diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 793fbf7..b1e7f7e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ Tidbits
 
 * Jobs are serialized as JSON, so you should stick to strings, integers, arrays, and hashes as arguments to jobs.  e.g. don't pass full Ruby objects - use something like an ActiveRecord/MongoMapper/CouchRest id instead.
 * Because there are no class definitions associated with jobs, you can queue jobs from anywhere without needing to include your full app's environment.
-* If you need to change the location of your Beanstalk from the default (localhost:11300), set BEANSTALK_URL in your environment, e.g. export BEANSTALK_URL=beanstalk://example.com:11300/
+* If you need to change the location of your Beanstalk from the default (localhost:11300), set BEANSTALK_URL in your environment, e.g. export BEANSTALK_URL=beanstalk://example.com:11300/. You can specify multiple beanstalk servers, separated by whitespace or comma, e.g. export BEANSTALK_URL="beanstalk://b1.example.com:11300/, beanstalk://b2.example.com:11300/"
 * The stalk binary is just for convenience, you can also run a worker with a straight Ruby command:
     $ ruby -r jobs -e Stalker.work
 
diff --git a/lib/stalker.rb b/lib/stalker.rb
index 0f6101d..5542059 100644
--- a/lib/stalker.rb
+++ b/lib/stalker.rb
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ def log_error(msg)
 	end
 
 	def beanstalk
-		@@beanstalk ||= Beanstalk::Pool.new([ beanstalk_host_and_port ])
+		@@beanstalk ||= Beanstalk::Pool.new(beanstalk_addresses)
 	end
 
 	def beanstalk_url
@@ -144,10 +144,15 @@ def beanstalk_url
 
 	class BadURL < RuntimeError; end
 
-	def beanstalk_host_and_port
-		uri = URI.parse(beanstalk_url)
-		raise(BadURL, beanstalk_url) if uri.scheme != 'beanstalk'
-		return "#{uri.host}:#{uri.port || 11300}"
+  def beanstalk_addresses
+    uris = beanstalk_url.split(/[\s,]+/)
+    uris.map {|uri| beanstalk_host_and_port(uri)}
+  end
+
+	def beanstalk_host_and_port(uri_string)
+		uri = URI.parse(uri_string)
+		raise(BadURL, uri_string) if uri.scheme != 'beanstalk'
+		"#{uri.host}:#{uri.port || 11300}"
 	end
 
 	def exception_message(e)
diff --git a/test/stalker_test.rb b/test/stalker_test.rb
index adc66ad..2684409 100644
--- a/test/stalker_test.rb
+++ b/test/stalker_test.rb
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ class StalkerTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
 		Stalker.clear!
 		$result = -1
 		$handled = false
+	  ENV['BEANSTALK_URL'] = ""
 	end
 
 	test "enqueue and work a job" do
@@ -77,7 +78,7 @@ class StalkerTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
 	end
 
 	test "before filter invokes error handler when defined" do
-		Stalker.error { |e| $handled = true }
+		Stalker.error { |e| $handled = true   }
 		Stalker.before { |name| fail }
 		Stalker.job('my.job') {	}
 		Stalker.enqueue('my.job')
@@ -85,5 +86,18 @@ class StalkerTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
 		Stalker.work_one_job
 		assert_equal true, $handled
 	end
+	
+  test "parse BEANSTALK_URL" do
+    ENV['BEANSTALK_URL'] = "beanstalk://localhost:12300"
+    assert_equal Stalker.beanstalk_addresses, ["localhost:12300"]
+    ENV['BEANSTALK_URL'] = "beanstalk://localhost:12300/, beanstalk://localhost:12301/"
+    assert_equal Stalker.beanstalk_addresses, ["localhost:12300","localhost:12301"]
+    ENV['BEANSTALK_URL'] = "beanstalk://localhost:12300   beanstalk://localhost:12301"
+    assert_equal Stalker.beanstalk_addresses, ["localhost:12300","localhost:12301"]
+    ENV['BEANSTALK_URL'] = "beanstalk://localhost:12300, http://localhost:12301"
+    assert_raise Stalker::BadURL do
+      Stalker.beanstalk_addresses 
+    end
+  end
 
 end