Harvest 2023 expected to be down 3 percent from last year after a stormy bloom.

MODESTO, Calif. – The 2023 California Almond Subjective Forecast published Friday by the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA-NASS) estimates that the crop harvested in 2023 will come in at 2.50 billion pounds, 3 percent below last year’s 2.57 billion pounds.

Forecasted yield is 1,810 pounds per acre, down 90 pounds from 2022 and the lowest since 2005.

“A lower crop estimate was not unexpected considering all that growers dealt with last year and during this year’s bloom,” said Richard Waycott, president and CEO of the Almond Board of California (ABC). “The cold, wet weather kept bees in their hives and reduced the hours they could pollinate orchards. In the past three years, growers have faced high costs, shipping issues, drought and more. But the water picture is better, at least for this year, shipping continues at record levels and global demand continues to grow. California’s almond farmers are prepared to meet that global demand.”

The report said: “Record rainfall and unprecedented stormy conditions impacted pollination. Limited bee flight hours were reported in all growing regions. There were reports of downed trees due to high winds and oversaturated soil. Yields are expected to be the lowest in years, with variation observed across varieties and orchard locations. Colder than normal temperatures continued through March and April, resulting in a delayed crop.”

The Subjective Forecast is the first of two production reports from USDA-NASS for the coming crop year. It is an estimate based on opinions from a survey conducted from April 19 to May 6 of 500 randomly selected California almond growers. The sample of growers, which changes every year, is spread across regions and different sized operations, and they had the option to report their data by mail, online or phone.

On July 7, USDA-NASS will release its second production estimate, the 2023 California Almond Objective Report, which is based on actual almond counts in nearly 1,000 orchards using a more statistically rigorous methodology to determine yield.

This Subjective Forecast comes two weeks after USDA-NASS released the 2022 California Almond Acreage Report which found total almond acreage had dropped in 2022 to 1.63 million, 1.2 percent down from 1.65 million in 2021. It also estimated 1.38 million bearing acres in 2023, up from 2022’s estimate of 1.35 million bearing acres.

USDA-NASS conducts the annual Subjective Forecast, Objective Report and Acreage Report to provide the California almond industry with the data needed to make informed business decisions. These reports are the official industry crop estimates.

For More Information

Rick Kushman
Media Relations Manager
Almond Board of California
rkushman@almondboard.com
(916) 716-9900

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: USDA Forecasts Smaller Almond Crop (almonds.com)

• by croatiaweek

Tvrtko Matijević (Photo credit: Nikola Zoko/Promo PR)

It is known that bee venom helps with inflammatory conditions and increases microcirculation of the blood by 200 times. It also works like natural Botox, tightening facial skin, smoothing wrinkles, and stimulating collagen production.

We spoke to Tvrtko Matijević, a Croatian beekeeper and owner of the BeeVenom brand, which has official certification for producing the highest quality bee venom and bee venom-based products in the world.

Matijević grew up in Zagreb with a love of nature and the countryside. He attended an agricultural school and graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Zagreb. During his high school years, he had a mishap while helping a friend move bees from one location to another, which resulted in 46 bee stings.

“That story is actually very interesting. A friend asked me to help him move bees from an acacia pasture to a linden pasture in Virovitica, and at the time I only had a torn beekeeping suit with lots of holes. The night was extremely steamy and the bees quite aggressive, so during the migration phase I ‘earned’ as many as 46 stings. The scenes were comical – you carry a beehive with 60,000 bees in it, they sting you, and you can’t take the beehive because then the situation would be 100 times worse,” he told us.

Despite this incident, he became interested in beekeeping and eventually grew his hobby from three hives to 150.

When Matijević began beekeeping, his main focus was on producing bee venom, though he also considered other bee products.

In 2015, he developed a unique technology for extracting bee venom and received confirmation from the Dr. Andrija Štampar Institute that his product was the highest quality bee venom in the world. This encouraged him to develop a brand, and in 2021, BeeVenom products were launched on the Croatian market.

BeeVenom products are made with bee venom that contains 70% melittin, a protein that is responsible for the benefits of bee venom.

“Bee venom has been known throughout the world since ancient times. For example, the bee venom produced in the world contains 45-55% melittin, while our bee venom produced with my technology, where no bees were harmed at any time, contains 70% melittin,” he says.

Melittin is known to destroy cancer cells, boost the immune system, and reduce inflammation. Bee venom is also known to work as a natural Botox, tightening the skin, smoothing wrinkles, and stimulating collagen production.

The BeeVenom brand is unique because of its high-quality bee venom and the innovative technology used to extract it.

To read the complete article go to;

Meet the Croatian beekeeper behind the world’s best bee venom | Croatia Week

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Meet the Croatian beekeeper behind the world’s best bee venom | Croatia Week

To find Jim Hodder, owner of Eden Valley Honey, drive east on Haystack Butte Road about a mile and a half, then turn right at the big cottonwood stump.

Beyond the stump, about a dozen white-faced ewes — lambs in tow — are loose among a maze of corrals and outbuildings.

