NYS Budget Includes $54.4 M for Agriculture

From state Sen. Patty Ritchie:

For a fourth straight year, the New York state budget includes record funding for agriculture. 

Ritchie

Included in the spending plan is $54.4 million for New York’s leading industry, nearly $20 million of which is the addition of funding or the restoration of cuts made in the Executive Budget and Assembly proposals.

“New York’s hardworking farmers have very difficult, demanding jobs,” Ritchie said. “Through this critical funding, we are demonstrating that we support their efforts to grow and produce the fresh foods we depend on, and that we recognize how important they are to the success of New York’s leading industry."

"I am excited to see how the new state budget further strengthens New York agriculture today — and in the future,” she said.

The 2018-2019 budget includes funding for many innovative programs, including a second round of the “Seeds of Success” program, which helps schools create or expand an agricultural curriculum to encourage students to consider careers in agriculture. 

It also funds — for a fifth year — the “Beginning Farmers” grant program that assists new farms with grants of up to $50,000 to help with the purchase of land, buildings, tools and other farming necessities.

Other highlights of the 2017-2018 state budget include:

·       **  Increased funding to further boost New York State’s Craft

Brewing Industry, including Cornell University’s Hops and Barley, Born, Bred and Brewed Program, the New York Brewers, the New York State Distillers Guild, the New York State Hard Cider Association and Cornell University’s Hard Cider Research program;

    **  Funding for a new farm-to-school program, building on efforts to grow markets for local farmers by increasing the amount of locally produced foods in school lunches;

·        ** The restoration of funding for programs that are critical to helping dairy farms with education, research, marketing, profitability and sustainability, including FarmNet, which works with family farms on business analysis, farming with family, retirement planning and personal well-being. 

      In addition funding has been awarded to a number of Cornell University-based programs such as its Diagnostic Lab, its Quality Milk and Cattle Health Assurance programs, and new funding has been created for Cornell’s Salmonella Dublin program to help farmers diagnose and contain the deadly disease, which impacts dairy herds. 

      Funding has also been restored to programs such as Northern New York Ag Development, PRO-DAIRY and the Farm Viability Dairy Profit teams, which work with farms to develop profitability and sustainability strategies;

·       **  Increased funding for Cornell’s honeybee program;

·       ** Increased and/or restored funding for New York State producers including the Wine and Grape Foundation, the Apple Growers Association, Maple Producers, berry growers, Christmas tree growers and more;

· 

     **  The restoration of funding for vital programs designed to support agriculture education;

·        ** Restored funding for Tractor Rollover Protection Program, which helps equip tractors with an important piece of safety equipment that helps reduce the risk of injury in the event of a tractor overturn; and

·         ** The restoration of funding to continue fighting diseases such as EEE and rabies.

Since becoming chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee in 2011,  Ritchie has been successful in efforts to secure more than $79 million in restored budget cuts and new funding to help the more than 35,000 farms across New York state.

Tiny Parasite Wreaks Havoc on New York Bee Supply

A column from state Sen. Patty Ritchie:

Bees, both wild and managed, play a key role in our state’s agriculture industry, helping crops of all kinds thrive.  

However, these powerful pollinators are under attack by parasitic mites.

The varroa mite – a tiny parasite that attacks honeybees – has infected 90 percent of the bee colonies surveyed this year. As a result, agriculture could see up to $500 million in potential losses. The top crops that are dependent on healthy and abundant pollinators are apples, pumpkins and tomatoes. 

In addition, managed bee colonies in Upstate New York have lost up to 70 percent of their bees over the last few years because of disease, pesticides and loss of habitat, according to a recent state study. Once the mites take hold, potentially deadly viruses spread throughout the colony, which could wipe the colony out.   

Experts say that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep this mite from spreading. The varroa mite thrives off weakened bee colonies and when one colony dies, nearby hives will take honey from the weakened bees, which causes the mites to spread at a rapid rate.

The destruction of bee colonies is starting to reach alarming levels. In an effort to combat this problem, I’m pleased to have been able to secure $290,000 over the past two years in state funding for various programs at Cornell University, aimed at conducting vital research and disease testing to protect our state’s bee population.  

As chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I will continue to work to support programs and spearhead initiatives designed to preserve our state’s pollinators and help keep this key sector of the state’s economy “buzzing” for years to come.

World Honeybee Day Was Aug. 20

So sorry I missed World Honeybee Day (Aug. 20).

