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COLUMBIA CITY - Local farmer Wade Bennett lost 50 percent of his bees this past winter. They didn't die; just up and disappeared.
Bennett, one of Columbia City Farmers Market's favorite and long-standing producers, isn't a beekeeper by trade, but necessity. He and his wife, Judy, own Rockridge Farms in Enumclaw, a 41-acre spread packed with 12 different varieties of heirloom apples, 17 kinds of pears, 12 types of cucumbers, three kinds of watermelon and much more.
While bees are responsible for pollinating up to one-third of the fruits, vegetables and nuts Americans consume, a major report issued last year from the National Academy of Sciences warns that - due to an increase in development and disease - bees and other important pollinators like birds, bats and butterflies are on the decline.
Indeed, with America's bee population cut down by as much as 50 percent in the last half century, many commercial beekeepers have begun shipping their bees around the country so they can be in the right place at the right time for the farmers who need them. Migrant beekeepers in the west make up to 75 percent of their annual income traveling throughout California, Oregon and Washington pollinating massive crops of almonds, cherries, apples and pears.
But bees aren't the only pollen-related things in decline. According to Bennett, thanks to a major decrease in agriculture in his area over the years, he can't get commercial beekeepers to visit his relatively small farm at the foot of Mount Rainier where almost everything he grows needs pollinating.
Not easily discouraged, Bennett started raising his own bees to help put the blooms on his crops. And while he expects to lose a small percentage of his bees to natural causes each year, he was stunned to open his hives this year and find 50 percent of his bees gone.
"They just vanished," he said. "It's a very sad year,"
The disappearance is particularly strange since it seems to have happened in mid-winter when bees are usually very lethargic. But Bennett isn't the only one wondering where all the bees have gone. Beekeepers in almost 30 states in this country, as well as Canada, Brazil and parts of Europe opened their hives earlier this spring only to find them completely empty.
While the disappearance so far seems most widespread on the east coast, northwest beekeepers are starting to feel the sting as well. When Bennett discovered that his bees had quit the hive en masse for no apparent reason, he was forced to purchase new hives from California and Hawaii.
In fact, since November 2006, United States beekeepers have lost up to five-times more bees than usually succumb to death by natural causes. The mysterious decline in colonies means a loss of 25 percent of the nation's bees. Experts are calling the disturbing malady "colony collapse disorder," and some are afraid that it marks the beginning of potential extinction.
Others, like Bennett, say that while the disappearance is indeed troubling, the doomsday predictions are premature.
"It's not the end of the world," said Bennett. "Nature always seems to find a way to persevere."
But the U.S. House of Representatives isn't so sure. Earlier this spring, the massive disappearance prompted a hearing by the House agriculture panel, in which several farmers, beekeepers and scientists expressed concern. They told the House subcommittee that if honeybee populations in the U.S. continue to deteriorate at such an alarming rate, the effect on America's 90 flowering crops, including alfalfa, which cattle feed on - and ultimately the nation's food supply - could be dramatic.
Rockridge Orchards and Cidery is located in Enumclaw at the foot of Mount Rainier. The farm offers a unique blend of exotic fruits and vegetables, craft hard and soft ciders. Owners Wade and Judy Bennett can be found selling their wares at the Columbia City Farmers Market every Wednesday through October. Visit them on the web at http://rockridgeorchards.com.
Mount Baker writer Amber Campbell may be reached via editor@sdistrictjournal.com.[[In-content Ad]]
