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| Why Disappearing Bees Mean You’ll Pay More for Almonds http://cookaholics.org/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=3464 |
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| Author: | jim262 [ Tue Dec 03, 2013 8:54 am ] |
| Post subject: | Why Disappearing Bees Mean You’ll Pay More for Almonds |
An interesting and somewhat disturbing article from Modern Farmer. Why Disappearing Bees Mean You’ll Pay More for Almonds |
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| Author: | Darcie [ Tue Dec 03, 2013 10:37 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Why Disappearing Bees Mean You’ll Pay More for Almonds |
jim262 wrote: An interesting and somewhat disturbing article from Modern Farmer. Why Disappearing Bees Mean You’ll Pay More for Almonds Not related to pollination issues, but I read that 35% of the pecan crop was lost this year so expect higher prices for those nuts next year. |
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| Author: | Cubangirl [ Tue Dec 03, 2013 4:57 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Why Disappearing Bees Mean You’ll Pay More for Almonds |
I live in almond country. We had 64 trees when we moved in to our house. Had a nice crops for a couple of years, but only a couple are left and they don't produce anymore. It is going to be a bad year for crops here. Not only almonds, but the citrus crop is in danger as well We are having a freeze tonight which is super early. Growers are scrambling trying to get all the fruit picked before it strikes. |
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| Author: | pepperhead212 [ Tue Dec 03, 2013 9:33 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Why Disappearing Bees Mean You’ll Pay More for Almonds |
This is an interesting and hot subject, obvious from the 23 page thread on a gardening forum I go to all the time. I remember a link (naturally, I can't find it now!) showing the many nuts and fruits that rely on pollination by bee hives brought in by bee keepers, and the percentages of the harvests that are due to the bees, and almonds were listed as 100%! Yet, when they showed the cost of this service (what the bee keepers charge the orchards) through the years, by the late 90's it had increased almost tenfold, yet the price of the almonds really has not gone up much, until fairly recently (partly due to the demand for almond milk). While insecticides are definitely one of the main problems, there are some thoughts out there that the hive design may be causing some of the problem, as well. It seems that the one that makes it easier to get more honey may also be a better environment for the virus that is wiping out many bees around the country. Of course, if it was that simple, they would just switch over to the other style of hives, so, like I said, it seems to be a hot topic. |
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| Author: | TheFuzzy [ Tue Dec 03, 2013 11:15 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Why Disappearing Bees Mean You’ll Pay More for Almonds |
The problem is clearly and patently the shipping of bee hives around the country for pollination of huge monocrops. Nobody outside the US does this, and no other country has colony collapse disorder. Nobody wants to admit this, though, because it means changing the whole way we do agriculture. No more monocropping, no more overproducing. So they keep looking for another reason. Not that I have an opinion or anything. |
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| Author: | Darcie [ Wed Dec 04, 2013 9:58 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Why Disappearing Bees Mean You’ll Pay More for Almonds |
Josh, I don't think that is true. Other countries have experience declines in bees as well, including Northern Ireland at a greater than 50% decline. Many European countries have had significant declines too. Plus, CCD occurs in areas where there is NOT transport of bees. I spoke at length about it with a local beekeeper at the farmers' market. His hives, which are not transported anywhere, have suffered losses of up to 70%. Edit to add: I think that the transportation could be a contributing factor, but I don't think it is the primary cause of CCD. |
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| Author: | Lindsay [ Wed Dec 04, 2013 11:11 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Why Disappearing Bees Mean You’ll Pay More for Almonds |
Scientific American, in their food issue in September had an excellent article on this subject, called Return of the Natives: How Wild Bees Will Save Our Agricultural System. (They also say the collapse of bees is not just limited to the U.S.) unfortunately the article is not available for free online, but you can download the issue to an iPad at http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... ral-system". Here's a synopsis, "The U.S. relies primarily on a single insect, the domesticated European honeybee, to pollinate one third of its food supply, including such delicious crops as apples, peaches, almonds, lettuces, broccoli, cranberries, squashes, melons and blueberries. As colony collapse disorder and other maladies continue to devastate honeybee populations, researchers are turning their attention to alternative pollinators—the thousands of native bee species throughout the country—and are looking for ways to make croplands more attractive to these wild bees. So far studies suggest that restoring wild habitat near farms to welcome and nurture native bees not only increases crop yield but also makes honeybees themselves more efficient pollinators." |
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| Author: | Darcie [ Sat Dec 07, 2013 2:26 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Why Disappearing Bees Mean You’ll Pay More for Almonds |
I encourage the bees in my yard, sometimes to my peril. We had some "ground bees" (still haven't determined if they were hornets) that were pollinating the crap out of the flowers next to my house (yay!). Unfortunately their nest was also right next to the house. Also unfortunately, I set my beer down while I was weeding. Apparently bees get pissed off when you take their beer away. I didn't discover this until four stings later. I am thankful that I am not allergic. |
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| Author: | TheFuzzy [ Sun Dec 08, 2013 10:55 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Why Disappearing Bees Mean You’ll Pay More for Almonds |
Lindsay, Actually, I have SA; I'd just skipped that article for some reason. I'll go back and read it. |
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| Author: | Da Bull Man [ Mon Dec 09, 2013 11:10 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Why Disappearing Bees Mean You’ll Pay More for Almonds |
Here the pecan crop was WAY down but that is directly caused by the drought we have been going thru. We lost a lot of trees here, the rest put energy into surviving instead of producing a nut crop. Luckily they are saying that this is year 8 of a 10 year cyclical event. Marilyn's toffee sure is getting expensive to make. I negotiated pecans at $9.00 a pound and bought about 30 lbs. Sam's Club had them for less than $6.00 a pound but they were very dark and did not look like a new crop at all. I passed... |
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