http://www.recorderonline.com/news/few-56117-workers-one.html

As farmers up and down the Valley brace for the most important time of the year, there is a severe shortage of one of nature’s hardest workers — bees.

“There’s a critical shortage of bees this year,” said longtime beekeeper Max Eggman of Eggman Family Honey.

Perry Miller of Miller’s Honey Company agreed. “I have a cherry grower who needs bees and I don’t have any,” he said.

Miller and Eggman said the number of bee hives is down across the country. While California beekeepers supply about 1 million hives for crops like almonds that rely on bees for pollination, the demand is twice that.

“Only one or two guys across the county that haven’t suffered major losses. It seems to be epidemic this year,” said Miller.

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) first appeared in 2006-07. Eggman said he suffered 80 percent loss of his bees in the winter of 2006. Today, officials are still trying to find the cause, but most agree a lack of water is definitely contributing to the problem.

Both Miller and Eggman said the bees are not able to get the nutrients they need over the winter to be strong enough come early spring when they are needed the most.

“A shortage of rain reduces forage for bees,” said Eggman, adding that means beekeepers have to spend more for supplemental diets for bees.

There are 760,000 acres of almonds in California, the state that produces the most almonds in the nation, and they are heavily dependent on bees. Miller said it takes two colonies per acre for almonds, where most other crops only require a colony or less per acre.

The almond bloom has begun and will really take off with this week’s temperatures in the upper-60s and 70s. Bees don’t move much until the temperature hits 55.

Eggman said that although the number of bees has dropped, the demand has grown. The success of almond growers means more acres, and the need for more bees. But, finding those bees is getting more difficult. Miller said he used to have 900 to 1000 colonies, but “right now were down to 300 colonies.”

He said since CCD first appeared, he has lost 3,300 colonies and over a half of a million dollars of income.

The puzzling thing is nobody really knows what happens to the bees. They simply disappear.

“There out there somewhere, out there on the ground dead,” said Miller.

Suspicion is they are simply too weak to survive leaving the hive and die.

Since it was recognized in 2006, colony collapse disorder has destroyed colonies at a rate of about 30 percent a year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Before that, losses were about 15 percent a year from pests and diseases. No one has determined its cause, but most researchers point to a combination of factors, including pesticide contamination, poor nutrition and bee diseases.

The shortage of bees has increased demand, and the price growers have to pay. Eggman said some growers are paying $220 per colony, way above what farmers used to pay. And, he said the theft of hives is also increasing.

Both men said it is not just commercial beekeepers who are seeing the drop off in bees.
“There used to be a lot of natural bees, but not as much,” said Eggman.

While almonds are most at risk, bees are used in a variety of crops, including blueberries, plums, alfalfa and more.

“Long term, if this continues, it will affect the food supply,” said Miller. “A third of the food you eat is directly or indirectly tied to bees,” he added.

In recent years, the Almond Board of California, which represents more than 6,000 growers, has poured $1.4 million into bee health research. The group also worked on alternatives to reduce growers’ reliance on honeybees, said Bob Curtis, associate director of agricultural affairs.

One is the so-called “self-compatible” almond tree, which can set nuts using pollen transferred among its own flowers, thereby needing fewer bees.

The group also is urging growers to plant forage to help sustain bees before and after almond pollination. And it’s exploring using blue orchard bees, which are solitary bees that do not live in hives but nest in small cavities, to augment the honeybee workforce. But building up those alternatives will take time.

Citrus pollination is not affected by the lack of bees, but the beekeepers would like a large supply of bees during the citrus bloom. It is during the bloom that bees produced the most and best honey. Honey was Tulare County’s 22nd highest valued ag commodity at $21.8 million in 2011. Pollination was the 28th highest valued ag commodity in the county that same year, with a value of $14.8 million.

http://www.mercurynews.com/rss/ci_22664366?source=rss

Iowa is known for its corn. Wisconsin for cheese. Texas, cattle.

But California is the nation’s leading farm state, something city dwellers don’t always remember when they think about where their food comes from. Now, a new reminder is about to hit the streets.

Starting next month, a commemorative “California Agriculture” license plate will begin appearing on vehicles across the Golden State. The plate, featuring a yellow sunburst rising over a pastoral green field of row crops with the words “Food, fiber, fuel, flora,” is California’s first new specialty license plate in 11 years.

Like similar plates that have raised millions for conservation work in Lake Tahoe and Yosemite, or coastal cleanups, veterans and children’s arts programs, the new plate will generate new cash for a nonprofit cause. Proceeds will go to the National FFA (formerly the Future Farmers of America), 4H and other agricultural education programs.

“We need new farmers in California because the average age of a farmer in our state is nearing 60, but the need to fill other jobs connected to farming is profound,” said Steve Lyle, a spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture. “We want young people to have all the educational opportunities they can.”

