"Hope you find this to be balanced and reasonable..as I did."

 The UTUBE video was a good one and speaks to an "equation" that we face as farmers and beekeepers; however what seems to be missed in the focused discussion on neonics is the fact that it is only one of the chemicals used on our crops. I meet periodically with farmers where I maintain colonies of bees. In one out yard near alfalfa, corn, soy beans, sorghum and wheat fields, I found that on several occasions during the year and almost simultaneously, 10 different chemicals were applied. The question is....What is the combined effect of these chemicals? Where is the research looking to that effect? It is important to focus on neonics but I remain very worried about the accumulative effect on my bees and indeed on us. The combinations and permutations make the study complex but it is I think very important to understanding the health of our bees. 
I began hefting deep supers of honey in 1955 in Northern Minnesota. The issue every Spring was what to do with all the bees if one did not wish to increase. It is quite different with my colonies now. I am only able to split a smaller percentage of the colonies compared to the 1950s. Our bees ofcourse are a barometer and I cannot help but think the combined effect of chemicals is an insufficiently weighted variable in the "equation." 

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