HEART OF THE MATTER –
Terry Ingram’s Bee Update: His Hives Are Going Strong

Part 5 Commentary By Tom Kocal

I believe that the incredible response generated by the article and video relating to Terry Ingram and his bees surprised both Mr. Ingram and myself.

The article (The May 2, 2012 article and the 4 follow-up articles may be found at http://www.pacc-news.com/5-2-12/heart_ingram5_2_12.html) garnered a lot of local commentary within the first few weeks of publication. Most were very supportive and understood the Constitutional ramifications brought to light by the inappropriate actions of the Illinois Department of Agriculture. Several beekeepers disagreed, missing the point of the article completely.

Then two unexpected but wonderful twists of fate happened. The first one came a few weeks ago when NaturalNews.com picked up the story. The health-related web site proclaims to be “a non-profit collection of public education websites covering topics that empower individuals to make positive changes in their health, environmental sensitivity, consumer choices and informed skepticism.” With nearly 400,000 international subscribers, Terry got a lot of phone calls and emails. The Prairie Advocate web site has received over 10,000 hits to the article link.

Last week, the online version was ranked “the #1 most shared story on Mercola.com.”

A New York Times Best Selling Author, Dr. Joseph Mercola has made significant milestones in his mission to bring people practical solutions to their health problems. Dr. Mercola has been featured in TIME magazine, LA Times, CNN, Fox News, ABC News, Today Show, CBS’s Washington Unplugged with Sharyl Attkisson, and other major media resources.

As pleased as I am to have the hits on our web site, I am profoundly gratified that this issue has helped forward the cause of Terry Ingram and his bees.

I received a note from Terry on July 10, updating his situation. It is good news.

“I thought your readers would like to see how my ‘contaminated’ hives are doing,” Terry wrote. “I have taken about 100 pounds of honey per hive off of my tall hives before July 4th and they are working on another 200 to 300 pounds right now. In the attached photo, the front right is my hive with Ross Rounds for producing comb honey. In three weeks this hive completed 30 Ross Rounds, which have been removed, and they are working on about 250 more. If I am lucky I may get over 350 round comb honey sections to sell from this one hive. So in spite of my bees being ‘sick and lethargic,’ they are making from $600 to $2000 per hive.

“If my equipment was as contaminated with foulbrood as the [Illinois] Dept. of Agriculture claims, these hives shouldn’t be producing any honey. The smaller hives are splits I made to increase the number of hives with bees. I am now back to 14 hives, plus three observation hives.”

Good news, indeed. But has this success vindicated Terry from the unconstitutional actions taken by the IL Dept. of Ag? Not in his eyes.

As reported May 16 in this column, the Apple River beekeeper was ordered to pay a fine of $500 for violating Sections 2-1 of the Illinois Bees and Apiaries Act by not “abating the nuisance” and destroying his hives that the IDofAg claims were infected with American foul brood.

Terry refused to accept the ruling and filed a Petition for Reconsideration with the IL Dept. of Agriculture. Ingram sent the petition by express mail on May 24.

“It has been over 7 weeks since I asked the hearing officer to reconsider her decision and have not heard one word yet,” Ingram stated on Monday, July 16.

The wheels of Justice turn slowly. But at least they are turning.

“Thank you for all of your support,” Terry said. “The calls and support just keep coming. This week we have had calls and received donations from Texas, South Carolina and Vermont.”

For Terry Ingram and Apple Creek Apiaries, it’s been a grand summer, and he is grateful for all of the support from the hundreds of thousands of citizens who understand how his civil rights were violated. They understand that they could be next. Keep vigilant, my friends. The battle for our freedom continues.