Fewer bees in my garden

farmgal · #61 07/28/14, 07:28 PM

I have a few neighbors who have bees and they are dying off. They have been for many years. Some gave up on bee keeping. My friends father who's 90 has raised them all his life, gave up this year.

We had a very cold winter yet, there were plenty more bees this spring then month later gone. So I don't believe harsh winters are killing them. I saw the video on the bees in California's almond farms as well as other videos. Looks like a lot of evidence pointing to pesticide use, as well as poorly kept on off seasons, causing mite and disease in that area. so we aren't "speculating". I doubt it's the earths magnets shifting lol

I look for them on trail rides, I see no hives. Years back we hit bees often on horseback. No ones yelled, RUN...BEE'S!!! In a long time.

haypoint · #62 07/28/14, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by k9

Let me help you puzzle that problem out with GM, the switch shut the power off to the electic power steering, and the air bags. Loss of power steering and power brakes as well as no airbag protection. In 2005 they knew of the problem and decided to continue to produce the cars with the cheap weak springs knowing that there would be a problem. Its not hard to see how a vehicle that loses it power steering and brakes suddenly at a bad time could be a problem for most drivers and even more so with a less experienced driver add to that the loss of air bags.... Now understand that there were GM engineers that told them that it was a problem and they continued selling the vehicles as is....

You don't see that as a problem, you buy a cheap car and hey, you deserve to die. You buy cheap food and you deserve to die. And really that hits the nail on the head. Consumers want cheap food, and they get it. They are willing to pay a grand for cheap add on wood grain paneling on the interior of their car, but a buck for a burger is outrageous. The way to make food cheap is to take the cost of labor out of it, and so today we spray and use fossil fuels and fossil fertilizer to make the fake food grow. In your heart you know that it is a recipe for disaster but you are in denial of it, after all farmers feed the world. But just what are they feeding them. We can get into feedlots, and chickens and hogs on confinement.... if that's what you want to do, as well as all the problems with your GMO frankencorn. In California when the rains came the cows stood on cement feedlots and drown in their own excrement. What a way to farm.

Ever drive a car that does not have power steering and/or power brakes? At highway speeds, there is very little difference in steering and with increased foot pressure, a car stops about the same way. The more expensive cars have reduced power steering at increased speeds to give a better "feel for the road".

I think there would be far less hate and suspicion if you understood farming better. Modern farmers use less fuel per bushel of crop than in the "good old days". Roundup Ready corn does not require repeated cultivation. By not needing to cultivate, corn can be planted in narrow rows. This shades any weeds and increases yields.
Lots of different opinions on the use of fossil fuels. It is used to drive people to work when they could simply move within walking distance from their job. It is used to make electricity that lights up empty office buildings. It is used to make plastic Fun Meal toys. It is used to heat poorly insulated homes. It is also used to manufacture fertilizer that grows crops that otherwise the poor couldn't afford.
The uneducated believe Egg Factories feed antibiotics. Just what is it you believe. The use of antibiotics is closely regulated and monitored. Antibiotics entering the food chain is rare.

I am aware of the huge Calf. Dairies. Cattle on concrete, sheltered from the sun. Cattle feed delivered daily, on contract, with strict nutritional requirements. I must have missed the manure flood you speak of. Do you have a news source for this event?

k9 · #63 07/28/14, 09:00 PM

www.motherearthnews.com/pesticides

k9 · #64 07/28/14, 09:26 PM

http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/cons.../ucm378100.htm

k9 · #65 07/28/14, 10:01 PM

http://www.globalresearch.ca/gmo-sca...n-humans/14570

k9 · #66 07/28/14, 10:04 PM

http://www.responsibletechnology.org...-to-Avoid-GMOs

Cindy in PA · #67 07/29/14, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haypoint

