Hello David & All,
Thanks for the reply David.

>I know you still try to reason out CCD as a step missed by a ppb beekeeper
>but there's guys that have some of the top outfits in the nation having and
>had problems from it. You can say what you want but it's not just PPB.

I am a problem solver solutions person. Called in when beekeepers are not
sure what to do or what they are looking at.

We quickly found a couple issues right off which were not problems of the
beekeeper (PPB) and new to U.S. beekeeping in Hack's bees. KBV virus &
nosema ceranae. Valuable information .

The name CCD has confused the whole issue and in my opinion started a witch
hunt which now returns to the start.

These two things were found (as reported by the CCD working group) in Hack's
bees.

not checked for in the other six yards "looked at" in the area.

A nosema which is harder to control than nosema apis and effects bees not
only in winter like apis but effects the midgut of bees during the summer.

A known killer of bees virus which makes DWV take a back seat.

Randy had his "rant' so I ask the moderators to allow my rant:

To myself and my fellow beeks we see the whole CCD issue and millions spent
as mostly wasted money as in many of our opinions spent on the wrong things
to solve the initial problem we are trying to address:

 which is keeping a healthy supply of bees to do the nations pollination.

If at the start researchers had focused on finding solutions to controlling
nosema & varroa control then we would have been better off. Providing some
low interest loans would have saved some of the large commercial operations
which have went bankrupt.

Danny Weaver was ABF president at the time and he questioned the way the
USDA was moving forward asking for huge sums of money and ignoring research
from Spain (nosema cerana) .
Beekeepers needing new varroa control products.

Commercial beekeepers were asked to go to congress and ask for funding
(which we did!) with the handshake promise that our requests for help
getting us new varroa controls, oxalic & formic allowed like in Canada, a
better nosema product AND low cost loans or at least some help with bee
replacement.

What of the above did we get?

That's right!

The correct answer is NONE OF THE ABOVE

U.S. beekeeping has survived in spite of the above we were promised and
never received!

We ask for solutions and not documentation only.

Beekeepers with problems (which are many as David points out) today most of
the time call other beeks or the few beekeeping trouble shooters around as
calling the USDA produces few results (personal experience).

I might add that the only program available to beekeepers with CCD losses 
was the 2010 50 million disaster program (with the rest of agriculture) and 
those with  losses filed. A letter was sent out last February making bee 
loss not eligible for the program ( only bees removed to my knowledge) on 
the advice of a head of the Beltsville lab. All the head of the lab had to 
do was say that the unusually cold winter was a *factor* in winter bee loss 
in hives with problems (CCD) and bees would have been in the program.

I received the letter myself as did the owner of Bell honey, Adee honey farm 
and many others.

Approval for the funding had to be approved at four levels of the USDA 
through committees. In Missouri (and other states approval was given on all 
levels but then removed at the Washington level )
In Missouri we received the letter plus a call from our local USDA rep( 
Brian Wheeler) saying the only reason bees were pulled was because of what 
the Beltsville head told the USDA.



bob

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