Changes in state law over the past decade have made it difficult to qualify new specialty plates. One provision requires that 7,500 people pre-order a new plate before it’s approved. Another rule requested by the California Highway Patrol requires smaller logos that won’t obscure license plate numbers — which many Californians say have made the specialty plates less attractive.

But the farm plate succeeded. About 8,300 people, in a campaign organized by the FFA and the California Agricultural Teachers Association, signed up for the plates, which cost $50 and $40 a year to renew. Many of the 67,000 high school students in 310 state FFA chapters sold plates in a grass-roots campaign.

“We were sweating bullets right up to the last week, and they came through. They worked their tails off to get this thing done,” said Jim Aschwanden, executive director of the California Agricultural Teachers Association in Elk Grove.

The new plates should raise the profile of agriculture, some people hope, and they might be embraced by foodies and other nonfarmers.

“I think you are going to see these on a lot more than pickup trucks,” said Jennifer Scheer, executive director of the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau in Morgan Hill.

The latest segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is “Exotic Greens,” a story about Asian produce farmers in the Central Valley.

http://deltafarmpress.com/ram-super-bowl-ad-raised-1-million-ffa-less-week

The Ram Truck brand pledged to make a donation to the National FFA Organization for every view of its two-minute “Farmer” Super Bowl video on the brand’s website, with the intent of generating $1 million.

It took less than a week to reach the 10 million view milestone equating to the $1 million donation. As of Feb. 14, the “Farmer” video had been viewed more than 18 million times at www.ramtrucks.com/keepplowing and www.youtube.com/ramtrucks and millions of more times on other sites.

“The compelling images in the video of America’s heartland mated with Harvey’s ‘So God Made a Farmer’ words resonated with viewers nationwide,” said Olivier Francois, chief marketing officer, Chrysler Group LLC. “We set out to create a call-to-action to support farmers and to recognize their place as the foundation of the American character and are gratified with the dialog the video sparked.”

“‘Farmer’ is about having America appreciate everything that farmers and farm families do on a daily basis and captures the hard work, determination and character of the farmer in all of us,” said Fred Diaz, president and CEO – Ram Truck Brand and Chrysler de Mexico. “We are so pleased and excited that this has touched the hearts and souls of so many people in a positive way.”

The video also launched the Ram Truck brand’s 2013 “The Year of the Farmer” campaign aimed at bringing national attention to the significance of the American farmer. The brand enhances its long-standing partnership with the National FFA Organization (formerly known as Future Farmers of America) with this year-long, multi-tiered initiative.

Together with agricultural equipment manufacturer Case IH, Farms.com and other brand partners, Ram set out to raise awareness and generate funds for FFA hunger relief efforts in local communities across America.

“Ram scored a major win for American agriculture and our producers and ranchers with its ‘Farmer’ Super Bowl commercial and has sharply elevated the image of agriculture in the public’s mind,” said National FFA Organization CEO Dr. Dwight Armstrong.

“This highly successful partnership with Ram through the National FFA Foundation has generated $1 million of new support for FFA that will be utilized to drive our ‘Feeding the World-Starting at Home’ initiative and other programs that will benefit our nearly 560,000 FFA members in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.”

The “Farmer” video was inspired by the stirring “So God Made a Farmer” tribute delivered by legendary radio broadcaster Paul Harvey and used as a national anthem in grassroots videos created by farm families. To honor American farmers, the Ram Truck brand set out to create even greater awareness, support and appreciation for farming families, communities and providers.

The brand commissioned 10 noted photographers to document American farm life, yielding a beautiful and comprehensive catalog of farming images. Many of these artful and compelling still images provide the visual mosaic for the video; Harvey’s passionate oration provides the narration.

The photographers shot images throughout the United States over the course of 25 days with 35 still photographs used in the video.

Many more of the commissioned images will appear in a book the Ram Truck brand plans to publish later this year, creating a beautiful and comprehensive collection of original agriculture, farming and family farm photography.

The book will provide a broad view of the agricultural community and lifestyle. Ram will contribute a portion of book proceeds to agriculture and hunger related efforts across the country.

Additional details and timing for the book are still being finalized.

CDFA secretary Karen Ross, seated far left, congratulates Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo president Jeffrey Armstrong at the signing of a partnership agreement with California Strawberry Commission president Victor Ramirez, seated second from right. Seated at the far right is is Cal-EPA secretary Matt Rodriquez.

Yesterday (February 19) at the State Capitol, CDFA secretary Karen Ross joined the California Strawberry Commission and other agricultural organizations, representatives of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, and members of the state legislature for the signing of an agreement to create the Strawberry Sustainability Research and Education Center at Cal Poly.

The center is a first-of-its-kind concept that will focus on applied research to keep strawberry farming viable in California and also provide Cal Poly faculty and students with ongoing instructional opportunities.