Yes, recent studies have been done. The general consensus is that a variety of factors effect bee die-off. Stress, mites, bacteria and weather account for most deaths.
If you want to believe insecticides are major factors, then that is what is real to you.
In reality, the massive use of GMO Corn has reduced overall pesticide use in rural areas.
In areas that have extensive orchards, insecticide use could be reduced if insect pest "safe harbors" could be eliminated. Those "safe harbors" are untended fruit trees and those grown by people that tolerate insect damage.
The use of GMO corn and soybeans has reduced weeds. Perhaps the reduction of weeds has eliminated feed sources for bees?
In Michigan, last winter's relentless cold led to the starvation of many honey bees. Traditionally, there are a few winter days that warm to above 30 F. Bees utilize this time to feed and housekeep. Just didn't happen in many areas.
Feel free to blame it on your favorite whipping boy. It's the government's fault. It is something Big Ag is doing. It is because of Global Warming. GMO is the cause. Chemical fertilizers are killing bees. Herbicides are killing bees. George Bush is killing bees. Zoning and HOA is killing bees.
BT, found in most soils and most humans and most animals, ruled safe for use on organic vegetables, when placed into the DNA of corn, a plant that bees do not pollenate, is thought to be killing bees. While there is nothing to support that myth, amazingly some add this fiction to their reasons to hate Monsanto.

You have a lot of good points. I am sure there are many contributors to the demise of the bees. I did have to laugh though, when you stated GMO corn & soybeans have cut down on weeds! Come visit & see the 6 foot high weeds in the 8 foot high corn next to my place. I'll say it again. They spray Round Up once or twice & then the crops are too big & the weeds take over major portions of the field. It's just a fact, at least here. the weeds have plenty of time to grow & seed after the round up kills the first weeds. I have lived it for 30 years.

haypoint · #68 07/29/14, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cindy in PA

You have a lot of good points. I am sure there are many contributors to the demise of the bees. I did have to laugh though, when you stated GMO corn & soybeans have cut down on weeds! Come visit & see the 6 foot high weeds in the 8 foot high corn next to my place. I'll say it again. They spray Round Up once or twice & then the crops are too big & the weeds take over major portions of the field. It's just a fact, at least here. the weeds have plenty of time to grow & seed after the round up kills the first weeds. I have lived it for 30 years.

While a bit off topic, what you have observed is far different from what I see as I travel around the state.
I've been watching this for a long while. From what I see, Roundup kills the weeds before they go to seed and by the time the next set of weeds germinates, that closely spaced, narrow rowed, well fertilized corn forms a canopy that the weeds, apparently, cannot compete with.
Gone are the days when children can run down the rows of corn. They are planted too close.
I see acres of uniform stands of corn. I focus on "errors". Places that the fertilizer missed. Places where the nearby weeds were killed, several feet from the plowed and planted corn field. Mostly, I see thick weeds just a foot from the weed-free corn.
The spray buggies I see have 5 feet of clearance and can spray later into the season, but I've never seen the need for a second spray.
Because of what I have seen, my only environmental concerns with GMO Roundup Ready crops is their near 100% effectiveness on weeds, reducing the diversity and amount of flowering weeds. Sounds like that isn't so in your area.
We may have different views on Roundup weed control, but we'll have to agree that the lack of regular cultivation saves millions of tons of top soil, once the norm in conventional farming practices.

arabian knight · #69 07/29/14, 02:28 PM

So true. And I am looking out my window at a Wonderful Weed Free Corn field. So nice and high and tasseled now get some rain so it will pollenate nicely and they will have a Wonderful heavy corn crop this year.

Snoho_Raven · #70 07/29/14, 02:52 PM

We are in Western Washington and have seen a dramatic decline in bees.
The darn wasps are everywhere tho (wish THEY were as sensitive to the environment). Our new neighbors just brought in 2 hives and now
we have bees!!! It's a little troubling tho, because I'm seeing dead bees frequently on my property (I do NOT use any pesticides). I agree the bees are the "canary in the coal mine". The majority of people need to wake up!!!

unioncreek · #71 07/29/14, 03:07 PM

Pesticides are only a part of the problem. It's pollution, overworking the bees, bee parasites and I think bee genetics. I've actually seen more bee's around our area that in the last 10 years. I live in a wheat, barley, pea and lentil producing area and they've cut way back in the amount of pesticides that they apply.

Bob

unioncreek · #72 07/29/14, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by k9

http://www.globalresearch.ca/gmo-sca...n-humans/14570

Most of that is a crock of you know what. I don't agree with the use of all GMO's and they need to be used wisely. Pesticide use is reduced 50%, fungicide use is reduced around 30% and soil erosion is reduced also. I don't have all the exact numbers, but the article was written by someone that was opposed to the use of GMO's, he said in the article that he still questions them, but that if their used wisely they do have benefits.

Bob