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The bees are "colony collapsing" in Kern County, California in the almond groves near Bakersfield. First you have to wade through the money concerns.
High bee prices sting almond growers
By JENNY SHEARER, Californian staff writer
e-mail: jshearer@bakersfield.com | Friday, Feb 22 2008 9:05 PM
Last Updated: Sunday, Feb 24 2008 6:15 PM
California almond growers are feeling the sting of higher prices for bees that pollinate their crops.
Kern’s top 10 commodities for 2006
1. Almonds, including by-products: $494.3 million
2. Grapes, all: $492.1 million
3. Milk, market and manufacturing: $400.2 million
4. Carrots, fresh and processing: $389.7 million
5. Citrus, fresh & processing $388 million
6. Cattle & calves: $204.5 million
7. Pistachios: $156 million
8. Hay, alfalfa: $150.7 milliion
9. Cotton, including processed cottonseed: $118.7 million
10. Potatoes, fresh & processing $116.3 million
Source: Kern County Agricultural Commission
Frank A. Eischen with the USDA has been running experiments for the past couple of months on colony collapse and pollination. Eischen shows a tray used to collect pollen from bees to measure productivity. His research is in an almond field of Zerker Road.
Dave Hackenberg, an East Coast beekeeper who has studied the mysterious affliction killing off the nation's bees, addresses a group of about 50 local beekeepers gathered at a farmhouse west of Shafter on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008. He theorizes that the deaths are the result of farming chemicals that have weakened the insects' immune systems.
Blogs:
Bees are the perfect pollinators — no man-made creation can accomplish what sterile adult female worker bees do. California is home to more than 600,000 acres of almond orchards, and Kern County produces the largest amounts of the high-protein nuts, according to the state’s Almond Board.
Per-hive costs are more expensive than ever before, between $125 and $180 depending on colony strength, said Joe Traynor, a bee broker and founder of Scientific Ag Company. Traynor works with 40 almond growers from Bakersfield to Modesto and about 40 beekeepers from around the country.
In 2005, growers were paying about $50 per hive. It takes two hives per acre to pollinate delicate white and pink almond blossoms. Growers plant two compatible varieties of almonds, and honeybees cross-pollinate between the two to set the crop. How much growers spend on hives depends on their acreage; the more trees they have, the more expensive it gets.
Those costs could be passed on to consumers at the grocery store.
LATE BLOOM, HIGHER PRICES
The almond bloom usually starts the second week of February, but it’s a little late this year. Almonds are the first crop to require pollination, and the insects pollinate many foods, including apples, melons and the seeds that help feed livestock.
About 1.2 million hives are needed to pollinate the state’s $3 billion almond crop, said Bob Curtis, senior manager for production research for the Almond Board.
Bees were scarce in 2005, and no one wanted a repeat the next year. Those fears started a bidding war, some say.
Hive fees doubled to about $100 in 2006. But who raised the prices, beekeepers or growers, is up for debate.
“In 2006, we had more bees out here than we knew what to do with,” said Eric Mussen, an apiculturist with the University of California, Davis.
But Sam Frantz, a Shafter almond grower, said prices are set by beekeepers.
“We have to pay what the going rate is. We’re not unionized,” he said. He and his brother-in-law, Barry Braun, grow almonds on about 500 acres in Shafter. They are in good shape for bees and anticipate their hard shell trees may start to bloom in about 10 days.
Frantz has worked with bee broker Mike Mulligan for many years and trusts him. Frantz doesn’t mind paying a bit more for the security of a good product when he needs it.
In 2007, hive rentals jumped to $140, Mussen said, according to data that California beekeepers voluntarily report to the state association. The going rate for this year’s bloom won’t be available until November.
COLONY COLLAPSE
Some bee hives are losing the worker bees that collect pollen and bring it back to the hive to feed the developing bees or brood. Scientists call this colony collapse disorder, and there are varying opinions about its causes. Nutrition, mites, viruses, fungi and bacteria and pesticides, including neo-nicotinoids, could all be playing a role.
Bees that experience nutritional stress are vulnerable, said Frank Eischen, a United States Department of Agriculture research entomologist.
The scientist, who’s based in Welasco, Texas, has been spending between a month to six weeks in Bakersfield during the almond bloom since 1998.
On a rainy Friday, he pulled out a drawer to hive No. 45 in an almond orchard off Zerker Road. Marigold-colored specks of pollen dotted the aluminum foil trap. Bees darted in and around the hive, their hum a pleasant sound.
