http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/editorials/12645 PUBLISHED 7-31-2007 A key element of the farm bill&nbsp;&nbsp; working its way through the House of Representatives must be an&nbsp; increase in funding to attack a massive die-off of honey bees. Left unchecked, Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder could devastate a huge portion of Kern County&rsquo;s and California&rsquo;s agricultural production. Since the fall of 2006, colonies of honey bees required for the pollination of a variety of crops have been dying off nationally at rapidly increasing rates. In Kern County, bees are especially critical to the $494 million almond crop. &nbsp;&ldquo;We had enough bees this year to pollinate crops,&rdquo; says Kern County Agriculture Commissioner David Moore. But U.S. Department of Agriculture officials share Moore&rsquo;s concern about the adequacy of bee populations in the next few years. California uses a majority of the nation&rsquo;s bees during the almond bloom period, and Kern County accounts for a huge portion of that use. Moore also noted that prices for colony rental have been increasing for the past five years &mdash; raising costs for growers and consumers. It is a trend that will get worse if the&nbsp; rate of die-off continues to rise. This is happening at the same time almond demand is increasing. According to experts at the University of Florida, at the present rate of increase, &ldquo;California almonds will need every honey bee colony in North America just to be pollinated adequately.&rdquo; That increasing demand for bees, combined with the worsening Colony Collapse Disorder, will threaten production of such crops in California and the nation as apples, peaches, citrus, soybeans, pears, pumpkins, cucumbers, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries. One expert says the potential loss just in the U.S. could be $12 billion annually and could threaten food supplies. &nbsp;USDA&rsquo;s budget for bee research is $7.4 million and department officials say they will add another $1 million to the budget. Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida is proposing an additional $7.25 million annually and some industry groups are also pledging funds to study management practices, chemical and pesticide use, mites and pests, genetic changes and electromagnetic radiation as possible causes. The nation must be prepared to spend even more than is being proposed. No one knows what factors, or combination of factors, is causing the problem. Protecting the adequacy of the nation&rsquo;s food supply must be a priority. PUBLISHED 7-31-2007 A key element of the farm bill&nbsp;&nbsp; working its way through the House of Representatives must be an&nbsp; increase in funding to attack a massive die-off of honey bees. Left unchecked, Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder could devastate a huge portion of Kern County&rsquo;s and California&rsquo;s agricultural production. Since the fall of 2006, colonies of honey bees required for the pollination of a variety of crops have been dying off nationally at rapidly increasing rates. In Kern County, bees are especially critical to the $494 million almond crop. &nbsp;&ldquo;We had enough bees this year to pollinate crops,&rdquo; says Kern County Agriculture Commissioner David Moore. But U.S. Department of Agriculture officials share Moore&rsquo;s concern about the adequacy of bee populations in the next few years. California uses a majority of the nation&rsquo;s bees during the almond bloom period, and Kern County accounts for a huge portion of that use. Moore also noted that prices for colony rental have been increasing for the past five years &mdash; raising costs for growers and consumers. It is a trend that will get worse if the&nbsp; rate of die-off continues to rise. This is happening at the same time almond demand is increasing. According to experts at the University of Florida, at the present rate of increase, &ldquo;California almonds will need every honey bee colony in North America just to be pollinated adequately.&rdquo; That increasing demand for bees, combined with the worsening Colony Collapse Disorder, will threaten production of such crops in California and the nation as apples, peaches, citrus, soybeans, pears, pumpkins, cucumbers, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries. One expert says the potential loss just in the U.S. could be $12 billion annually and could threaten food supplies. &nbsp;USDA&rsquo;s budget for bee research is $7.4 million and department officials say they will add another $1 million to the budget. Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida is proposing an additional $7.25 million annually and some industry groups are also pledging funds to study management practices, chemical and pesticide use, mites and pests, genetic changes and electromagnetic radiation as possible causes. The nation must be prepared to spend even more than is being proposed. No one knows what factors, or combination of factors, is causing the problem. Protecting the adequacy of the nation&rsquo;s food supply must be a priority. en-us Isn't this being very intensely looked into already?