On Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:50:49 -0700, Paul Cherubini <[log in to unmask]> wrote:


  If there are honeybees working the bloom,
>what's stopping you and other beeks from posting videos
>of that fact on YouTube to document the alledged widespread
>label violations?

Paul with all due respect, if you kept bees you would know that while for instance the 
basswood tree here in the upper midwest produced a decent crop this year, one might sit 
under a basswood tree for days on end and never see a honeybee. All of a sudden one or 
two days may occur where the bees are all over the tree and a crop is made. 

Its not as simple as you imply. Most beekeepers have unhappy wives and are never home 
and have no time to ponder You Tube etc. 

The point you may not appreciate is bean and corn growers get subsidies and loans and 
all kinds of help and always get a check. Whether they are skilled or not or good weather 
or bad.  A beekeeper gets jack squat if his/her bees are weakened, dead, good crop or 
failure.  

And thanks for not trotting out your butterfly pictures :)

Lorsban is deadly to bees and pollinators and the label says do not spray on bloom. Not 
my problem how the bean grower figures out how to do it without spraying on bloom.  
Like anyone is pondering the beekeepers issues of keeping their bees alive and getting a 
crop. What is wrong with this picture!!@!!!!!!

What's criminal in my mind is the state Ag depts who recommend Lorsban and do so 
willingly knowing that beans are going to be in bloom sometimes when the spider mites 
or aphids are at threshold. The whole damn system is stacked in favor of commodity 
growers and against the beekeeper.  I am a state resident of Mn, pay my myriad of taxes 
that fund the Ag dept. Whether I keep bees or not the Ag dept has a duty to protect the 
environment and pollinators whether I can see a butterfly or bee on a single bean flower 
or not. 

I made my call and worked my way up to the director of pesticide enforcement 
something something was his title. He acknowledged my observation and did not deny it 
was true. He had little to offer me in the form of promises to enforce the law. I am 
considering my options

During the course of my calls to MDA the person who takes complaints and investigates 
them offered I could file a complaint on a grower or farm supply company doing the 
spraying. I suggested I had no interest in going after one individual or company. The 
issue to me is the MDA knowingly ignoring what is going on. I asked him if he could 
investigate the state Ag dept for ignoring the label on Lorsban.  "We" agreed that his job 
may be in jeporady if he was to grant me that idea. 
 
 I wonder if a call to the Attorney General is needed since its obvious that the state ag 
dept is at the real core of the problem.  I might call them next just to discuss the issue 
and see what they think if my complaint is valid and would hold up in court. 

A college professor I had once told me " people will respond to how they are being 
measured or observed" the analogy is you drive a road every day and know where the 
speed traps are and drive accordingly. This fear of being caught is non existent in the Ag 
community and the state ag depts are in bed with the large organizations of growers and 
chem pushers. 

I grow apples and of course produce honey. In my business I expect to take some losses. 
For example I don't bother much to spray for coddling moth anymore on apples. The 
damage is obvious to the apple and most fall off the tree before harvest. You realize you 
can't get every last apple to harvest or squeeze every last drop of honey from every 
hive. Why can't Big Ag adopt that policy and leave some room for pollinators?  

Who has the RIGHT to maximize their crops at the detriment of others?  What rights do 
beekeepers have? What rights do the average citizen have to view butterflies and 
pollinators free and doing their thing?  Who gave Big Ag control over the countryside?  If 
spraying bloom is not bad enough, my other beef is farmers in MN 2-4-Ding the ditches 
(via the country government)  and mowing/baling the right of way. Who said they owned 
that forage? Do beekeepers and citizens have a right to see that right of way in bloom till 
Sept? 

All citizens need to take back control of the countryside and public right of ways!  
Beekeepers should be given just as must respect as commodity growers!!!!

I believe these two issues, use of right of way and label laws are core issues we should 
all fight for at the state level. 

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