He and colleague Henry Graham are testing a commercial synthetic brood pheromone, among other experiments. He was asked to render an opinion on this commercial product by a consortium of beekeepers and almond growers. They are exploring if the product helps encourage pollination.
When developing bees are hungry, they give off chemical signals that trigger other bees to feed them, Eischen said. Colony collapse has caused some beekeepers to lose up to 85 percent of their hives, Traynor said. Normal losses during the winter used to be 5 percent to 10 percent. But now, those averages are likely closer to 20 percent to 30 percent.
“No beekeepers can guarantee what it will be like in February until late January,” Traynor said.
In 2007, Colorado-based beekeeper Richard McCollum sent 1,200 colonies to North Dakota and Minnesota. He was hoping to receive about 1,000 back. Instead, only 620 were returned, which caused McCollum to lose about $160,000.
He’s been in beekeeping since 1962 and has never seen his hives collapse like this.
“We’re dealing with something that’s brand new to all of us.... This situation is happening all over the U.S. It’s not just an isolated incident,” McCollum said.
NATURE'S DANCE
The Almond Board of California works closely with the bee industry and has given $200,000 for research this year.
That money is being used to develop nutritional supplements that beekeepers can feed to their colonies when natural pollen sources are in short supply, Curtis said. The industry has funded bee research since 1973.
“Our vision is to be the healthiest specialty crop in the world that goes from the farm all the way to the consumer,” Curtis said.
For bees to be productive, Mother Nature must cooperate, too. Wet, windy conditions are not good for bees. Mild springtime conditions with temperatures above 55 degrees are most desirable.
SOLVING THE SCOURGE
In the fading sunlight streaming over blooming fruit orchards west of Shafter on Thursday, some 50 beekeepers finished their plates of lasagna and settled down for a somber discussion of the mysterious scourge that is killing their bees and ruining their livelihood.
The first man to take the podium near the edge of a farmhouse patio was an East Coast beekeeper, Dave Hackenberg, a lifelong farmer who has gained notoriety in the industry for doggedly pursuing answers to a menace that, by some estimates, has claimed more than 100,000 bee colonies in Kern alone and which many believe threatens the nation’s produce industry.
“I think we’ve got a train wreck, to put it bluntly,” Hackenberg told the crowd. “If you’re under 30 or 40 percent (of colonies lost), just count yourself lucky.”
Californian staff writer John Cox contributed to this report.
High bee prices sting almond growers
By JENNY SHEARER, Californian staff writer
e-mail: jshearer@bakersfield.com | Friday, Feb 22 2008 9:05 PM
Last Updated: Sunday, Feb 24 2008 6:15 PM
California almond growers are feeling the sting of higher prices for bees that pollinate their crops.
Kern’s top 10 commodities for 2006
1. Almonds, including by-products: $494.3 million
2. Grapes, all: $492.1 million
3. Milk, market and manufacturing: $400.2 million
4. Carrots, fresh and processing: $389.7 million
5. Citrus, fresh & processing $388 million
6. Cattle & calves: $204.5 million
7. Pistachios: $156 million
8. Hay, alfalfa: $150.7 milliion
9. Cotton, including processed cottonseed: $118.7 million
10. Potatoes, fresh & processing $116.3 million
Source: Kern County Agricultural Commission
Frank A. Eischen with the USDA has been running experiments for the past couple of months on colony collapse and pollination. Eischen shows a tray used to collect pollen from bees to measure productivity. His research is in an almond field of Zerker Road.
Dave Hackenberg, an East Coast beekeeper who has studied the mysterious affliction killing off the nation's bees, addresses a group of about 50 local beekeepers gathered at a farmhouse west of Shafter on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008. He theorizes that the deaths are the result of farming chemicals that have weakened the insects' immune systems.
Blogs:
Bees are the perfect pollinators — no man-made creation can accomplish what sterile adult female worker bees do. California is home to more than 600,000 acres of almond orchards, and Kern County produces the largest amounts of the high-protein nuts, according to the state’s Almond Board.
Per-hive costs are more expensive than ever before, between $125 and $180 depending on colony strength, said Joe Traynor, a bee broker and founder of Scientific Ag Company. Traynor works with 40 almond growers from Bakersfield to Modesto and about 40 beekeepers from around the country.
In 2005, growers were paying about $50 per hive. It takes two hives per acre to pollinate delicate white and pink almond blossoms. Growers plant two compatible varieties of almonds, and honeybees cross-pollinate between the two to set the crop. How much growers spend on hives depends on their acreage; the more trees they have, the more expensive it gets.
Those costs could be passed on to consumers at the grocery store.
