California drought hurts Iowa beekeepers

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (AP) — Some Iowa beekeepers make extra cash by taking their bees to California for the winter to pollinate almond bushes, however that work is actually drying up with the drought on the West Coast.

“A number of the previous orchards are being torn out,” stated Phil Ebert, 80, founding father of Ebert Honey, with operations in Mount Vernon and Lynnville. “We’ve misplaced our spot on the market and I don’t know if we’re going to have the ability to discover one other one.”

California, which produces 80 % of the world’s almonds, has lengthy relied on honey bees for pollination as a result of most almond tree varieties don’t self-pollinate, stated Josette Lewis, chief scientific officer with the Almond Board of California.

California beekeepers present about one-third of the bees for almond pollination, however as a result of almonds have exploded in reputation prior to now 25 years and since the pollination window is just a couple of month, California almond growers should recruit beekeepers from different states.

“A big portion come from the Western a part of the USA, however honey bees come from everywhere in the nation,” Lewis informed the Cedar Rapids Gazette. “That has more and more been a pretty characteristic for beekeepers.”

Not solely do almond growers pay about $200 per colony of bees for the season, bees that assist with almond pollination get a feast of pollen and nectar a lot earlier within the season than bees overwintering in Iowa.

“The true profit is when the bees come house, the bins are full,” Ebert stated. This implies he can cut up the hive to kind extra colonies and enhance honey manufacturing.

However three years right into a drought, California’s 2022 almond harvest was estimated to be 11 % beneath final 12 months, with the projected yield of 1,900 kilos per acre — the bottom since 2009, in response to a U.S. Division of Agriculture report launched in July.

“Almond producers are in a painful place the place we’ve got each restricted water assets and, in the event you do get water, you’ll be paying a better worth, in addition to larger enter prices,” Lewis stated. “All of this occurred at a time when almond costs have been actually low, predominantly because of provide chain issues.”

California’s Sustainable Groundwater Administration Act, which went into impact in 2021, prohibits farmers and others from pumping an excessive amount of water from underground aquifers, NPR reported.

This legislation and different market forces have brought about some California almond growers to take away bushes, Lewis stated.

“We did see a small uptick within the quantity of almond orchards eliminated, most likely on account of the drought,” she stated. “There are particular areas of the state that may face long-term restrictions on water. Going ahead that is still one thing we’ll hold a watch on as we go into one other 12 months of strained profitability.”

Fewer acres of almonds imply much less of a necessity for honey bee pollinators.

The Eberts have transported honey bees to California the final 4 years, trucking tons of of colonies to almond groves in November or December so that they bees are prepared for almond pollination in February and March.

If they’ll’t get a spot in California, the Eberts may take their bees to Texas. They wouldn’t receives a commission there, however the bees would begin getting pollen in January versus March or April in Iowa, Ebert stated. In both state, the Eberts must exit in January and early February to feed the bees and keep the hives.

“I’m nonetheless attempting to get them to California,” stated Adam Ebert, certainly one of Phil’s sons. “The almond pollination pays rather well.”

The USDA introduced this week it’s going to resume a survey of farmers to see who’s utilizing honey bee pollinators and the way a lot it prices.

Knowledge from the survey, discontinued in 2018 due to USDA price range constraints, helps producers develop their budgets and supply documentation for crop insurance coverage, Lewis stated.

The USDA’s Nationwide Agricultural Statistics Service has mailed questionnaires to about 16,000 producers and can begin accumulating information instantly, the company stated. The report back to be printed in January, will embrace information from the 2017 and 2022 surveys, together with paid pollinator acres, worth per acre, colonies used, worth per colony and complete worth of pollination per crop.

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