Hello Tim & All,
Staying informed today in farming is not easy. Roundup in combination with
GMO corn has failed to prove up to expectations.Opened the door for stronger
solutions. (2,4-D)
Designed originally for planting fields too steep for normal methods
(Illinois) no-till
quickly took over farming methods although many of the old timers still
plow, disc plant and rotate but their numbers are disappearing each year.

Chemical farming *in my opinion* was never a necessity to be successful but
yields increase with the use of herbicides and chemicals. The end result
which environmentalists understand is these chemicals end up in ground
water,rivers and streams

beekeepers interests (as I have said before on BEE-L) are mainly a PR
problem for chemical interests.

I agree with Dave Mendes (Vanishing of the bees documentary) when he says he
does not see a solution for our current situation ( pesticides, herbicides
and fungicides).

Beekeepers embraced mitacides & farmers embraced GMO/chemical farming.


Monocultures are part of the future of farming.

The future battle informed beekeepers are watching in the Midwest is not
with roundup and roundup ready GMO seed but with a new GMO corn.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/10/business/energy-environment/epa-denies-req

"EPA denies request to ban widely used weed killer"

"Use of 2,4-D ,is expected to grow substantially in the coming years because
Dow is seeking approval to sell GMO corn seeds (neonic ) resistant to 2,4-D"

Those on the list which use roundup around your bee hives have you noticed
the result looks like 2,4-D. Spring 2011 many weeds such as dock were not
killed by roundup then in fall 2011 and this spring the area used looks like
a 2,4-D herbicide. 2,4-d  is sold at Wal-mart but environmentalists are
pushing for removal from our local store shelves.

I am from a family of Midwest farmers (placed flowers on their graves this
week) and helped grow many corn crops. With today's tractors and equipment
raising corn the way we did (chemical free) is possible.

Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
Midwest beekeeper
Missouri USA

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