LATE BLOOM, HIGHER PRICES
The almond bloom usually starts the second week of February, but it’s a little late this year. Almonds are the first crop to require pollination, and the insects pollinate many foods, including apples, melons and the seeds that help feed livestock.
About 1.2 million hives are needed to pollinate the state’s $3 billion almond crop, said Bob Curtis, senior manager for production research for the Almond Board.
Bees were scarce in 2005, and no one wanted a repeat the next year. Those fears started a bidding war, some say.
Hive fees doubled to about $100 in 2006. But who raised the prices, beekeepers or growers, is up for debate.
“In 2006, we had more bees out here than we knew what to do with,” said Eric Mussen, an apiculturist with the University of California, Davis.
But Sam Frantz, a Shafter almond grower, said prices are set by beekeepers.
“We have to pay what the going rate is. We’re not unionized,” he said. He and his brother-in-law, Barry Braun, grow almonds on about 500 acres in Shafter. They are in good shape for bees and anticipate their hard shell trees may start to bloom in about 10 days.
Frantz has worked with bee broker Mike Mulligan for many years and trusts him. Frantz doesn’t mind paying a bit more for the security of a good product when he needs it.
In 2007, hive rentals jumped to $140, Mussen said, according to data that California beekeepers voluntarily report to the state association. The going rate for this year’s bloom won’t be available until November.
COLONY COLLAPSE
Some bee hives are losing the worker bees that collect pollen and bring it back to the hive to feed the developing bees or brood. Scientists call this colony collapse disorder, and there are varying opinions about its causes. Nutrition, mites, viruses, fungi and bacteria and pesticides, including neo-nicotinoids, could all be playing a role.
Bees that experience nutritional stress are vulnerable, said Frank Eischen, a United States Department of Agriculture research entomologist.
The scientist, who’s based in Welasco, Texas, has been spending between a month to six weeks in Bakersfield during the almond bloom since 1998.
On a rainy Friday, he pulled out a drawer to hive No. 45 in an almond orchard off Zerker Road. Marigold-colored specks of pollen dotted the aluminum foil trap. Bees darted in and around the hive, their hum a pleasant sound.
He and colleague Henry Graham are testing a commercial synthetic brood pheromone, among other experiments. He was asked to render an opinion on this commercial product by a consortium of beekeepers and almond growers. They are exploring if the product helps encourage pollination.
When developing bees are hungry, they give off chemical signals that trigger other bees to feed them, Eischen said. Colony collapse has caused some beekeepers to lose up to 85 percent of their hives, Traynor said. Normal losses during the winter used to be 5 percent to 10 percent. But now, those averages are likely closer to 20 percent to 30 percent.
“No beekeepers can guarantee what it will be like in February until late January,” Traynor said.
In 2007, Colorado-based beekeeper Richard McCollum sent 1,200 colonies to North Dakota and Minnesota. He was hoping to receive about 1,000 back. Instead, only 620 were returned, which caused McCollum to lose about $160,000.
He’s been in beekeeping since 1962 and has never seen his hives collapse like this.
“We’re dealing with something that’s brand new to all of us.... This situation is happening all over the U.S. It’s not just an isolated incident,” McCollum said.
NATURE'S DANCE
The Almond Board of California works closely with the bee industry and has given $200,000 for research this year.
That money is being used to develop nutritional supplements that beekeepers can feed to their colonies when natural pollen sources are in short supply, Curtis said. The industry has funded bee research since 1973.
“Our vision is to be the healthiest specialty crop in the world that goes from the farm all the way to the consumer,” Curtis said.
For bees to be productive, Mother Nature must cooperate, too. Wet, windy conditions are not good for bees. Mild springtime conditions with temperatures above 55 degrees are most desirable.
SOLVING THE SCOURGE
In the fading sunlight streaming over blooming fruit orchards west of Shafter on Thursday, some 50 beekeepers finished their plates of lasagna and settled down for a somber discussion of the mysterious scourge that is killing their bees and ruining their livelihood.
The first man to take the podium near the edge of a farmhouse patio was an East Coast beekeeper, Dave Hackenberg, a lifelong farmer who has gained notoriety in the industry for doggedly pursuing answers to a menace that, by some estimates, has claimed more than 100,000 bee colonies in Kern alone and which many believe threatens the nation’s produce industry.
“I think we’ve got a train wreck, to put it bluntly,” Hackenberg told the crowd. “If you’re under 30 or 40 percent (of colonies lost), just count yourself lucky.”
Californian staff writer John Cox contributed to this report.
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