Agriculture News
Survey: Honeybee colony collapse losses declining
STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania — Fewer beekeepers are reporting evidence of a mysterious ailment that had been decimating the U.S. honeybee population.
But losses due to colony collapse disorder remain high enough to keep beekeepers on edge, and longtime stresses on bees such as starvation and poor weather add to the burden.
More than 90 crops, from almonds to tomatoes, rely in large part on bees for pollination.
A survey of beekeepers for the January issue of the Journal of Apicultural Research found that the percentage of operations reporting having lost colonies but without dead bees in the hives — a symptom of colony collapse disorder, or CCD — decreased to 26 percent last winter, compared to 38 percent the previous season and 36 percent the season before that.
Also, the percentage of colonies that died that displayed the CCD symptom was 36 percent last winter, down from 60 percent three winters ago, the survey found.
The earliest reports of CCD date to 2004, and scientists still are trying to find a cause.
"The story is really complicated. We thought we'd have a simple explanation," said Dennis vanEngelsdorp, Pennsylvania's acting state apiarist. "CCD drew our attention, but there are lot of things" affecting the bees.
Richard Adee, who owns one of the largest commercial beekeeping operations in the country, Adee Honey Farms, based in Bruce, South Dakota, has bees in California now ready to pollinate the almond crop. At peak season, during the summer, he has about 80,000 hives for honey production in the Midwest.
He said that after losing 40 percent of his colonies over the winter of 2008, losses are down to a more expected 12 percent.
"We're not seeing as big a hit," Adee said, "but I still talk to beekeepers who are losing bees."
Despite the apparent decline in colony collapse losses, the industry continues to be hit hard — an estimated 29 percent of all U.S. colonies died last winter, about 11 percentage points higher than what beekeepers consider normal, acceptable losses, according to the survey.
Colony collapse was ranked as the eighth most important cause of bee mortality last winter, down from fourth the previous winter.
"Losses are shifting. There are fewer operations with CCD, though they still lost a lot of colonies," said vanEngelsdorp, the lead author on the study. "But other factors are killing bees."
Starvation, typically a top cause of mortality, was first, followed by poor quality queen bees and weather. The percentage of beekeepers citing weather as a leading winter concern jumped from 9 percent to 18 percent.
Bees rely on stored honey to survive the winter. Beekeepers can wrap colony boxes to provide extra warmth or try to provide sugar syrup for food if supplies are light, but they generally don't work with bees in the cold.
This winter has been particularly brutal, with storms producing record snowfalls and chilling winds in many parts of the country. Freezing temperatures that swept in on an Arctic front from Canada plagued as far south as Florida.
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More regulations
Recently the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set its sights on possibly tightening its regulation of dust as part of the Clean Air Act.
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Set criteria when culling cows from herd
A railroad claims official once said that trains have done more harm to the genetic quality of America's cow herds than anything else. He said every cow that ever met her doom on a rural track was invariably the best, most productive cow in the plaintiff's herd. Often, the deceased cow was "nursing twins and close to calving again" just before her demise. It makes you wonder how much better our industry would be today if it hadn't been for this accidental culling over the last century and a half. I guess we're still making up for this lost genetic ground in our breeding and selection programs.
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Leon County to hold estate tax seminar
What is the Death Tax?
The death tax (a.k.a., the federal estate tax) is a tax applied to the transfer of a person's assets at death. It is defined by the Internal Revenue Service as “a tax on your right to transfer property at your death.”[1] -
Outstanding Tree Farm tour set for Sept. 11 in Cherokee County
Phillip and Norleine Power, in partnership with the Texas Forestry Association will host a Field Day and Forestry Tour at their Tree Farm located in Cherokee County, Texas, on Saturday, Sept. 11..
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Voluntary cattle program could enhance marketing
A new voluntary cattle health program can help ranchers market their breeding animals by reassuring buyers that bulls are free of cattle trichomoniasis, an infection that can be spread during breeding, and which can cause cows to abort and take a long time to become pregnant again.
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Grant seeks to make vegetables safer
COLLEGE STATION — A team of food safety researchers led by Texas A&M University's Dr. Elsa Murano has received a $1 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to find ways to protect fruits and vegetables.
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Federal money available for Longleaf Pine forest owners
TEMPLE — Longleaf pine forests once covered much of East Texas — and they could again thanks to a federal program offering money to landowners who grow the trees on their property.
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The value of a front loader
The most popular attachment for a farm tractor in our area, by far, is the front loader.
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Take precautions to avoid heat stress in cattle
As the mercury dashes over 100 degrees ranchers and others who deal with livestock should work to reduce stress on the animals as much as possible.
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New Mexico man accused of stealing 200 cattle
PHOENIX (AP) — A New Mexico man is accused of stealing 200 head of cattle from an Arizona ranch, packing them into trailers, then moving them out of state.
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