>
>
> > For the uninformed or possibly those mistakenly misled, know that that
> half a million dairy cows includes those culled because of age or
> diminished milk production and placed into the meat production category
>
Thanks for elaboration on this Chris and Mike. I wasn't trying to trash
the dairy industry or saying that they are doing anything wrong, but simply
pointing out that one can make scary headlines out of any number. The
almond industry is a target of some reporters looking for a sexy headline.
They've criticized almond growers for planting monocultures, bee deaths,
pesticide use, and excessive water use (again exaggerated relative to other
crops).
I'm not a defender of any particular industry, but perhaps we can compare
the impact of various croplands upon honey bees. There are only 1.3
million acres of almonds in the US (essentially all in California), in
which honey bee hives are placed for only a single month. By comparison,
there are a bit more than 166 million acres of corn and soybeans (for the
mathematically-challenged, that's more than 100 times the acreage).
As a California beekeeper, almond pollination has been an important source
of income to me for nearly 40 years. Much of the entire U.S. bee industry
rides on the coattails of the almond growers. So when the media starts to
trash the almond growers, perhaps we beekeepers should speak up!
Back to culling, in my own operation, even before varroa, I planned upon
30% culling of my colonies every season (replacing them with splits). As
with dairy cows, some make you money, and some don't. As far as I'm
concerned, many beekeepers are unrealistic as to the percentage of colonies
started each season that they continue to invest time and money into. Our
overall "colony loss" rate would be much lower if some beekeepers performed
intentional culling throughout the season.
--
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com
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