Honey producers are oh, so important to New York state. The Empire State Honey Producers was originally founded in 1870 and today it has various regions of beekeepers such as Northeastern, Southern, West and Long Island.

Most members of the Empire State Honey Producers Association have fewer than 50 hives.

Is Certified Organic Honey Really Organic?

Here's an interesting story that came out of a question by a local farmer who wanted to know how honey could be certified organic when the bees fly EVERYWHERE?

Check out this story at http://livingmaxwell.com/organic-honey-certified

Pollinator Task Force Makes Recommendations to Save Honeybees and Butterflies

From Ag and Markets:

The New York State Pollinator Task Force has come up with recommendations on how to address the decline in bees and other pollinators that has occurred in recent years.

The commissioners of the Department of Agriculture and Markets and the Department of Environmental Conservation have met with farmers, research institutions and key industry leaders to develop a roadmap to conserve and grow pollinator populations across the state. 

Pollinators – which include various types of bees and butterflies – contribute significantly to the state’s agricultural economy by adding roughly $350 million in pollination services on an annual basis.

“Pollinators are critical to our ecosystem, as well as New York's agricultural industry, and the work of this Task Force will help in our efforts to reverse the troubling decline of the bee population in New York and help to preserve and further improve this state's environmental and economic health," said gov. Andrew Cuomo.

As a result of listening sessions and stakeholder input, the Task Force focused its recommendations on four priority areas: 

** Development of Voluntary Best Management Practices for all pollinator stakeholders, including beekeepers, growers, land owners, state agencies and the general public;  

** Habitat enhancement efforts to protect and revive populations of native and managed pollinators;  

** Research and monitoring of pollinators to better understand, prevent and recover from pollinator losses; and  

** Development of an outreach and public education program on the importance of pollinators, engaging the public to be active participants to seek solutions to pollinator declines.

“We are pleased to present the NYS Pollinator Protection Plan, which includes best practices for our farmers, land owners, bee keepers and state agencies, many of which we can get to work on immediately," said Ag and Markets Commissioner Richard Ball.

“While more research needs to be done, we know that the key to reversing the trend of a declining pollinator population in New York is a comprehensive approach that looks at a variety of issues that may be impacting bee health."

Pollinators contribute substantially to the state’s economy. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, pollinators provide about $344 million worth of pollination services to New York and add $29 billion in value to crop production nationally each year. New York’s ability to produce crops such as apples, grapes, cherries, onions, pumpkins and cauliflower relies heavily on the presence of pollinators.
 
Pollinator Protection Plan Recommendations

Central to the New York State Pollinator Protection Plan is the development and implementation of Best Management Practices to guide landowners/growers, contract beekeepers, hobbyist beekeepers, pesticide users and state agencies to safeguard existing managed and native pollinator populations. 

The plan also highlights efforts already underway at various state agencies to reverse the decline in pollinators and 
restore their habitat.
 
Despite a 9 percent increase in honey production last year, New York’s beekeepers continue to experience unsustainable population declines. Over the last four years, recent research indicates managed pollinator colonies have declined over 50 percent while some migratory pollinators have declines in excess of 70 percent. 

This is compounded by the losses in the native pollinator community and the habitat that sustains them.
 
In its report, the task force emphasized the need for comprehensive, state-focused research to better understand the status of native pollinators in the sState and the factors that impact both managed and wild pollinator health and performance.
 
Future Actions and Pollinator Projects

The 2016-17 enacted Budget provides $500,000 through the Environmental Protection Fund to implement key projects central to the success of the Pollinator Protection Plan. 

As detailed in the plan, this money will be used to conduct additional research on the impacts of pesticide and pathogens/parasite interactions on native and managed pollinator health, as well as the effects of bee-husbandry practices on the performance of managed hives. 

Pollinator research funding will also support a multi-year evaluation conducted by DEC on the status and distribution of New York State’s native pollinator species.

Environmental Protection Fund money also will support implementation of voluntary best management practices and outreach and education activities, including the creation of pollinator gardens and interpretative signage at select State Park locations, and the establishment of the New York’s Tech Team for Beekeepers, which will provide participating apiaries with site-specific technical support.

All priority recommendations of the New York State Pollinator Protection Plan can be found http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/279.html  at this link. As new research and monitoring data become available, the Task Force will reconvene with its advisors to evaluate the findings and update the Plan accordingly and to include additional and improved actions.

