Orinda Man's Question Answered: Definitely 'To Bee'

By Jim Caroompas

In September of 2011, hedge fund manager Mike Vigo decided his career, while great, did not get him outside enough. So he took a six-year hobby, bee-keeping, and with his kids, turned it into a new chapter of his life.

Today, Bee Ranchers is a successful small business. Vigo rents out hives to people who want to have and maintain lush landscaped back yards, help keep the honeybee population intact, and harvest fresh honey.

Today, Vigo has over 75 hives that he manages. Some of his clients have multiple hives, and some of those belong to Vigo himself. He sells the honey he harvests in his wife’s downtown Orinda shop. It pretty much flies off the shelves, he said.

Mike Vigo:

“As a family, we thoroughly enjoy beekeeping,” he said.

Vigo believes that there are several reasons for the recent dearth of honeybees. First, he said, is a lack of foraging, as development continues to destroy wild plants on which the bee forages. Pesticides and herbicides also contribute, he said, and the development of monoculture in the west and Midwest, which has decimated the bee’s main food supply.

But Vigo is hopeful about the future, as people figure out what is going on and how to reverse the damage.

“I think the pendulum is swinging back the other way,” he said.

Meanwhile, he notes that his is a small enterprise, and points out that there are much larger beekeepers in Contra Costa County. But Vigo is happy to keep his operation a family affair.