# Sideliners and commercial beeks beware



## broodhead (May 30, 2009)

Aftermath of the 2013 orange blossom kill off has brought corporate grove owners to eliminate beeks from placing hives in citrus groves for 2014. Several of the large growers have notified beeks that they will not be allowed back next year to collect honey. The reason stems from grove operators and production managers being held liable for killing hives because of out of label spraying of nics during the bloom season. Out of label means that the application was illegal due to the time of application. Ben Hill Griffin Corp. was the one that was caught and fined by the state for illegal application. There were others who practice the same policy, but by not allowing beeks back can now scoot under the radar and spray whenever they want without regard to the product application guidelines.
This is extremely disturbing and will have consequences down the road. Hopefully the EPA, and the Florida Dept of Agriculture will more closely monitor spray records and application practices to put the heat on these companies to comply with safe application practices.


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## Bill Russell (Aug 12, 2006)

This is another example of beekeepers being their own worst enemy. The Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs is not going to more EFFECTIVELY monitor applications. One of my growers who manage 50,000 acres has notified me of their change in bee policy. I am sympathetic to their situation. They only significantly benefit from pollination for a couple of small acreage varieties and are exposed to economic risk. One of the sad parts of this whole situation is that there has been discussion that attempts to control the psyliad were pointless at this point because greening has become so widespread. Pysliad control has been the biggest threat to honeybees. Its my understanding that a few sideliners and a Georgia beekeeper who have no skin in the game stirred this all up.
If I owned 50,000 acres and it was important to get it sprayed during a very small window to be effective I wouldn't want a beekeeper,who I didn't need, to delay management practices.


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## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

Bill Russell said:


> This is another example of beekeepers being their own worst enemy. .


Very well said,Bill.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Bill Russell said:


> If I owned 50,000 acres and it was important to get it sprayed during a very small window to be effective I wouldn't want a beekeeper,who I didn't need, to delay management practices.


thats the rub, that is exactly the point.


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## Honey-4-All (Dec 19, 2008)

Keith Jarrett said:


> Very well said,Bill.


Nothing like hanging yourself on a dying tree I guess. 

Between this and the onslaught of Huanglongbing in the Florida citrus regions I looks like the handwriting is on the wall. If I was there I would surely be looking for a way to have another SON. ( source of nectar) As we all know commercial beekeepers end up in bed with a lot of strange people. This is just another perfect example of how one of our mistress's can dump us in a heartbeat.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

I just did a little reaserch on Pysliad control. Apparently these pests are hard to target, so contact insecticides are not an option for control, leaving systemic insecticides the most useful option. 
The use of systemic insecticides buys the grower many more application options than with the use of contact insecticides. Growers have to consider all the surrounding consequences to their treatment applications otherwise people's livelihoods will be compromised. And if neighbours do not consider neighbours in part I'd their management strategy then we are all in trouble

and that consideration also applies to beekeepers... so we have to find the compromise here, dont we
this situation is no different than here on the prairies, in vast acreage of blooming crop


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## broodhead (May 30, 2009)

Management practices are those that are in compliant with label application guidelines!
When the label indicates that there should be no application during the bloom period then you should follow the application guidelines. Spraying nics like Admire during a full bloom certainly is not management practices. The problem here is cost of production, Admire cost about 5 bucks per acre compared to other acceptable applications at a much higher cost. 
Oh well, it is what it is.


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

The other problem with systemics is depending on how fast transmission is, the insect feeds, vectors the disease, then dies....


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

>>Oh well, it is what it is.<<

Yes, they have to follow the label, the problem with Beekeepers suing growers is that it provides bad relations with all growers. Then they all kick off Beekeepers, and all Beekeepers loose, and your not going to have to worry about the citrus bloom spraying practices anyway. 

So what ya going to do about it? I have it figured out here, do you know how I did it???


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## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

broodhead said:


> Management practices are those that are in compliant with label application guidelines!
> .


Yeah.... Taktic comes to mind...... Oooops. 



Hey.... stop throwing rocks in the glass house Billy, your liable to break some glass or something. LOL


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

It is rather ironic, considering what they find in hives these days that beekeepers put there.....


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## ryan (Apr 3, 2010)

OK Ian I'll bite. What did you do?

I'll tell you what I did. I told all my farmers to spray what you want, when you want to, and don't mess with calling me anymore. 

Limited bee locations is a problem for beekeepers. Lets get that Canadian border opened up!!!!!!


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## Trevor Mansell (Jan 16, 2005)

My house and shop is in the middle of an orange grove ,Im surrounded by miles of groves. I see the helicopters and the planes fly over from time to time. I keep about 200-500 nucs in my backyard and load and unload semis from here every spring . I never see any bee kills ,no piles of dead bees. I wonder if all these people that are complaining are the same ones who are suffering from CCD every year?


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## Mbeck (Apr 27, 2011)

I guess guys will start looking for spots near groves if they can't be in the grove.

How do you think this phone call will go?

Beekeeper: Hello Mr. Grove Owner/Manager I know you don't allow hives in your groves any longer because you don't trust beekeeper. I have bees near your grove can you let me know when and what you spray before you do it?


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## Mbeck (Apr 27, 2011)

Honey-4-All said:


> If I was there I would surely be looking for a way to have another SON. ( source of nectar).


Maybe there is something blooming in California right around that time?


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## RAK (May 2, 2010)

Keith Jarrett said:


> Yeah.... Taktic comes to mind...... Oooops.


Good stuff.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

ryan said:


> OK Ian I'll bite. What did you do?


ask them to tell me when they are spraying, so I can move my hives when they spray
they spray here too Ryan,


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## broodhead (May 30, 2009)

Mbeck said:


> I guess guys will start looking for spots near groves if they can't be in the grove.
> 
> How do you think this phone call will go?
> 
> Beekeeper: Hello Mr. Grove Owner/Manager I know you don't allow hives in your groves any longer because you don't trust beekeeper. I have bees near your grove can you let me know when and what you spray before you do it?


That happened last season and the production manager told me about it a few months back. Same beekeeper call and hung up on the manager when the discussion was not going his way. No wonder we have a problem.


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## ryan (Apr 3, 2010)

I get that Canada uses spray. My point is/was too many beekeepers with too many bees is more of a problem than spray at times.

Any desire to move to Canada would be to get away from other bee keepers, not spray. "our own worst enemy"


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## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

ryan said:


> My point is/was too many beekeepers with too many bees is more of a problem than spray at times.


Well said Ryan, & don't leave out the mites. lol


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