Number of Honeybee Colonies Hit a 20-Year High

Hey, here's some good ag news.

Go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/07/23/call-off-the-bee-pocalypse-u-s-honeybee-colonies-hit-a-20-year-high/ to check it out.

Pollinator Health Task Force Praised

News from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand:

U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) praised the Obama Administration for creating a Pollinator Health Task Force to develop a federal strategy to promote the health of honeybees and other pollinators. 

The new interagency task force will help address troubling pollinator declines in California, New York and elsewhere by improving federal coordination to protect the long-term viability of native and managed pollinators.

“New York’s agricultural industry is a key part of America’s economy and pollinators play such an important role in that success,” said Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “With the alarming drop in pollinators, farmers across America have been suffering from a decrease in agricultural productivity. This new federal strategy to promote the health of honey bees and other pollinators is a step in the right direction. It will allow research to be advanced to better understand and rectify this drastic loss that is impacting America’s agricultural system.”

During negotiations for the 2014 Farm Bill, Boxer and Senator Gillibrand introduced a honeybee and pollinator amendment that among other provisions would have created an interagency task force dedicated to developing a federal strategy to address pollinator declines and sustain a healthy pollinator population. The amendment was included in the Farm Bill passed in the House, but was not included in the final bill.

Since 2006, winter hive losses for managed honeybee hives have averaged nearly 30 percent, compared to historical losses of 10 to 15 percent. The losses in part have been attributed to a phenomenon commonly referred to as Colony Collapse Disorder, which results in sudden and catastrophic hive depopulation. 

Honeybees and other pollinators are under threat by a multitude of stressors including habitat loss, disease, exposure to certain pesticides and management practices. The new task force has been directed with creating an action plan to focus federal efforts on understanding, preventing and recovering pollinator populations.

USDA Announces Money for Honeybee Populations

From the USDA:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday June 20 announced $8 million in Conservation Reserve Program incentives for Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin farmers and ranchers who establish new habitats for declining honeybee populations. 

More than half of the commercially managed honey bees are in these five states during the summer. This announcement comes in addition to $3 million USDA designated to the Midwest states to support bee populations earlier this year through the Natural Resources Conservation Service Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

"American agricultural production relies on having a healthy honeybee population," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "In recent years, factors such as diseases, parasites, pesticides or habitat loss have contributed to a significant decline in the honey bee population. This $8 million is part of the Administration's ongoing strategy to reverse these trends and establish more plant habitat on Conservation Reserve Program lands to restore the bee population."

The new Conservation Reserve Program pollinator initiative is designed to further enhance current Conservation Reserve Program land, allowing it to provide better access to nutritious pollinator forage. The program allows for managing or replacing existing vegetation, known as 'covers', with lower cost, high nutrition seed mixes that can support distinct blooming cycles of plants that benefit pollinators. 

Honeybees, the pollinator workhorse of U.S. fruit and vegetable agriculture, will have more blooms from which to collect nectar and pollen to sustain and promote colony growth and honey production throughout the growing season. 

By assisting honeybees, the pollinator initiative helps USDA continue to secure the food supply. More than $15 billion worth of agricultural production, including over 130 fruits and vegetables, depend on the health and well-being of honeybees.

Now is a critical time for efforts to support honeybee populations. The honey bee population in the United States has been declining for decades. The number of managed U.S. honeybee colonies dropped from 6 million in 1947, to just 2.5 million today.

Watch the Bees Do Their Thing

Want to see what the honeybees are up to?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has launched BeeWatch. Now anyone, anywhere who wantss to learn about honey bee activity can simply go to the blog: http://blogs.usda.gov/2014/05/15/see-honeybees-at-work-usda-launches-beewatch/

Have Scientists Finally Cracked the Colony Collapse Issue?

Chck out this story -- http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2014/05/smoking-gun-bee-collapse

What Body Part Hurts the Most When Stung by a Bee?

Now here's a different take on the honeybee story.

Read it at http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/worst-places-to-get-stung-by-a-be-self-experimentation/ this link.

Survey: Fewer Bee Colonies Died This Past Winter

From the USDA:

A yearly survey of beekeepers, released today, shows fewer colony losses occurred in the United States over the winter of 2013-2014 than in recent years, but beekeepers say losses remain higher than the level that they consider to be sustainable. 

