Pesticides on Brink of Ban Over Honey Bee Losses

by CHRIS BENNETT WESTERN FARM PRESS A neonicotinoid ban might cost Europe up to $23 billion and put 50,000 jobs on the chopping block. For U.S. agriculture and California, the neonicotinoid outcome in Europe may serve as a regulatory road map. Honey bees are a massive global business, responsible for a third of the world’s food production. Honey bees provide $15 billion in added …

ICE and CBP Announce Charges Linked to Major Commercial Fraud Enterprise; Honey Anti-dumping Case Is One Of the Largest in U.S. History

U.S. Immigration and Customs Release   CHICAGO — Five individuals and two domestic honey-processing companies have been charged with federal crimes in connection with a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)-led investigation surrounding illegal importations of honey from China. The charges assert that the Chinese-origin honey was misdeclared as other commodities upon importation into the United States and transshipped …

International Honey Market Update

by RON PHIPPS President, CPNA International, Ltd. "The March to Monopoly Has Lost Its Momentum."   There are several strategic issues facing the international honey industry. The first point I want to stress is the hopeful prospect that we are approaching the end of the two-tiered market that has plagued the industry for several years and created an unfair and uneven playing field for …

Almond Growers Pay Record Prices Amid Bee Shortage

by John Cox Californian staff writer jcox@bakersfield.com The Bakersfield Californian By Henry A. Barrios / The Californian From left, bee keeper Bill Mathewson, farm manager Jose Gomez, and almond farmer Richard Enns check the health of some bee hives that within a few days will be busy pollinating Enns' orchards as the trees begin to bloom. Enns says he spends $100,000 on bees to …

Troubling Honey Bee Shortage in California Almond Orchards

by Kathy Keatley Garvey UC Davis Dept. of Entomology DAVIS--California almond growers may not have enough honey bees to pollinate this year’s crop of   800,000 acres, says  Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology. He attributes the difficulty to winter losses and less populous hives. “We need 1.6 million colonies, or two colonies per acre, and California has only …

Package Bee Suppliers — 2013

The following is a list compiled of 2013 bee breeders that are currently advertising in the American Bee Journal as breeders that will SHIP bees. This listing does not imply endorsement of products or services by American Bee Journal or Dadant & Sons, Inc. CALIFORNIA Buzz’s Bees — (530) 882-4302 C.F. Koehnen — (530) 891-5216 GEORGIA Gardener’s Apiaries — (912) 367-9352 Roberts/H & R Apiaries — …