1. LIVING B
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BY KIM VAN METER
kvanmeter@oakdaleleader.com
C
an you imagine
farmers pol-
linating their
orchards with
feather dusters because all
the bees have disappeared?
That’s what happened to
China due to high levels
of pollution and although
California and New York
have the strictest pesticide
controls, there’s some-
thing worrisome happen-
ing within the commercial
honeybee industry that has
beekeepers and growers
concerned.
“What’s the Buzz All
About?” was the topic for
the 39th annual Oakdale
Ag Scholarship Luncheon
sponsored by the Oakdale
Chamber of Commerce,
Thursday, Feb. 23 at the
city’s community center.
Proceeds from the lun-
cheon go toward ag schol-
arships for local graduating
high school seniors looking
to go into an agricultural
field of study.
Dr. Eric Mussen, UC Da-
vis, UCCE Apiculturist, and
John Miller, vice president
of the California State Bee-
keepers Association, were
on hand to speak to the
growing problem facing
beekeepers and how the
health of honeybees is es-
sential to the world’s agri-
culture.
Tom Orvis provided a
brief introduction to the
speakers with thought-pro-
voking facts:
While the No.1 agricul-
tural industry in the Central
Valleywasdairy,theNo.2in-
dustry was almonds, which
means since healthy bees
are symbiotically important
to the almond growers, the
fact that bee health seems
to be on the decline should
be worrisome across the
board.
And it is.
Project Apism is one of
the ways the industry has
become proactive about
the problem. Beekeepers
and orchardists established
the project in December
2006 as a new vision to fund
honeybeeresearchonman-
aged colonies.The goal is to
direct research to improve
the health of honeybee col-
onies while improving crop
production.
“Without bees, there is no
agriculture,” Orvis said.
However, as a fun fact,
Miller shared that honey-
bees are not considered na-
tive to this country as they
weren’t introduced from
Europe until the 1600s.
Dr. Mussen took the stage
and demonstrated through
a Power Point presentation
how the current standards
and practices used within
commercial beekeeping are
not providing a sustainable
yield of honey.
Nationally, there are 2.6
million colonies and 3,000
beekeepers that produce
150 million pounds of hon-
ey but Americans consume
300 million pounds each
year.
“Which means we have to
import half of what we con-
sume,” Mussen said.
Also, the average colony
suffers a loss of 29 to 35 per-
cent of its bees, which isn’t
sustainable.
In California, there are
500,000 colonies and only
250 beekeepers that pro-
duce 30 million pounds of
honey annually.
How much is produced
is dependent upon many
different factors, includ-
ing favorable weather, and
Southern California has
the most output in Califor-
nia; however, more than 50
percent of the bee breeders
who produce the queens
come from Northern Cali-
fornia.
One hundred and thirty
different types of crops de-
pend on pollination and
honeybees are the easiest
to move in and out in large
numbers. The crop value of
their pollination efforts is
$18 billion.
In California, there are
90 crops that depend upon
bee pollination with a crop
value of $7 billion.
And, 780,000 acres of
California’s almonds use 1.6
million colonies of honey-
bees for pollination.
“We use more than half
the country’s ‘bees on
wheels’,” Mussen said.
Miller, who is a multi-
state beekeeper, talked spe-
cifically about the health of
bees today and how bee-
keeping has changed with
the times.
Viruses, chemical pollut-
ants, and other toxic influ-
enceshavechangedtheway
the bees operate, which has
had a direct effect on farm-
ers.
“Our food supply ar-
rives on the wings of a 747
freighter and honeybees,”
Miller said. “The 747 is op-
tional — the honeybees are
not.”
Change is happening
quickly, he added.
“We have to be smart and
we have to pay attention,”
Miller said.
Miller shared how tinker-
ing with different pesticide
cocktails have resulted in
devastating consequences
for the bees, such as de-
formities, memory loss,
and destructive behavior
within the hive, as well as
CCD (Colony Collapse Dis-
order). And research into
virus strains affecting the
bees has netted confusing
results that have been dif-
ficult to quantify without
more research.
Both Miller and Mussen
made it clear that honey-
bee health and production
were nearing a crisis state
Crowd Swarms To Hear About Health, Future Of Industry
BuzzingAboutBees
A picture perfect view, with the blossoms standing out against the sky above and the
mowed path below, these almond trees are in full bloom and keeping the bees buzzing.
Marg Jackson/The Leader
Oakdale High FFA members Denise Thompson, left, and Megan Rivera, were among the
students helping out at the 39th
annual Oakdale Ag Scholarship Luncheon held Thursday,
Feb. 23 at the community center to help raise funds for agricultural scholarships awarded
to graduating seniors.
Kim Van Meter/The Leader
A familiar sight come February, the bee boxes are out
in force, taking up temporary residence among the
blossoming fruit trees.
Marg Jackson/The Leader
Dr. Eric Mussen, UC Davis, UCCE Apiculturist, was one of the
featured speakers at 39th
annual Oakdale Ag Scholarship
Luncheon held at the community center. Dr. Mussen, along
with John Miller, Vice President of the California State
Beekeepers Association, came to speak about the future of
commercial beekeeping.
Kim Van Meter/The Leader
bees, Page B3