07/09/08 Helping the Bees

Helping the Bees. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. Here in the northwest we have been dodging a bullet when it comes to bee disappearance. For the most part, ag producers have not had the same trouble finding pollinators as they have in other parts of the country. That does not mean we shouldn't worry. No one has yet discovered the cause of the bee colony collapse disorder or CCD. President Bush wants 780-thousand more in fiscal '09 for research into honeybee health and colony collapse disorder. U.S. funding of university research is expected to top two-and-a-half million this year. And more help is on the way through the farm bill. But that may not be enough to find out if a virus, pest, pesticide or diet's killing the bees that pollinate over 15-billion dollars worth of fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts. During a recent hearing on Capitol Hill, Horticulture Subcommittee chair Dennis Cardoza seemed a bit stymied. CARDOZA: I'm not in anyway holding this hearing in an effort to beat you all up but we have to find out and we have to hear from you very directly what are the necessary resources needed to be brought to bear on this problem. In the past couple of years CCD has resulted in a dramatic decline in the number of bees according to North Carolina State University Extension Apiculturist Dr. David Tarpy. TARPY: There's been a tremendous amount of effort placed upon finding out the cause or the causes of these disappearing events. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.