Hodder, 78, sits down on a diamond plate toolbox to take a load off and explain how he built a premium honey business in Sweetwater County over the past 50 years.

A bum lamb nibbles on a piece of orange bailing twine at his feet, reluctant to leave his side. In the background, a tiger-striped barn cat dives into a pile of straw and comes out with a fat mouse.

Hodder is a friendly fellow, but he’s lukewarm at best about being featured by Cowboy State Daily. That’s because every drop that comes out of his honey processing plant (aka, the honey house) is already spoken for.

Publicity is the last thing he needs.

Fine Honey Is Like Fine Wine

“Honey is a little bit like wine,” he said. “Not everyone’s palate is the same, but most people like the lighter-colored, sweeter honey. Some honey tastes sweet, but it will have an aftertaste. We don’t get that here and that’s one reason why our honey is so popular.”

Hodder started propagating bees in the early 1970s because he wanted to be more self-sufficient. Most of what he eats and feeds his family comes from his farm. He also raises laying hens, raises and butchers his own beef and lamb, and grows vegetables in a greenhouse.

Another important factor that sets Eden Valley Honey apart is the roughly 2.4 million bees working overtime to haul in the nectar from alfalfa and sweet clover in this part of north Sweetwater County.

For 50 years, Jim Hodder has been producing his Eden Valley Honey. (Cowboy State Daily Staff)

Better Bees

In more temperate climates, bees have months to do their work. But at this elevation (6,580 feet) the season is short, and plants only produce nectar for about six weeks. When nighttime temperatures drop below 50 degrees, plants don’t produce much nectar, Hodder said.

The bees must be in good shape when they arrive because they don’t have much time to complete their important work.

In his first year, Hodder said he had three hives that yielded about 200 pounds of honey. Over the years his production has increased to about 20,000 pounds a year.

Honey production correlates with bee reproduction, and when hives reproduce too fast it causes the bees to swarm. When they swarm, that means they have outgrown their hives and they go looking for a new place to live.

The best queen bees will produce up to 3,500 eggs per day. For optimal honey production, the hives ride a fine line that means the bees need to be in good shape, but not too good, he said.

“If your bees aren’t in shape when they get here you don’t get a good honey crop,” Hodder said. “You need your bees at full strength, but not too strong or they will swarm. To make them strong you manipulate. If you have a weak hive, you even them up by moving some bees in.”

Hodder further explained that some queens are better than others, and as a beekeeper it’s important to select queens that can acclimate to their environment. That makes buying queen bees similar to buying bulls for a cattle operation.

Hit The Road

The “getting here” part is another fascinating aspect of bee propagation. The hives that produce the golden Eden Valley Honey spend most of the year in other states. They only live in Wyoming from the end of June to the middle of October.

Hodder said in mid-October the hives are loaded on trucks and hauled to a storage facility in Blackfoot, Idaho. At this point they will check the weight of the hives and provide syrup as a supplemental feed if needed.

TJ Honey in Blackfoot is a business that boards about 20,000 colonies for honey business owners from throughout the Intermountain region every winter. It’s a huge, air-conditioned warehouse that holds the hives at about 42 degrees.

The warehouse is air-conditioned because the hives produce a lot of heat, Hodder said.

“If kept at 42 degrees they are almost in suspended animation and they don’t have to move too much,” he said. “If it gets too cold, they eat a lot of honey and fan to keep the nest warm, which creates a lot of heat.”

On To California, Then Oregon

In mid-January the bees are hauled to California’s San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys, where they go to work pollinating almond orchards. Hodder said almond growers pay beekeepers for this service, but  almond trees produce a limited amount of nectar that keeps the bee colonies alive but doesn’t yield much, if any, honey.

When the bees go into the pollination cycle in California there are 6,000 to 10,000 bees per hive. By the time the hives reach full strength the following summer their numbers will have increased to 60,000 bees per hive, he said.

In April, the hives are loaded up again and trucked north to Oregon, where they’ll pollinate prune orchards. While they’re in Oregon they’ll make some honey on blackberry and vetch nectar, but Hodder said the hives are reproducing fast at this point and consume most of the honey they produce.

Back To Wyoming

Then in late June the trucks are loaded again and the two-day, 1,100-mile trip back to Eden Valley begins.

Hauling bees on semitrucks is a time-sensitive endeavor, Hodder said. They make stops along the way and wet the hives down with water to cool them and give the bees a drink. They also cover the loads with mesh tarps to help prevent losses.

Parasitic mites are one of the biggest challenges with bee propagation. Hodder said bee numbers peak in July and begin to drop after that. They treat the hives with an antibiotic, but as bee numbers drop as part of their natural life cycle, the mite problem multiplies.

Colony collapse disorder is another concern for the bee industry. Hodder said scientists have been studying the problem and looking for solutions for the past 20 years, but they’re still uncertain of the cause.

Finally, The Honey

After harvest, the honey is put through an extractor to remove wax, then it’s heated to about 125 degrees and bottled. Too much heat turns the honey dark. Raw honey is heated to 90 degrees before bottling and it contains some pollen.

