Bee Mishap & Less Cherries

Bee Mishap & Less Cherries

Bee Mishap & Less Cherries. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

In yet another case of a truck driver losing control - about 20 million bees were lost after the truck transporting them tipped onto it's side releasing the bees. The bees were being shipped from Idaho to North Dakota to pollinate crops and make honey. The driver was reported to have swerved to avoid a car. Neither he, not a passenger were injured although some motorcycle riders passing the accident were stung by the swarming bees.

The cherry crop here in the northwest looks to be pretty good this year but that may not be the case elsewhere and according to Lance Honig of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service the weather in recent months has led to lower cherry production this year, both for sweet and tart cherries.

HONIG: Weather is always a big factor for cherries. Of course it is for every crop but it seems to be such a big factor for the cherries and with Michigan in particular being the big driver on the tart cherries it's always the spring weather. It's always do we get the freeze, do we not get the freeze. This year we got the freeze. It was a hard freeze in late May and that can be just almost devastating to a crop. We see a 34% reduction in that expected production in Michigan. The sweet cherries - a little different situation there on the weather this year again we did see a reduction ion the crop due to the weather but it's not a single event. Warmer, dryer weather. Just not as many cherries based on those conditions.

That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network of the West.

Previous ReportTPA Passes & Visas Provided
Next ReportWenatchee Wildfire & West Nile