"I would suspect the creation of ELAP would coincide with the higher losses, and the new bee keepers don't have enough hives to qualify"

Numbers of colonies have little to do with ELAP.   First off, a person must maintain documentation showing they were in fact bee keepers by records showing expenses for the bees and the related supplies (medications, feeds, equipment).  The person should also be able to demonstrate they were practicing what the Feds consider good bee keeping practices by having registered with the appropriate State agency (to inspect colonies) and by being a member of a local, state and/or national bee keepers organization/association.

Also, dead bees do not automatically qualify for ELAP.    Per the FSA (Farm Service Agency) , there must be a declared event (such as extreme cold and brutal winter).    The FSA will not have the data to declare such an event, unless the bee keepers report the losses to the local FSA office.   Reporting your undocumented, unverified losses to BIP does nothing.... whatsoever.  It is only one little tiny part of the equation.

So whether you have 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 or 5000 colonies, you could qualify for a future "event" when it is declared by the FSA.  So get to know your local State Farm Service Agency representative of USDA and also join your local county farm bureau.   You do not need to own a farm to be a farm bureau member, you can join as an associate member.  These are the people which need to know about your losses so they can make a decision as to whether or not to recommend an event be declared which may provide some sort of payment for loss of honey bee colonies.

Steve Petrilli,  Central,  IL

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