Hodder added that he only eats raw honey because its better for you from a health perspective. His theory is the pollen in raw honey works like a vaccine against allergies and he has customers that seek it out for that reason.

Hodder said it’s difficult to hire people to work with bees because stings are frequent and working with bees swarming around your head can be unnerving.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/05/07/50-years-of-sweet-success-for-wyomings-eden-valley-honey/

By Scott Weybright, College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences

A massively destructive hurricane in Florida last year, a very stormy winter in California, and higher than average colony losses mean that 2023 is positioned to be a bad year for honey bees.

“I talked with a beekeeper recently who hadn’t lost more than 20% of his colonies in several years but lost 90% of his bees this year,” said Tim Lawrence, a recently retired Washington State University Extension associate professor who worked with the insects. “And he’s far from alone. I’ve heard from many beekeepers suffering high losses this year.”

Lawrence wrote about the potentially bad year for WSU Tree Fruit Extension’s website.

The decrease is likely due to viruses exacerbated by varroa destructor mites, the main cause for honey bee decline, Lawrence said. The mites kill honey bee brood (pupae and larvae), introduce numerous viruses, and severely weaken adult bees and their immune systems, making them more prone to disease.

WSU scientists have several research projects involving varroa mites, honey bee reproduction and mating, plus beekeeping workshops and other supports to help the industry pollinate crops around Washington.

In most years, beekeepers who experienced significant losses would resupply by purchasing the insects from beekeepers in Florida. Unfortunately, the bee population in the Sunshine State took a massive hit from Hurricane Ian last year, limiting the supply.

Generally, the pollinator season starts in late February in California almond groves. Beekeepers from around the country bring their bees west to pollinate these early-blooming trees. But the steady series of atmospheric rivers dumping significant rain on California has limited the number of flying days bees have had to pollinate.

Bees generally fly when temperatures are above 54 degrees and winds aren’t too strong. The limited flying days also impact honey bee queens because they mate in the air. Less flight time means less mating, which means fewer and delayed bees and queens for sale that beekeepers rely upon.

“It’s been brutal,” Lawrence said. “Beekeepers are used to adapting, but getting hit from so many angles is a huge challenge.”

And all that could impact Washington crops that depend on hiring the domesticated pollinators.

“If I had an apple, pear, or cherry orchard, I wouldn’t wait to contact your beekeeper this year,” Lawrence said. “A lot can happen between now and when those crops bloom, but early crops could really be impacted. For growers back east, it’s likely there may not be any bees for the blueberry season.”

On the flip side, the unusually wet winter in California could lead to a phenomenal honey crop.

“Seeing the mountains and hills down there, the snow melt will probably lead to a tremendous flower bloom,” Lawrence said. “There may be fewer bees, but those present will have plenty of food to collect.”

Honey bees can have a big impact on wallets. For consumers, fewer bees for pollinating could lead to fewer apples or cherries in stores. That leads to higher prices for the fruit that does make it to market.

“Bees have had a tough time this year,” Lawrence said. “Beekeepers are good at keeping them going, but it’s the biggest challenge I’ve seen since at least 2005, when we started to witness major losses of honey bee colonies.”

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: For honey bees, 2023 is potentially a bad year – WSU Insider

BY AMY TAXIN

ASSOCIATED PRESS

TERRY CHEA AP
Beekeeper Gene Brandi tends to his hives at a cherry tree orchard Thursday in San Juan Bautista.

During California’s prolonged, wet winter, beekeeper Gene Brandi said he had to spend twice as much money on a sugary syrup to feed his honeybees and keep them alive.

That’s because the bees sent to pollinate blooming almond orchards took longer than usual to emerge from their hives due to chilly temperatures, wind and rain. Since the bees weren’t out gathering nectar and pollen for nourishment, the 71-year-old beekeeper provided sustenance for them.

“We probably fed twice as much than we’ve fed in a normal year,” said Brandi, of the Central Valley community of Los Banos. “It’s expensive to feed, but it’s more expensive if the hive dies.”

The challenge is one of many faced by America’s beekeepers following the unusually wet winter that ravaged California’s farm country, which feeds much of the nation. Most commercial beekeepers send their bees to California early in the year to help pollinate its $5 billion-a-year almond crop, then move them elsewhere to pollinate commodities ranging from avocados to cherries or to the Midwest to produce honey.

The state was battered this winter by at least a dozen atmospheric rivers — long plumes of moisture from the Pacific Ocean — as well as powerful storms fueled by arctic air that produced blizzard conditions in mountainous areas. The wintry weather flooded homes, triggered power outages and brought much-needed rain to drought-parched agriculture, though in some cases, more water than the crops could withstand.

It also took a toll on bees, who were slow to emerge from their hives during the cold front and weeks of showers.

Almond growers say it’s too soon to know if the delay in the bees’ emergence will hurt the state’s nut crop, which accounts for about 80% of the world’s almonds, according to the Almond Board of California. With a slight reduction in almond acreage following three years of drought and the intense winter, it’s possible there will be fewer nuts this year than last, which was a boom year for the crop, said Rick Kushman, a spokesperson for the state Almond Board.

