I'm new to BEE-l, so I don't know about any "roar." I have been posting
for years on a tractor web site and I know that when I post something
controversial, the roar comes through my email, not necessarily in a
public forum. The fact remains  the US lost many thousands of hives this
year and I'm sure the international bee community lost many thousands.

One does not have to look far to see that beekeeping is in trouble. I
see the shortage of new beekepers as serious as the death of bees. Young
people just do not go into beekeeping. Why? Too much work, too many
stings, too much management, no interest in honey or other hive
products, no fascination with the complexities of bee culture.

I'd like to see less concern with government solutions and more private
sector involvement, like seed and pesticide companies. livestock
producers, produce growers, fiber & forage crop growers. These are
sectors with a direct involvement with the success of bees on a large scale.

Since most beekeepers are older, they may need to realize a new need for
continuing education. Some of the micro-management practices from
decades past may not work as well under the new threats to production.
The Dept of Agriculture may need to wake up and get away from its common
notion that if you have a pest problem, you throw some poison at it.
That has failed in animal agriculture, vis-a-vis antibiotic resistance
for certain microbes, for example, and is failing in apiculture. IPM and
genetic selection for desirable traits will yield long-term improvement
vs. the quick-fix associated with Apistan and Coumophos etc.

I think we need to concentrate on recruiting younger beekeepers, uniting
all beekeepers(yeh, right...)into a coherent political force, and
educating the public on the importance of beekeeping to the food cahin
and the economy. Maybe then we can start a tidal wave of support for
research into solutions for what ails the bees.


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