Hello Peter & All,



Peter said:
>> Same with CCD. Imagine if the government starts paying for hives dead
>> of CCD. Nobody knows what it is, but hell, everybody has dead hives,
>> why not cash 'em in!

 * If* I understand what you are saying above you are against those U.S.
 beeks which had dead hives (up to  2 beeks reporting  around 10,000 dead 
hives  on
 the CCD survey )even getting any money at all to rebuild? The reason being
 you are afraid a few beeks might get paid for hives (still dead) which were
 not CCD?

 All of us which keep bees for a living ( very few on BEE-L) realize  we
will
 get a percentage of dead hives. The losses would have to be above each of
 our normal figures before most of us would take the time to use an
indemnity
 program. Mostly we would if we could not rebuild from our own bees which
 would mean buying nucs,brood or package bees.  Has only happened to me
three
 times in fifty years. I never used the indemnity program.

 Regardless of what killed those commercial beeks hives the first concern of
the USDA should have been to take care of
 those beekeepers like they do their farmers. Make low cost loans available
 to buy nucs/brood or packages. If a farmer goes into our local office the
 farmer can get funds for what ever he needs in the way of seed, fertilizer
 etc. .

disaster funding is also available to farmers but almost unknown to 
beekeepers.

 Farmers number 1

 commercial beekeepers "The red headed step child of the USDA"


 Commercial beekeeping is hard work. Commercial beekeepers are people which
 put in long hours at times seven days a week doing the nations pollination.
 Sending billions to wall street tycoons and not offering a hand up to hard
 working people trying to survive the best way they can does not seem right.

 America does not seem to be as concerned as they should be with the AIT
 bonuses. One of those would have bought packages for all the CCD
beekeepers.

 AIT is too big to fail we are told. AIT also gave $100,000 to both the
Obama
 & Dodd campaigns while headed for bankruptcy. Both Obama & Dodd were slow 
to speak out
against the bonuses' at first. Said they wanted to get all the facts first. 
Hmmm.

Did not take me long to figure what happened.

 I say commercial beekeeping is too valuable to the U.S. to let fail by
 turning our backs on commercial beekeepers needing a helping hand. The
 biggest help those beeks with the big CCD losses came from their fellow
 beeks. When I had my three times needing help I was jumpstarted by fellow
 commercial beekeepers. The help I needed was bigger than my area beeks
could
 provide so I sought help from a Texas/Nebraska/ California beek and another
 time from an Arkansas/California beek. Bell Hill Honey the last time.

 Commercial beekeeping is kind of like when I buried my 10,000 pound four
 wheel drive up to the axles in mud last week. Takes a bigger outfit than
 yours to pull you out! A local wrecker would not touch the extraction
unless  he could winch from the nearest highway and he did not have enough 
cable. A
 large farm tractor pulled me right out and only cost me a jug of local
 honey.

 bob

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned 
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html