Almond trees depend on bees for cross-pollination, and bees in turn feed on almond pollen, which helps sustain the hives throughout the bloom. While many people keep bees as a hobby, commercial beekeepers may have hundreds of hives and relocate their bees to pollinate various crops in distinct seasons.

Bryan Ashurst, who sends his bees north from California’s Imperial Valley to pollinate almond trees, said some hives were washed away by flooding. He said he sent six workers to try to feed his bees during the cold snap since they weren’t out flying — something he hasn’t done in at least two decades and that cost at least $45,000.

“In bees, margins are thin, so we are putting out huge amounts of money,” he said.

Dan Winter, president of the American Beekeeping Federation, trucked his bees from Florida in late January to pollinate California’s almond orchards, which took longer than usual due to the weather. That delayed their return, so he said he now must hurry to get the hives ready to head to New York for apple tree pollination in less than a month.

“We’ve got to kick it in gear and work a little faster, a little harder,” Winter said. “It just costs a little bit.”

There may be a sweet spot for California beekeepers as the rain is expected to bring a burst of spring wildflowers, which could provide ample forage for bees and potentially translate into a good year for honey.

Brandi said he’ll take his hives to coastal areas this spring so the bees can forage on a native plant to make sage honey, a premium product that he can only make every few years when there’s ample rain.

“It is the finest honey we can make,” he said, adding that the last sage honey he has in his shop dates to 2019.

After that, Brandi, who sells honey to Bay Area buyers and a Midwest honey packer who supplies Costco, said his bees will head onward to feed on other plants and make more honey yet.

“We’ve been praying for rain for the last three dry years, and we finally have it,” he said. “It should be a wonderful spring once it warms up for the bees.”

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: https://apnews.com/article/california-storms-honeybees-a643ed7ce3a32209e339d97b8361c1c5

Companies covered in honey market are Bee Maid Honey Limited (Canada), , Comvita Limited (New Zealand), , Capilano Honey Ltd. (Australia), , Dabur India Ltd. (India), , Billy Bee Honey Products (Canada), , New Zealand Honey Co. (New Zealand), , Barkman Honey LLC (U.S.), , Yamada Bee Company (Japan), , Dutch Gold Honey Inc. (U.S.), , Golden Acres Honey (Canada) & other.

Source: Fortune Business Insights

Pune, India, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The global honey market size was valued at USD 8.17 billion in 2021. The market is expected to grow from USD 8.53 billion in 2022 to USD 12.69 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.83% during the forecast period. Rising demand for organic and healthy alternatives to sugar to propel market growth. Fortune Business Insights provides this information in its report titled “Honey Market, 2022-2029.”

The honey market has seen significant growth in recent years, with consumers becoming increasingly interested in natural and healthy sweeteners. Honey is a versatile ingredient that can be used in a variety of foods and beverages, as well as in natural remedies and skincare products. As a result, there has been an increase in the production of honey by both small-scale and commercial beekeepers. However, this growth has also led to concerns over the quality and authenticity of some honey products on the market.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Honey Market Size to Worth USD 12.69 Billion by 2029 | At a (globenewswire.com)

Beekeepers Larry Gresham, Chris Willis and David Donovan of Strachan Apiaries in Sutter County check on bee boxes placed in an almond orchard in Colusa County. Honeybees from all over the country are used to pollinate the state’s 1.64 million acres of almond trees. (Courtesy) By CHING LEE | AgAlert

Even after a bruising year of lower earnings, crop losses and soaring production costs, California almond growers may not be willing to cut corners pollinating their trees this season.

That’s good news for beekeepers who rent their hives to pollinate crops and whose insects rely on blossoming almond trees as the winter’s first major source of pollen to build their colonies.

About 90% of all U.S. honeybees are in California this time of year pollinating the nuts, according to UC Davis. The pollinators come from all over the country, as there are not enough local bees to cover the state’s 1.64 million acres of almond trees. Farmers usually use about two colonies per acre.

But with state almond acreage down for the first time in 25 years and some 60,400 acres removed as of last summer, “there was a lot of talk” about whether there would be an oversupply of bees this season and whether beekeepers would need to lower prices, said Philip Russell of Strachan Apiaries in Sutter County.

Market prices for almonds have been largely unprofitable for growers during the past three years as exports fell due to shipping challenges and inflation pushed production costs to record levels. Water shortages due to the multiyear drought added to growers’ problems, with some abandoning orchards and ripping out trees.

Growers are looking for ways to cut costs, Russell said, and some may be shopping around for lower-priced bees. But he noted his operation didn’t lose any accounts this year and has gotten inquiries from growers looking for bees.

“I don’t think much has changed. I think the demand is still there,” said Russell, who serves as president of the California State Beekeepers Association.

The season may have started out with extra bees, said Imperial County beekeeper Brock Ashurst, but the surplus appears to have evaporated. He said he gets calls “every day from someone looking for bees.” He said some colonies may not have been as robust as first thought, and now some growers are scrambling to add bees to shore up orchards with weaker hives.

Ashurst noted his operation is down by about a thousand colonies this year. Even with orchard removals, he said other trees are coming into production, and that has held up overall demand for bees.

