In 2002, my wife Marty and I spent a month on the South Island of New Zealand. Most interestingly, we did a lot of exploring. The scenery was often dramatic; we discovered Marlborough wines, and I enjoyed an occasional apricot embellished meal. Apricot orchards are numerous and the fresh fruit enjoyable even to a traveler who never eats apricots at home.
One especially interesting characteristic of many of the orchards was the presence of bee hives. The orchardist was keeping his pollinators, not renting them seasonally. I was impressed and ultimately inspired. I am now an apiarist; not, I should quickly add, a very good one.
Also, the fruit markets in New Zealand featured a full range of apiarist products that ranged from the medicinal to the decorative and, of course, the delectable.
I have no idea how many farmers in either New Zealand or the United States keep bees to pollinate their crops. It is my guess that few farmers, if any, who sell tons of commodity crops keep bees. Or, for that matter, give much thought to them. They have substantial investments in land, seed, fertilizer, chemicals and equipment and to get a return on their investment must produce huge quantities of seeds and beans.
Mostly over the years I have been impressed by the land ethic of farmers. My grandfather owned a farm and on the marginal acres, he did not till. I hunted the resulting flora that provided refuge to quail and rabbits. But, that was decades ago; today markets and government policies encourage, as a former Secretary of Agriculture urged, “plant fence row to fence row.”
Until my wife and I started beekeeping, I spent no time thinking about pollinators as part of the land ethic. Mostly my concerns stopped at erosion and the run-off of excess fertilizers and sediment. Our hives, however, have taken me beyond the abstract.
Bees are marvelous creatures and the dynamics of their hives offer telling insights. As long as we don’t overreach in our use of their habitat and protect them from potential infestations, they provide us an enormous return in pollination and honey. Yet today, the most frequent question I hear when people learn about my hobby is, “why are bee colonies collapsing.” There is not a simple answer, but there is an overarching problem.
In many areas of the country, we have overreached. We till everywhere a tractor can reach. We make excessive use of pesticides. After all, we want our fruit without blemishes, while the farmer wants to protect against any marginal decrease in crop production that might be caused by bugs or weeds (often wildflowers). Yet, it is without argument that Big Ag has brought prices down and that our family budget, often under stress, has benefited. But at what cost?
If farmers and their suppliers were to develop a land ethic similar to the doctors Hippocratic Oath “first, do no harm,” pollinators would undoubtedly be considered. It seems to me that when government officials bring together those who impact farmland, an apiarist should be at the table. If bees are unrepresented, hive collapse will increase.
There are many companies that benefit from what is called Big Ag. If you are management and the object is to sell tractors, farm equipment, seed, fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, your first question on Monday morning is not about pollinators. But, we would all benefit, and ultimately none more than people who grow things, if bees are considered. We need a 21st Century land ethic that is informed by what we learned in the preceding one.
Now, one other thought. As I was writing, the oft-used phrase “canary in a coal mine” echoed. We should update this metaphorical environmental test of survival. What about “bees in the meadow?” Unfortunately, today we have to start with “what meadows?”
This spring I had gone to Lowes to buy something I couldn’t get at the local hardware store and, while there, I asked a clerk in the garden section if they had any clover seed. She was incredulous and to quote her, “We sell things that kill clover.” Clover happens to be an immensely important source of pollen and nectar and is always in the meadow. Indeed, it mingles with the grass in my front yard.
Back to the question: “How are the bees in the meadow?” Not good is the answer.
Apiarists do not have a strong lobby. Perhaps those who lobby for the bees should first lobby the Natural Resources Defense Council, Audubon, The Sierra Club, and other of the environmental heavyweights. When fighting the commodity lobbies, the bees will need a lot of help.
Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al recently published Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books.
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