intersection.
Over the years, I’ve seen all sorts of management practices and needs and have loved working with beekeepers of every type. Every interaction is rewarding.
I remember the first time I worked with a new hobby beekeeper, helping them work through their two new hives, using the first as a demonstration and the second as their own quick experiment. The excitement when they found that queen on their own was almost like a kid riding a bike without training wheels for the first time. I was worried they were going to throw the frame in the air!
It was just as rewarding as helping a commercial beekeeper who had a struggling operation and was hoping to retire but was having trouble finding enough value to sell to someone. We worked together to build their colonies back to health. The handshake I got when they came to tell me they were able to find a buyer for their operation almost brought me to tears. They had put their trust in me, and I was able to help achieve this milestone.
No matter what size beekeeper you are, there always seem to be overarching challenges. First, varroa is almost always the root of a beekeeper’s problems. And when it comes to control measures, all the products out there have their issues.
To me, this is what makes NorroaTM so exciting. There are no temperature restrictions. It is easy to use. You don’t need any special equipment, either to apply it or to keep yourself safe. You don’t need to come back again and again to reapply it. And because its active ingredient is so specific to the varroa mite, it doesn’t have any impact on the bees in your colony. In fact, because it is preventing those mites from building up in the first place, it can be a very helpful tool to help keep your bees healthier, longer.
I know this is a tough time for beekeepers. Honey prices have been poor for years now. Pollination contracts are not what anyone would like them to be. It seems harder than ever to keep our bees alive, and we are getting lower returns for all the effort we are putting in. But help is on the way. GreenLight Biosciences is dedicated to delivering products focused on the needs of beekeepers, helping us be the most successful beekeepers we can be.
Adam Pachl is GreenLight Bio's North American Technical Manager and Support Manager.
