As the San Joaquin Valley is a major agricultural region, honeybees are an important factor in its success. According to the Great Valley Center, the Central Valley produces around 57 percent of the state’s crops with the help of bees.
Recently, the bee population has decreased due to diseases contracted from foreign mites.
At first, beekeepers and researchers did not know the cause of the mysterious deaths; however, they have concluded from various studies that diseases have struck the bee population nationwide, according to the linked article.
Local bee owner Rodney Waters of Waters Bee Farm has been actively involved in beekeeping for the past 28 years. Even though Waters is a small owner with 300 hives, compared to a large beekeeper who could own as many as 15,000 bees, he receives about $1,000 per barrel of honey.
“The bees are very important to the Central Valley because we are an agricultural community,” Waters said. “The bees pollinate the crops, so when there are no bees, the Valley hurts from it. To protect our bees, we give them antibiotics and we do see improvements, but the damage is done. On the East Coast they are still experiencing problems, so we share our data and research to stop this problem.”
According to Apidologie, antibiotics are administered through syrups in the bee hive to protect bees from numerous diseases and infections.
Even though the Valley has a large agricultural community, it is home to only 20 percent of the nation’s bee population. According to Waters, nearly 4-6 million bees are brought to the Valley every year in mid-fall to pollinate eucalyptus trees and begin the almond season before returning to their home state.
“The bees come from all across the nation, such as Mississippi, Arkansas and both North and South Dakota,” Waters said. “The bees arrive here around Thanksgiving and begin pollination. As soon as spring rolls around and the snow melts, the bees leave the Valley and head to their home states.”
During the cold winter months, the bees cluster together keeping warm at a comfortable 93 degrees. Besides staying warm, the bees also lay eggs and eat their supply of honey to survive, unless beekeepers are feeding them.
For the past five years, local almond grower Craig Duerr, father of freshman Chloe and ’10 alumnus Tyler, has frequently worked with bees to pollinate his crops.
“It is very important that there are bees for the almonds, because it [almonds] is the largest export in California; it’s a big deal,” Duerr said. “Also, they are needed for citrus trees such as oranges and tangerines, but some are self-pollinated. Beekeepers are extremely careful with the bees and make sure they are strong and healthy for pollination.”
In the United States, California produces 100 percent of the nation’s almond crop and about 80 percept of the world’s crop. Last year, the almond harvest amounted to 1.4 billion pounds and was valued at $1.8 billion. The U.S. is the world’s largest producer of almonds, followed by Spain, Australia and Turkey.
Because almond pollination requires so many bees, there is a strong demand for bees in the industry, Duerr said.
“The pollination of almonds is the world’s largest, so it is important that the bees are strong for pollinating. In California, there are about 742,000 acres of almonds, and we need 3-5 hives of bees per acre,” Duerr said. “Right now the bee guys get more money for the hives, since there are less bees, but they are still in demand.”
While some bees die from diseases, others perish during transportation from one state to another.
“It is difficult transporting bees, because sometimes an entire hive can die during the transportation process, which is money lost for the beekeeper,” Waters said.
In order to keep the bees healthy, they must be fed properly, according to Waters.
“My bees stay here the entire year and feed off of local crops,” Waters said. “They feed off of almonds, oranges, squash, cotton and eucalyptus leaves, producing honey from each crop. During the winter months, I feed them eucalyptus so they can get some nectar. On the other hand, other beekeepers feed them pollen, but that can get very expensive.”
For more information on bees in the Central Valley, visit the website of the Central Valley Beekeepers Association. For more information on Waters Bee Farm, contact Rodney Waters at 559.260.9224.
For additional information on the problem and tips on how you can help, read “Bees and your food” by the Green Living Tips Web site.
