> Pete, in some areas of the U.S., it is virtually impossible NOT to put your hives next to a corn field.  

This is the part I don't get. In some areas of the US, there is absolutely no forage. Beekeepers don't put their bees their. There are mountains where it's too windy, lakes where there is nothing but water, swamps where you can't drive, flood plains where the bees would wash away. 

There are many areas where bees CANNOT be placed! I would add: cornfields. What are the bees doing there? What do they forage on? If nutrition is a crucial issue, then it follows that adequate and varied forage is also a crucial issue. Conversely, if you put bees in areas where there is constant spraying, or NO forage, why would you even imagine that they wouldn't go down the drain? 

Finally, if the bees are required for pollination, beekeepers have a right to charge a fee. Then they should take that fee and move the hives somewhere decent. Is thw idea that they should collect the fee, keep the money and park the hives somewhere? By a cornfield or swamp? Then try to see if they can't get subsidy payments for not keeping bees. 

Bring back ELAP! 

> The "Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008" authorized up to $50 million in a calendar year for the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) to provide emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish that have losses due to disease, adverse weather or other conditions, including losses due to blizzards and wildfires, as determined by the Secretary.

Pete

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