Unsustainable Bee Losses

Unsustainable Bee Losses. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

Between Oct. 1 and March 31, Oregon beekeepers reported a 21.1 percent loss in colonies of the crucial crop pollinators, a slight improvement over the state's average annual loss of 22 percent over the past six years according to a new study. More than one in five commercial honeybee hives in Oregon did not survive last winter, continuing a financially challenging trend for professional beekeepers. KayDee Gilkey has more on this story.

GILKEY: Nationally, commercial beekeepers reported a 23.2 percent decline last winter. An average of about 30 percent of colonies nationwide have died each winter over the past decade, the partnership reported. Ramesh Sagili, an entomologist with Oregon State University's College of Agricultural Sciences who has been conducting honeybee colony loss surveys for the past five years said; ”These are challenging times for beekeeping and we have reason to be alarmed.” Adding; “While 10-15 percent loss of colonies is considered acceptable, current rates of decline could drive professional beekeepers out of business.” Oregon is home to 62,000 managed honeybee colonies, with the United States total at 2.6 million. Sagili said; “We wish there was an easy answer.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture credits honeybees with pollinating more than $15 billion worth of crops in the U.S.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.