bee colonies

Idaho FFA Treasure Gabe Kitamura explains why one of his first FFA projects focused on bee keeping.

According to NASS, honey production in Washington last year hit 2.75 million pounds, a 10% drop from 2021.  There were 86,000 honey producing colonies, 10,000 lower than the previous year.  The yield per colony averaged 32.0 pounds, unchanged from the previous year.  Washington's...

With increased concern over pollinator die-offs, the Honeybee Health Coalition has released a new guide to help beekeepers and farmers manage Varroa Mites.  Dewey Caron is with Oregon State University’s Horticulture Department and is a Coalition member, said this edition of the Varroa Management Guide updates the number of mites deemed an actual threat to bee colonies.   “They ...

We recently reported that honey production across the Pacific Northwest dropped year-over-year. It doesn’t look like the PNW was the only area that saw a decrease. Honey production nationwide dropped as well. Travis Averill with NASS said this is part of an ongoing decline over the past two decades. " ...

We saw a big drop in the number of honeybee colonies across the U.S. last year, and that resulted in a sizeable drop in honey production in 2020. Gary Crawford breaks down the latest USDA numbers. Another possible reason for the drop; the pandemic ...

As harvest begins across the country, the American Seed Trade Association is reminding farmers about the importance of taking precautions to ensure treated seed does not enter the grain supply. ASTA said proper management of treated seeds includes removing all treated seed left in containers and equipment used to handle harvested grain, and disposing of it properly ...

Earlier this summer, the USDA announced a nearly $1 million grant for Washington State University to study the feasibility of robotic crop pollinators, which could help the tree fruit industry as bee colony collapse continues to be reported nationwide ...

Are viruses playing a bigger role than we first thought in causing declines in world bee populations?  That's just one question that's come up after an international team of scientists is reporting this month, finding evidence of 27 previously-unknown viruses in bee species in nine countries.  ...

Oregon is home to about 500 species of native bees, something that’s critical for the state’s ag industry and many in the state are proudly celebrating National Pollinator Week this week.   Sarah Kincaid, an entomologist and bee specialist with the Oregon Department of Agriculture said, “There’s a real symbiotic relationship between many of the crops we produce here and bees. The crops are providi

Pollinators are critical for farmers across the Northwest and across the country.  American Farm Bureau’s Paul Schlegel said pollinators are responsible for between $15 and $20 billion of agricultural produce throughout the year   “Crops like strawberries, apples, cherries and others depend on pollination for farmers to get them to market. Pollinator Week is a...