Because of the symbiotic relationship they have with almond growers, beekeepers say they are aware of the economic challenges their clients face. For this reason, Ashurst said he decided to keep his prices the same as last year—at $195 per hive. He noted beekeepers he knows also have not raised prices, even though their own expenses have gone up, with fuel and labor being two of the highest.

“I think everyone understands the pressure that the almond growers are going through right now,” Ashurst said. “We depend on them a lot, so we understand what they’re facing.”

Though there has been “very little” tree removal among his clients, Tulare County beekeeper Steve Godlin said he did lose business in a few orchards this year, but his growers have maintained their bee stocking rate. All his bees have been rented, with 14,000 hives sitting in orchards since before Valentine’s Day. Almond pollination is expected to wrap up around March 15.

Godlin started the season with about a $32,000 loss after 84 of his hives were stolen. He lamented how bee thefts have now become a yearly problem for beekeepers. Even though he uses GPS trackers in his equipment, there’s not nearly enough to cover all of it. He estimated he’s lost some 600 hives to theft in 46 years in business.

“People are trying to be on the lookout, but it’s like a needle in a haystack with that many acres of trees all up and down the state,” Godlin said.

With the winter rains the state has received, Godlin said he’s hopeful there will be enough forage and wildflowers to make a decent honey crop this year. He said he’s also hoping the price of honey will stay up, as a good crop and higher prices would help offset his “sky high” input costs.

Due to the current economics of almonds and ongoing water restrictions, Greg Meyers, who farms in western Fresno County, said he sees “lots and lots of acres” around him that are being removed or have been removed. He said growers in his area are definitely cutting back on bees this year, among other costs. He himself has been removing older blocks of almonds since 2020, and this year he’s letting another 300 acres go by not putting out any bees.

“Looking at the market, why farm to lose money?” he said.

Despite water-allocation improvements announced by government water officials last week, Meyers said the 35% of contracted water supplies is still “not nearly enough to farm a crop on.” He noted buying water on the open market last year cost almost $2,000 an acre-foot, which was unaffordable when he was earning $1.20 per pound for his almonds.

He said he’s trying to cut costs, and one area where he’s managed to save some money is in orchards where he planted Shasta almonds, a self-pollinating variety that requires fewer bees. He said he still places one to one-and-a-half hives per acre on those blocks, as “you get one shot at pollination.” On his traditional varieties, he typically uses three hives per acre, but he reduced them this year to two-and-a-half hives on older blocks.

Fresno County grower Jamie Bledsoe, who farms in Riverdale, said he has not yet had to cut back on water because his farm has good access to groundwater. His biggest problem, he said, is with almond prices, which have dropped to “below profitable levels.”

He said he’s “doing the bare minimum to get by” on inputs, but he has continued the practice of using two to two-and-a-half hives per acre for pollination. After losing 8% to 12% of his crop last year from the freeze, he said he’s trying to protect yields as much as he can, including applying fungicide before the rain last week.

“Everything looks really good right now, so we’ve just got to see how the bloom goes and how well the bees fly,” he said. “We’ll know in a month or so.”

Ray Henriques, farming manager for Stewart and Jasper Orchards, an almond grower and processor in Stanislaus County, said the company also has not changed its approach to pollination and is sticking with the recommended two hives per acre.

“Yield is the key,” he said. “Our first responsibility is to produce as many almonds as we can.”

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Almond farmers not skimping on bees – Daily Democrat

This year, The IR-4 Project commemorates 60 years of operation. Since its establishment by land grant universities and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1963, IR-4 has championed specialty crop growers by facilitating the registration of safe, effective pest management solutions to meet their unique needs.

Specialty crops (which include fruits, vegetables, nuts, herbs, and horticulture crops) are not typically served by agrochemical companies’ registration efforts. Larger acreage, “major crops” (like corn and soybeans) typically yield higher returns on investment. This “minor use problem” spurred the founding of IR-4.

IR-4 upholds specialty crops as essential components of a healthy diet, a thriving landscape, and a robust U.S. economy. Since its founding, IR-4 has secured over 23,000 pest management product registrations through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for food crops (and countless others for ornamental crops). IR-4 evaluates a range of tools — including reduced-risk chemical and bio-based pesticides, as well as emerging technologies and integrated solutions.

IR-4 helps secure pest management products for specialty crops— including fruits, vegetables, nuts, herbs and flowers. Image courtesy of NC State University.

Notable registrations facilitated by IR-4 include Chlorantraniliprole (a reduced-risk conventional pesticide) and Spinosad (a bio-based insecticide approved for both conventional and organic growers). As a result of IR-4’s submissions, these products are approved by EPA for use on numerous specialty crops. IR-4 also spearheaded the registration of several biopesticides to manage Varroa mites in honeybee colonies. These registrations help reduce dietary exposure to pesticides, increase growers’ pest management options, and secure the vitality of the U.S. food supply.

According to an economic impact study by Michigan State University in 2022, IR-4 contributes $8.97 billion annually to the gross domestic product. Additionally, seven jobs today can be attributed to every $1,000 of public investment in IR-4.