According to survey results, total losses of managed honey bee colonies from all causes were 23.2 percent nationwide. That number is above the 18.9 percent level of loss that beekeepers say is acceptable for their economic sustainability, but is a marked improvement over the 30.5 percent loss reported for the winter of 2012-2013, and over the eight-year average loss of 29.6 percent.

More than three-fourths of the world's flowering plants rely on pollinators, such as bees, to reproduce, meaning pollinators help produce one out of every three bites of food Americans eat.

"Pollinators, such as bees, birds and other insects are essential partners for farmers and ranchers and help produce much of our food supply. Healthy pollinator populations are critical to the continued economic well-being of agricultural producers," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "While we're glad to see improvement this year, losses are still too high and there is still much more work to be done to stabilize bee populations."

There is no way to tell why the bees did better this year, according to both Pettis and Dennis vanEngelsdorp, a University of Maryland assistant professor who is the leader of the survey and director of the Bee Informed Partnership. Although the survey, conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of Maryland Bee Informed Partnership shows improvement, losses remain above the level that beekeepers consider to be economically sustainable. 

This year, almost two-thirds of the beekeepers responding reported losses greater than the 18.9 percent threshold.

New York State Fair 'One Thing' Series -- Today's Feature, Honey

Some of the different honey flavors at the New York State Fair.

When you venture inside the Horticulture Building at the New York State Fair, there are two sweet booths you just have to visit.

I already talked about one of them -- the Maple Producers Booth -- earlier in the week.

The other is right across from the maple folks. The Empire State Honey Producers have a wonderful booth filled with many different flavors of honey that visitors can sample and then buy.

Honey, of course, is that sweet nectar made by bees. Beekeepers across New York state tend to their hives religiously to keep the bees happy, working and making honey.

A hive of bees hard at work at the New York State Fair

 I went to the honey display and found Matt Mallory, who is a beekeeper in Syracuse. I asked him what "one thing" he would like to tell the public about honey:

"It's a natural sweetener, it's great tasting, and there are no preservatives or additives in it," he said. He also said the different flavors come from the different pollen the bees pick up during their travels.

Honey production in New York state from beekeepers with five or more hives was 2.65 million pounds in 2012. The number of bee colonies was 52,000, up from 49,000 the year before.

Beekeepers in New York on average got 51 pounds of honey per colony. The value of all the honey produced in the state in 2012 was $6.05 million.

USDA Takes to Twitter to Talk Honeybees

The USDA took to Twitter to talk about the recent Time Magazine cover story on honeybees.

Check out what USDA officials said at http://blogs.usda.gov/2013/08/19/usda-talks-honeybees-on-twitter/ this blog link.

Here is a link http://science.time.com/2013/08/09/the-trouble-with-beekeeping-in-the-anthropocene/ to a brief introduction to the Time Magazine story by the author. You have to subscribe to Time on line to read the entire article or go to a newsstand or store and buy a copy.

Many Factors Interacting Can Stress Honeybee Populations

Another honeybee story.

Find it http://www.thecropsite.com/articles/1594/many-factors-interacting-can-stress-honey-bee-populations

Time Magazine Cover Story This Week on Disappearance of Honeybees

I can't give you the whole story or even a link to the Time Magazine cover story this week on bees because you have to be a subscriber.

But I've read it and it's good -- should be read by anyone who raises food or who eats. Well, hey, that's pretty much all of us, huh.

So get out there and get a copy. Here is a link http://science.time.com/2013/08/09/the-trouble-with-beekeeping-in-the-anthropocene/ to a brief introduction to the story by the author.

New Study on What's Killing Honeybees in U.S.

Colony Collapse Disorder has been plaguing the bee population for a few years and all sorts of people have been coming up with ideas on why the bees are dying. 

Go to http://qz.com/107970/scientists-discover-whats-killing-the-bees-and-its-worse-than-you-thought/ to see a story about a new study done on Colony Collapse Disorder.

Remember, bees not only make honey for us all. Without them, we wouldn't have fruit or vegetables, as the bees are needed to pollinate the flowers of these foods so they will develop and grow.

Student Study Shows Insecticide's Effect on Honeybees

Even though this is from Canada, it could have some ramifications here.

Check out http://www.agweek.com/event/article/id/21203/ this story from AgWeek.

Honeybees Dead in Canada

Go to http://now.msn.com/millions-of-honeybees-found-dead-in-canada to check out the story.

Ag Officials On Watch for Aggressive Bees

This story is frightening.

Read it http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2013/jun/17/agriculture-officials-on-watch-for-aggressive/ here.