&nbsp; http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/editorials/12645/#c_122955 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/editorials/12645/#c_122955 Isn't this being very intensely looked into already?&nbsp; It is, Robb.&nbsp; The problem is that most of the data right now is anecdotal.&nbsp; That's why people are blaming things like cell phones.&nbsp; My &quot;shoot from the hip&quot; guess is that some of the harder chemicals for mite control combined with the stress put on the bees is causing the disorder.&nbsp; Organic bees seem to be doing fine.<br /> <br /> My nutball theory is that the virus that can cause schizophrenia has adapted to the bees and is spread to them via contaminated groundwater. http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/editorials/12645/#c_122972 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/editorials/12645/#c_122972 It is, Robb.&nbsp; The problem is that most of the data right now is anecdotal.&nbsp; That's why people are blaming things like cell phones.&nbsp; My &quot;shoot from the hip&quot; guess is that some of the harder chemicals for mite control combined with the stress put on the bees is causing the disorder.&nbsp; Organic bees seem to be doing fine.<br /> <br /> My nutball theory is that the virus that can cause schizophrenia has adapted to the bees and is spread to them via contaminated groundwater. <p>In my continuing push for the-ends-justify-the-means, I'm hoping cell phones are the cause.</p> <p>Spam code: BMPLZ</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/editorials/12645/#c_123002 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/editorials/12645/#c_123002 <p>In my continuing push for the-ends-justify-the-means, I'm hoping cell phones are the cause.</p> <p>Spam code: BMPLZ</p> <p>That should've been my spam code, since I'm on heavy bm stopping meds since surgery....hahahaha....</p> <p>There didn't seem to be any shortness of bees in my Pepper Trees this Spring.&nbsp; It was quite the buzz.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/editorials/12645/#c_123040 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/editorials/12645/#c_123040 <p>That should've been my spam code, since I'm on heavy bm stopping meds since surgery....hahahaha....</p> <p>There didn't seem to be any shortness of bees in my Pepper Trees this Spring.&nbsp; It was quite the buzz.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Since the beginning of Spring, I have found many dead bees in my front and back yard.  I told my husband about my concern about 2 months ago and he has been noticing them too now.  I find about 5 or 6 a week.  I don't remember finding this many dead bees in the past years.  When I went to visit my grandparents here in town last week, I found 2 dead bees on their driveway and a few in their back yard.  I mentioned my concern to neighbors, family and friends and all of them said that they had not noticed a lot of dead bees.  Are my husband and I the only two that have been finding them all around our house?     </p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/editorials/12645/#c_123169 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/editorials/12645/#c_123169 <p>Since the beginning of Spring, I have found many dead bees in my front and back yard.  I told my husband about my concern about 2 months ago and he has been noticing them too now.  I find about 5 or 6 a week.  I don't remember finding this many dead bees in the past years.  When I went to visit my grandparents here in town last week, I found 2 dead bees on their driveway and a few in their back yard.  I mentioned my concern to neighbors, family and friends and all of them said that they had not noticed a lot of dead bees.  Are my husband and I the only two that have been finding them all around our house?     </p> <p>There may be an answer now:&nbsp; Israeli Acute&nbsp;Paralysis Virus</p> <p><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/6/145649/6981">http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/6/145649/6981</a></p> <p>Could have been imported from Australia.&nbsp; But ya know what?&nbsp; 9/11 was flashy, but introduce a virus that kills off our honeybees and you'd *REALLY* have damage.</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/editorials/12645/#c_135660 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/editorials/12645/#c_135660 <p>There may be an answer now:&nbsp; Israeli Acute&nbsp;Paralysis Virus</p> <p><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/6/145649/6981">http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/6/145649/6981</a></p> <p>Could have been imported from Australia.&nbsp; But ya know what?&nbsp; 9/11 was flashy, but introduce a virus that kills off our honeybees and you'd *REALLY* have damage.</p> <font size="2">I saw that on yahoo news, interesting</font> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/editorials/12645/#c_135664 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/editorials/12645/#c_135664 <font size="2">I saw that on yahoo news, interesting</font>