By TROY FORE

ABF Executive Director

Strong words were shared at a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on the health of pollinators, but only time will tell whether rhetoric turns into relief.

The ABF Legislative Committee had been working toward the new Farm Bill for more than two years when it finally became law on June 18 with a veto override.

The legislation contains a variety of provisions that could be a boon to beekeepers, including specific authorizations for beekeeping research, especially for CCD; inclusion of honey bees and other pollinators in cultural practices for conservation programs; listing honey bees in a disaster relief program; and requiring a study of crop insurance to cover the loss of bees.

The provision that offers the most immediate help for beekeepers provides honey bee researchers access to the Specialty Crop Research Initiative. The initiative mandates funding totaling $230 million over the five years of the Farm Bill. Although the proposed legislation did not initially provide for bee research, the beekeeping industry was able to convince the House Agriculture Committee to include “efforts to identify and address threats from pests and diseases, including threats to specialty crop pollinators” as a research goal of the initiative.