Those of us old enough to remember, recall the honey price support debacle. The ones who benefitted the most from it, no doubt have sons and daughters lining up for the new form of beekeeper entitlement

Report to Congress by the Comptroller General:
Federal Price Support For Honey Should Be Phased Out

The mandatory honey price-support program, which is currently set at
the lowest support level allowable by law, has become costly to the
government--about $164 million for the 1980-83 period. Only 1 percent
of the nation's beekeepers participate in the program. Since 1980 the
government has acquired increasing quantities of honey as forfeiture of
loan collateral because the support price has been greater than the
world market price, and cheaper imported honey has been replacing
domestic honey in the market.

The program, which was originally justified on the need to ensure an
adequate supply of honeybees for crop pollination purposes, is actually
unnecessary to ensure poll ination . Producers of seed or fr-uit crops to
which bee pollinat ion is essential pay for or supply their own honeybees
for this purpose. In addition, program management is not adequate to
prevent fraud or abuse, and improvements would be costly and may not
be completely effective.

Key phase: Program management is not adequate to prevent fraud or abuse. 

In New York State we have watched government agencies and commercial operations play footsie, to get the fat checks written. Meanwhile, a small holder with legitimate losses (due to severe weather) was denied a claim on the basis of photographs. The state declined to send someone out to look at his hives.

PLB

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