To Bee, or Not
As colonies mysteriously collapse across the country, the region\'s honeybees turn into a cash crop, but for how long?
By Elspeth Cisneros | From October 2007
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Empty Labs, Empty Fields
Almost more frustrating to many beekeepers than losing their bees is the lack of research on problems linked to CCD. “We need good, independent pesticide research, which we used to have,” says Brandi. Beginning about 15 years ago, those scientists have retired, and reduced university budgets meant their positions remained unfilled. That’s left many beekeepers without the practical and unbiased information they relied on.
“We’re relying on manufacturers’ data, and all the EPA requires they do is some bee mortality tests but nothing on queens, drones, broods or memory-loss issues (bees losing their way back to the hive),” Brandi says.
Brandi has been making the rounds at press conferences and with politicians, lobbying to get research money for CCD included in the 2007 Federal Farm Bill, which is currently being debated in the House and Senate. Meanwhile, Cummings and Olivarez have been working on their own grassroots initiative, “Project Apis m,” bringing together almond farmers and beekeepers to tackle issues the industry faces.
On the other hand, even all the research money a scientist could ask for may not be enough to solve the mystery. Germany, also facing shrinking bee numbers, recently launched an amply-funded, full-scale investigation enlisting the country’s top bee scientists.
What did they discover about the vanishing pollinators? Mussen says the German task force was equally stumped. “They really went at it with a vengeance, looking at it with everything they could, just like we are looking at everything we can, and they didn’t find anything, either. I just don’t know what this phenomenon is.”
Though CCD potentially jeopardizes a huge portion of the U.S. food supply, for now, experts wonder how many of the nation’s beekeepers will even make it through the coming year. “If it happens this year, and beekeepers have losses like they suffered last year, they’re just plain out of business,” says Mussen.
Prosperity Icon: Money
Category: Business
Tags: agriculture, colony, honeybees, bee
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