Federally funded through USDA, IR-4 works closely with the USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA), USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), EPA, and international partners to conduct research, facilitate registrations, and harmonize global regulations.

“Not many government-funded organizations survive for 60 years on a year-to-year funding basis,” said Dr. Jerry Baron, Executive Director of The IR-4 Project. “We continue to be relevant to our stakeholders in the farming community. Because of our relevance, they continue to support us in many ways, including letting the decision-makers in Washington D.C. know the importance of the organization— why this program should continue to exist, now and into the future.”

Headquartered at North Carolina State University since 2021(formerly at Rutgers University), IR-4 spans the U.S. through four regional offices, each working closely with growers, commodity groups, state liaisons, land grant university researchers, extension, and industry leaders. Regional offices are located at: University of Florida, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Michigan State University, and University of California, Davis.

As the future of pest management and its regulation grows increasingly complex, IR-4 has the expertise to guide the specialty crop community forward with innovative, pragmatic solutions. While commemorating 60 years of impact through 2023, IR-4 invites the specialty crop community to follow along, learn more about the project, and take part in its evolving, multifaceted work. Visit the IR-4 website to connect via email, newsletter, or social media.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: https://www.ir4project.org/news/60yearsannouncement/

by Christian Senger

College of Charleston sophomore William Helfgott has turned a beehive he won through his 4H program when he was just 8 years old into a thriving business called River Bluff Honey.

In the summer of 2017, at the age of 15 , Helfgott set out with a backpack full of honey jars and a dream of selling out. Just thirty minutes later, his backpack was empty and he was hooked on the beekeeping business.

The following spring, Helfgott was selected to receive a scholarship to become a certified beekeeper in the state of South Carolina. In June of 2018, he was approached by a retailer and they agreed to sell his product. And with that, River Bluff Honey (named after the street Helfgott lives on) was born.

Unsurprisingly, many media outlets became interested in Helfgott’s story and business. After several appearances in magazines, newspapers, TV shows, and more, River Bluff Honey is now available in 30-35 stores in South Carolina and Georgia. Plus, Helfgott donates a portion of all profits to the Lonon Foundation, a Charleston nonprofit that provides resources to children affected by their parent or caregiver’s cancer.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: College of Charleston sophomore heads up successful local honey business | WCIV (abcnews4.com)

Mike Butcher@mikebutcher

Image Credits: BloomX

Given our general reliance on something called “food” you’d think the issue of pollination — and its general decline — might be higher up the world’s agenda. Over 80% of crops require insect pollination, but growers can no longer rely on the dwindling wild bee population.

But it’s a complex problem. Pollinating crops with honey bees can pose a threat to indigenous wild bees who are forced to compete with honey bees for food and are then exposed to new diseases. Agtech startups are addressing this by working on artificial pollination innovations, or on methods to make honey bees more efficient and less impactful on wildlife.

BeeWise and BeeHero are solutions that enhance honeybees and their pollination efforts, for instance. But honeybees are ineffective pollinators for most types of crops.  And some startups are trying to artificially pollinate but their solutions are limited to greenhouse plants.  What is to be done?

Israel-based BloomX is a startup which has an AI-driven “bio-mimicking technology” where it puts AI alongside mechanical devices to make the whole process more likely to succeed.

It’s now emerged from stealth with an $8 million seed round led by Ahern Agribusiness, a U.S.-based vegetable seed distribution company. Also participating was Vasuki Global Tech Fund, Bio Bee, the Israeli Innovation Authority (IIA) and Dr. Gal Yarden.

“Our goal is to provide a highly-efficient, and easy-to-use mechanized pollinator that empowers growers to effectively manage and attain control over the entire pollination process without exploiting bees,” said Thai Sade, co-founder and CEO of BloomX, in a statement.

BloomX’s platform sets out to pinpoint the optimal window for pollination and then sends crop-specific hardware devices to replicate the natural pollination process. These are electric vehicles with mechanical arms which navigate between two rows of plants and vibrate their stems. Pollen then detaches and lands on flowers’ stigmas to pollinate them, says the company.

So, for avocado trees, for instance, BloomX has a “Collector Device” that “strokes” an avocado plant to release its pollen grains which are then transmitted to a different variety of avocados.

Ran Ben-Or, managing partner and founder at Tene Investment Funds, added: “By empowering growers to produce greater yields with less land, and alleviating the need to introduce non-native pollinating insects, BloomX lowers the environmental footprint of crop production and has set itself apart from other solutions operating in the pollination space.”

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: As the bee population declines, this startup secures $8M to apply AI and EVs to pollination | TechCrunch

An incubator that draws excess heat from a honey bee hive warms up managed Osmia lignaria bees so they can pollinate early-blooming fruit trees such as cherry, apple, and almond. A new study shows the hivetop incubators are effective, with little effect on the honey bee hive temps below. Shown here is a hivetop incubator atop a honey bee hive, with a small exit hole from which O. lignaria bees can be seen emerging.

