Western Drought

The drought covering most of the Western U.S. is already causing major disruptions to the ag industry. As a third generation beekeeper. This is a really good queen because she got her pollen, the honey and the brood. Melanie Cardozo knows the industry and the challenges that come during a drought. It impacts everything. There's no water, there's no food. There's no plants for the bees to pollinate. In the last two years, fires and drought have wiped out thousands of colonies. Experts pointing to the root cause. As we see climate change, climate increase in drought and increase in heatwave events, we will see increased stresses on the bees. The drought depriving the bees of their primary food source. It causes us to have to feed them more. And this intensified by the struggles of farmers like Joe delBrosque. The land is ready. It's ready to plant it, just waiting for water and plants to put in there. Those plants also supply pollen and nectar that the bees desperately need, one industry intertwined with another and eventually passing on the stress to the consumer. Anybody that eats fruits and nuts and vegetables because California grows about half of all the fruits, nuts and vegetables in the United States Del Bosque Farms grows organic produce for Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Costco and others. But this year, the losses caused by the drought could be in the millions. I'm extremely worried about the future, absolutely, because if we have to see if we can survive this year first, we may not survive. In the meantime, these business owners finding ways to deal with the losses,

I talked to different beekeepers in different states, but yeah, it's like the same thing there as it is here. They're just praying for more rain.