Jack Rath

I started with bees in high school and have enjoyed working with them for almost 60 years now. My first career was as a large animal veterinarian, working primarily with dairy cattle and horses in Vermont and eastern New York from 1978 to 2012. At that time, I sold my practice and, along with two other veterinarians, bought Betterbee , a beekeeping supply company in Greenwich, NY. I sold my interest in the business in 2019 and now concentrate on queen rearing, producing queens for Betterbee and queen cells for their nuc program. I started queen rearing after taking Marla Spivak's class in Minnesota in 2008 and started working with instrumental insemination after taking a course from Joe Latshaw in Ohio in 2011. My goal in queen rearing is to raise productive, winter hardy bees that can manage Varroa with minimal treatments. I'm still searching for bees able to manage bears without assistance.
I live in southern Vermont along with my wife Sarah. When not working bees I enjoy restoring old farm equipment and running it with old hit and miss engines. I also enjoy repairing antique clocks.