By Paige Embry

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are the go-to pollinator for early-blooming fruit trees like cherries, apples, and almonds, but they aren’t the best pollinator for these crops. That title belongs to Osmia lignaria, often known as the blue orchard bee or BOB.

In the chilly days of early spring, BOBs fly more hours than honey bees and go out when it’s colder. They carry pollen, dry, in hairs on the underside of their abdomen where it may easily rub off when they flop into flowers, while honey bees carry pollen in tidy packets on their hind legs. BOBs are also flitters, moving from tree to tree rather than just working one plant like a honey bee often does—promoting the cross-pollination needed for some of these trees.

Lindsie McCabe, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service who led a recent study on practices for deploying Osmia lignaria bees for pollination in orchards. Here, McCabe pauses next to a O. lignaria nest box during the season after bloom and bee foraging. In the next box, tunnels with “mud caps” are nests filled with immature O. lignaria bees.

Lindsie McCabe, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, says, “Honey bees are very, very methodical in how they collect pollen, and blue orchard bees are just like, ‘I’m going to get all into this flower and rub it everywhere.’” What that behavior means is that several hundred female BOBs can pollinate an acre of early fruit as effectively as thousands of honey bees.

Part of the reason honey bees continue to dominate is that how to use them is well-established, while how to use BOBs is still a work in progress. A study published last week in the Journal of Economic Entomology focuses on a way to streamline one aspect of blue orchard bee management—waking them up from their winter’s sleep.

BOBs spend the winter as adults in cocoons in a hibernation-like state called diapause. Managed BOB cocoons are kept in cold storage and need to be warmed up before the bees will emerge. An easy, standardized way to do that hasn’t been developed. For example, one grower warmed the bees in her house. Two days usually worked, but when they wouldn’t rouse one year she stuck them in the bathroom with a space heater set to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. It worked, but bees in the house seems like an unlikely method to promote widespread BOB use.

Plus, any method of warming bees inside means they are then thrust out into the cold. “This can cause a problem sometimes,” says McCabe, “especially when you get cold snaps in the orchard or in the western U.S. when it gets really cold at night. … It seems to take them longer to emerge when they don’t have heat below them.”

To read the complete article go to; Honey Bee Heat Warms Up Fellow Pollinators for Early-Season Blooms (entomologytoday.org)

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Honey Bee Heat Warms Up Fellow Pollinators for Early-Season Blooms (entomologytoday.org)

Young people from Kolasin believe in success

The Perisic family from Kolasin, a small town in Montenegro’s north-east, bought several bee colonies last year and already enjoying in quality honey from their own production. Fun fact: this work is mostly done by a twenty-year-old student of economics, Milica Perisic.

Together with eight other young enthusiasts, Milica has recently taken up beekeeping thanks to the project of the Association of Beekeepers from Kolasin, which promotes this noble hobby among youth. This association has provided beginners with complete beekeeping accessories, modern literature and detailed training on beekeeping. The European Union, UNDP Montenegro and the Municipality of Kolasin, joined in the ReLOaD2 project, have made it possible for these young people to open their joint “practical apiary”, where they train young women and men from Kolasin to provide proper bee care.

The Perisic family are interested in beekeeping since the COVID-19 pandemic when people have become very interested in natural products. The project of the Association of Beekeepers came at the right time, giving Milica the opportunity and motivation to confidently venture into beekeeping.

Milica believes beekeeping is a serious opportunity for development, even though it is only a hobby for family and friends for now. “First of all, this is a great way to spend my free time, to spend some time in nature and observe these incredible small creatures, but also, this is a great opportunity to make money – and I won’t give up”, Milica says.

She admits that people find it unusual for a young woman to be engaged in beekeeping. “Sometimes they make jokes when I look for books and magazines about beekeeping, because they often think of it as a hobby for older, retired people, but eventually, everyone is interested in learning more about my hobby”, Milica added. She spends a lot of time in Podgorica due to her studies, but she spends every free moment of her time to come to Kolasin. Milica says she can imagine herself living in future in this town which she has perceived as a holdback while she was a high school student.

Thirty-year-old Djordjije Scepanovic has also bought his first bee colonies half a year ago: “I’ve always been interested in this, but somehow, I lacked time and conditions. Then I’ve decided to sign up for training in Kolasin, and with new daily learnings I’m already satisfied with the progress. It is true that I’m a beginner, but I see a perspective in this, because there will be no human species without bees”, he said.

Djordjije is considering beekeeping as his main job. “I’ve suffered an injury that prevents me from continuing with the work I’ve been doing so far, and this alternative appeared at the right moment. I will dedicate myself to beekeeping because it offers so much, and compared to any other job, it also gives you relaxation and enjoyment”, he said.

The Association of Beekeepers has been promoting beekeeping for 20 years, and they see the past year as the most successful in that sense.

Representatives of the Association of Beekeepers note that there is a great demand for bee products, while the current production in Montenegro does not meet the needs of the market. They believe that the economic environment in Kolasin has rapidly improved with the highway construction, adding that an incredible wealth remains unused in rural areas – endemic species and diverse floral flora, which Milica and Dordjije have recognized brilliantly.

