Post by Logan on Mar 11, 2016 4:38:55 GMT -6
Thousands of beekeepers across Massachusetts are feeling the sting of a proposed state plan they say fails to curb the use of harmful pesticides and makes it harder to protect their increasingly imperiled hives.
Bees, which pollinate about one-third of crops in the United States and account for some $15 billion in revenue for the agricultural industry, have suffered in recent years. Roughly half of all bee colonies now collapse at the end of each winter, scientists say, double the amount of a decade ago.
Beekeepers say the use of certain kinds of pesticides is largely to blame for the problem, known as colony collapse disorder, and in Massachusetts they have urged state officials to limit their use.
But the new plan, released last week by the state Department of Agricultural Resources, listed pesticides as the last in a long list of potential culprits, which also include parasites, diseases, a lack of genetic diversity, and climate change.
Read more: www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/03/10/mass-beekeepers-angry-over-state-pesticide-plan/OEg3InLwCUhr65HB0k4Y6N/story.html
Bees, which pollinate about one-third of crops in the United States and account for some $15 billion in revenue for the agricultural industry, have suffered in recent years. Roughly half of all bee colonies now collapse at the end of each winter, scientists say, double the amount of a decade ago.
Beekeepers say the use of certain kinds of pesticides is largely to blame for the problem, known as colony collapse disorder, and in Massachusetts they have urged state officials to limit their use.
But the new plan, released last week by the state Department of Agricultural Resources, listed pesticides as the last in a long list of potential culprits, which also include parasites, diseases, a lack of genetic diversity, and climate change.
Read more: www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/03/10/mass-beekeepers-angry-over-state-pesticide-plan/OEg3InLwCUhr65HB0k4Y6N/story.html