08/18/06 Beekeepers Playing Important Role

Beekeepers playing an important role. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. Each sector of the agriculture industry has its challenges - and the U.S. honey industry is no exception. In fact - National Honey Board Marketing Director Bruce Wolk says America`s beekeepers face a host of challenges - some unique to the honey industry. But Wolk says all U.S. ag producers can relate to a number of the challenges beekeepers must deal with. He says honey producers are trying to find a way to deal with yield-robbing pests and urban sprawl. But perhaps even more importantly - according to Wolk - is bringing new beekeepers into the industry to keep up with increasing demand. WOLK: One of the most major problems we have in the industry is the fact that we are having trouble recruiting young beekeepers. It is not a profession that people necessarily think of as going to the top of their list of professions and yet it's a very good profession and for some people they can make a wonderful living at it. And as Pennsylvania beekeeper David Hackenburg explains - the recruitment challenge is not just a concern for the industry - but the nation as a whole. HACKENBURG: One out of every three bites of food we eat is dependant on honey bees for pollination and somebody's going to have to be here to do it or the foods not going to be there for the American consumer. The fruit and vegetables that we are used to having and the nuts&things that are dependant on the honey bee for pollination we've got to have some young guys coming along to fill the steps of us older people. Hackenburg says his honey bees play a vital role in crop production. His beekeeping operation travels the East Coast to pollinate oranges, vegetables, and canteloupe in Florida - apples in Pennsylvania and New York - blueberries in Maine - and pumpkins in Pennsylvania. HACKENBURG: The thing it, it's a way of life and it's kind of like the old cowboys, it's a way of life and that's kind of the way we are. Especially migrating bees back and forth, up and down the country and whether you are on the west moving back and forth to California or as we are moving up and down the East Coast, it's kind of like the old cowboys moving the cattle around. But when you combine the need for pollination service with the challenge of recruiting new beekeepers - the result is a decline in domestic honey production. According to the National Honey Board - U.S. honey production averaged around 200-million pounds a year between 1980 and 2004. But production decreased to 174-million pounds in 2005. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.