Mississippi Growers, Beekeepers Develop Program To Protect Bee Population

Honeybee health continues to be a serious concern for beekeepers, fruit and vegetable growers, almond producers, and researchers. As the debate about pesticide use continues, Mississippi farmers and beekeepers, along with other stakeholders, have developed a voluntary program of cooperative standards called the Mississippi Honey Bee Stewardship Program.

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“In light of the global decline of honeybee populations, discussions were held to discuss ways to foster a better working dialogue among Mississippi’s row crop farmers and beekeepers, all in the spirit of coexistence and cooperation,” said Jeff Harris, Mississippi State University (MSU) Extension apiculturist. “The potential for great tension between these two groups exists because some commercial beekeepers keep thousands of colonies near soybean and cotton fields for honey production. These two crops bloom during hot and dry periods, when no other major food source is available. But farmers must manage pest populations to prevent damage to their crops, so there is a relatively high potential for honeybees to be killed accidentally by pesticide applications.”

Angus Catchot, a row crops entomologist with the MSU Extension Service, said he is pleased with the results of the collaboration.

“As this topic has gained attention over the last couple of years, I have been surprised to see how few farmers were aware of the issue. Now that they realize there is a problem, they have seemed more than willing to figure out how to work together,” Catchot said. “With all the negative publicity out there, I am very glad that in Mississippi we have been able to bring all groups together to work on this issue locally. This program will certainly not eliminate all risk, but it will no doubt go a long way to head off future problems with acute bee kills.”

One component of the program is a unified flagging system to be used throughout the state to identify hive locations that are near agricultural fields. Beekeepers will work with farmers to place the black and yellow striped “Bee Aware” flags where they will be visible both on the ground and from the air, to alert pesticide applicators.

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“The Mississippi Honey Bee Stewardship Program is setting a precedent by showing there is cooperation and commitment on both sides. They’re willing to work together to minimize the risk of economic losses by both the beekeepers and the farmers,” said Jeff Gore, entomologist with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and MSU Extension Service. “The Bee Aware flags that resulted from this agreement are an additional tool to help raise everyone’s awareness about pollinator health and protecting pollinators.”

The Mississippi Honeybee Stewardship Program has been adopted by Mississippi Beekeepers Association, Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, Mississippi Agricultural Aviation Association, Mississippi Agricultural Consultants Association, Mississippi Department of Agriculture & Commerce, and the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

The agreement is available online at http://www.mississippi-crops.com/2014/01/30/cooperative-standards-for-the-coexistence-of-row-crop-farmers-and-beekeepers-adopted-in-mississippi/.

Source: Press Release from Mississippi State University, Office of Agricultural Communications

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Avatar for Thomas R Smith Thomas R Smith says:

Pollinators, honey bees, will no longer be abundant for crops which require their service in the future. Honey production no longer supports the cost of maintaining a hive. Pollination rental income provides the major source of income for the industry. Bluntly, your beekeeper does not need one more hive than you, his pollination customer, requires.
Pollination is hard work for the honey bee colony. It requires space, time and, good forage for recuperation. Pollination is similar to over graising a field. That period of recouperation must take place adjacent to production agriculture because that is where good soils with adequate moisture exist. Marginal lands can not support the industry. The tools required to grow and reproduce colonies without high quality pollen do not exist. Pollen is truly a miracle of nature and presently irreplaceable.
The pressures facing the beekeeping industry appear perilous. It is now questionable among industry leaders whether national colony numbers can actually be signifcantly increased. All the publicized culprits, including Varroa mites, disease, reduced forage and, pesticides together form a soup of adversity. Pesticides used in production agriculture continue to be identified as a serious obstical in maintaining heathy populous colonies which are required for pollination needs.
The good news is that farmers which require pollinators are vested into the pollinator’s care while in their fields. They communicate with their beekeeper and make wise decisions in the choice of pesticide and timing of application. It doesn’t get any harder than controlling pests with colonies placed within the field borders. Yet, these farmers do it across the country in most every State.
Notice I said, “farmers”, and not applicators or crop consultants. It is truly the Farmer who decides whether the bees live or die. The farmer is the decision maker. The applicator, crop advisor, and the beekeeper are all service providers in the pollination setting.
The bad news is that farmers of crops which do not pay pollination services do not value the essential pollination service honey bees provide to the farmers who require them. Honey bees are called a nuisance and trespassers by some commodity groups. They are viewed as “the problem.” Their solution is to move the bees away which places them on unproductive lands. Moving colonies on a regular basis to facilitate pesticide application is both culturally and financially unsustainable for the bees and the beekeeper.
The really bad news is that EPA has recently announced its new policy which will transfer the risk prevention measure of protecting pollinators from the pesticide user to the beekeeper. In the very near future, a farmer or applicator will be responsible only to notify, or attempt to notify, a known beekeeper 48 hours before a pesticide application. If the bees are destroyed because the beekeeper can not move the bees in time, the responsibility for the loss will be placed officially on the beekeeper. A careful reading of the new policy will also result in bees being removed while on pollination contract if/when a nearby neighbor notifies, or attempts, to notify your beekeeper that he will be spraying a crop. The new policy is a direct result of pressure put upon EPA by commodity groups which do not place honey bees under pollination contract. Farmers which require pollinators will pay the costs of this policy.
The sad news is that farmers which require pollinators have sat on the fence. They can influence EPA, as did the other group. Managed pollinators are a national resource. Without protection in every setting the supply will become questionable and their cost exhorbinate. In final decision does not rest on the beekeeper but the farmer who uses them to produce the high quality foods which requires their service. The answer is to use the same wise choices in choice of pesticide and application timing in every setting.

Sincerely, A 5th generation commercial beekeeper/farmer of cotton, grains and forage.

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