Numerous parts of Montenegro, which is the home for a half of all European plant species, represent an inexhaustible potential for beekeeping. “That’s why I recommend everyone who is at least a little bit interested in nature to think about similar ventures”, the President of the Association, Bogoljub Bulatovic, says.

“In addition to the tools and knowledge young people have gained, the entire local community will benefit, because the development of beekeeping improves fruit growing, and thus the entire agriculture. Since the beginning of the project, our membership has increased by 25%. If only two people decide to devote themselves seriously to beekeeping, and there will likely be many more, the landscape of the Kolasin area will change significantly”, Bulatovic pointed out.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Beekeeping as a hobby and business of the future | United Nations Development Programme (undp.org)

Additional assistance courtesy of COVID-19 stimulus funding

Four Specialty Crop Block Grant projects have received funding through congressional COVID-19 stimulus funding via House Bill 133 to address COVID-19 impacts to the food system. One grant will focus on supporting beneficiary beekeepers who were impacted by lack of hands-on training due to COVID-19 and will highlight the safe production of honey for sale in the market. (Jason Riedy, Flickr/Creative Commons)

INDIANAPOLIS — In August 2021, the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) announced that Indiana received additional grant funding for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, which is allocated through the United States Department of Agriculture – Agriculture Marketing Service (USDA-AMS). This funding was to provide additional specialty crop grants to address COVID-19 impacts to the food system through congressional COVID-19 stimulus funding via House Bill 133. ISDA has announces that the special COVID-19 funded specialty crop block grant projects totaled $594,037.24 and have been allocated to four projects.

“I commend our federal delegation for recognizing the impact COVID-19 had on our farmers and producers and for setting aside additional funding for specialty crop growers,” said Lt. Gov. Suzanne Couch, Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “These four projects awarded are sure to make great strides with this funding, and I look forward to seeing their visions, programs and marketing expertise come to life.”

This round of specialty crop block grant funding was in addition to the annual specialty crop block grant funding provided from USDA-AMS. Specialty crops for Indiana are defined as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, horticulture and nursery crops.

“Our department is proud to administer and support these specialty crop projects through the generous funding of our congressional leaders,” said Bruce Kettler, director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. “Specialty crops are a vital piece of our agriculture industry in Indiana, and we were excited to see so many unique projects apply this funding round. Congratulations to each of the selected projects, I look forward to working with you all.”

Specialty Crop Block Grants are available to nonprofit and for-profit organizations, governments, public or private colleges and universities for up to a three-year project term and will fund specialty crop research, education and market development. To qualify, projects must aim to benefit the industry as a whole, rather than one product, individual or organization. Applications undergo a competitive scoring process, including review by an external scoring committee.

Some of the projects awarded for this additional funding cycle include ready to eat food research and development, a youth mentorship program, a community garden and funding for past military service men and women to produce and market honey.

Visit www.isda.in.gov for more information about the Specialty Crop Block Grant program.

— Indiana State Department of Agriculture

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: www.isda.in.gov

By Lauren Nardella

Ten percent of imported honey samples recently assessed by FDA were found to be adulterated with undeclared added sweeteners, demonstrating a need for continued testing to help prevent distribution of noncompliant products in the U.S. market, the agency says.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: HTTPS://WWW.FOODNAVIGATOR-USA.COM/ARTICLE/2022/12/19/FDA-TESTING-FINDS-10-OF-IMPORTED-HONEY-ADULTERATED-WITH-UNDECLARED-SWEETENERS 

Asia Food Journal

Courtesy of Pixabay

MeliBio launches its vegan, plant cell-based honey at 75,000 stores across Europe in collaboration with Narayan Foods in early 2023.

CULT Food Science Corp. (“CULT” or the “Company”) (CSE: CULT) (OTC: CULTF) (FRA: LN0), an investment platform accelerating the development of cellular agriculture technologies to advance the future of food, announces that affiliate company MeliBio will be distributing its vegan, plant cell-based honey under the Better Foodie brand to launch their products across 75,000 European stores in collaboration with Narayan Foods in early 2023.

MeliBio uses plant biology and precision fermentation to replace honeybees with microorganisms as a medium for honey production, delivering the same taste profile and health benefits of conventional honey without the damage to bees and their ecosystems endured by commercial beekeeping.

Recently named SIAL Innovation Selection 2022, one of Europe’s most prestigious food innovation awards, MeliBio’s product has already shown high demand by retailers across Europe. It will also become available for private label opportunities, using MeliBio’s technology and Narayan Foods’ operational capabilities. It will offer restaurants and food industry partners a vegan, plant-based alternative that protects bees and their ecosystems.

MeliBio also announced an additional $2.2 million investment into the company from existing investors, including Collaborative Fund and Siddhi Capital, and new investor The Greenbaum Foundation led by Jim Greenbaum, executive producer of The Game Changers and Seaspiracy. The company’s total funding up to date reaches $9.4 million.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: CULT Food Science Affiliate MeliBio Lands Distribution Deal for its Plant Cell-Based Honey with Europe’s Largest Organic Food Producer – Asia Food Journal