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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Subject:
From:
Peter L Borst <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:44:33 -0500
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> The nature of agriculture is to try increase the concentration of producing plants and to ensure reliable, adequate and cost-effective supply of all inputs, the shortage of any of which could potentially affect production adversely, including pollinators.

> Reducing risk is a huge part of successful farming and is the part of agriculture that is entirely lost on many non-farmers as well as many idealists and academics. 

WTF? If you are NOT saying that I don't know what I am talking about, so be it. It sure sounds that way. I was merely posing a question. To an over-educated non-farmer type like myself it sounds like you are presenting a very clear strong argument against clear cutting the forest and mono-cropping blueberries. 

How much would it cut into the profits to leave hedgerows? If the hedgerows provided habitat for pollinators, you might be able to retain adequate pollination, without bringing in honey bees. That would be a huge savings and could more than offset the supposed inefficiency created by having many smaller plots versus huge acreages. 

The mono-cropping plan is used extensively in the west where there are vast acreages of flat lands. Many wildlife restoration schemes involve hedgerows, or natural habitats within these areas. In contrast, the region under question already is complex system and you would have to show me the advantage of clear cutting versus more of a patchwork of crops and hedgerows, especially on varied and uneven terrain. 

In my area of NY State, crops are interspersed with creeks, gorges, woodlots, villages, factories, universities, etc. When you fly over it looks like a crazy quilt of diverse land uses. Out west you can fly for hundreds of miles and see the same fields with an occasional large river and its riparian habitat.

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