# NYT CCD article featuring R. Adee



## Maybee Apiaries (Jun 23, 2016)

Barry Digman said:


> Here's an article about the impact of CCD on the largest operator in the country:
> 
> https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/16/...e-crisis-in-his-field.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0


Interesting article. 

He doesn't think that trucking hives around the county, from one monoculture to another, wringing out pollination duties from his bees, has anything to do with his losses? 

And as far as I know, there is still money to be made in the honey inusty, albeit a slump lately. Hungry huge corporate beekeeping operations should not be the face of the inustry. 
I've always believed if you do what best for the bees, you will be rewarded.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Wow, 92,000 hives!


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Same old, same old. No federal insurance program? Actually, if you lose more than 17% of your bees, the federal government pays you something like [email protected] for replacements. 

The way I see it, if the migratories are losing large numbers of their colonies after pollinating, it's an expense of doing business. I'm not saying that it doesn't hurt, and I truly am sorry for their losses, but at $200/colony for pollination and then $65 for any colonies that are lost, I think they should stop complaining. If a truckload is 450 colonies and the loss rate is 44%...as reported by the VanEnglesdorp lab...you do the math.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

This statement left me wondering who actually received the 2 billion dollars and where the 10 million hive replacements came from. 


"A year later, the Agriculture Department estimated that beekeepers had spent $2 billion to replace the 10 million hives they had lost in the six years since bee colonies first began experiencing declines."


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

I think someone is counting both fingers and toes to get those numbers...


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## johno (Dec 4, 2011)

Ya well I guess I will never make the big time like you commercials seeing as I could not lose 40% of my hives like you commercials, that's what Addee says.
Johno


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

jim lyon said:


> This statement left me wondering who actually received the 2 billion dollars and where the 10 million hive replacements came from.
> 
> 
> "A year later, the Agriculture Department estimated that beekeepers had spent $2 billion to replace the 10 million hives they had lost in the six years since bee colonies first began experiencing declines."


The way I read it Jim, nbody received, it came from the beekeepers pocket. It cost them $200/hive to replace the lost ones. They came fro within th industry, either from their own, or from another acquired outfit.

Maybee, the Adee's have been in the bee business since the depression. Whether or not trucking them from A to B is the best or not for bees is not the point. Their claim is that until very recently, industry losses were in the 10-15%, the Adee's losses were 3-7%. The trucking part did not change. They were trucking them for a long time. They started almond pollination in 1990 because of the Chinese. So sure there is money to be in the honey business but it is not being made by the beekeepers today. The Chinese problem has never really gone away and it put the whole industry up against a wall. Tofield is a 135 pound to maybe 200 in a very good year. So yeah, you have a fighting chance if honey prices recover quickly. I think the mid west is now more in the 60-70 pound range.

As far as doing what is best for the bees, they are doing what they have to in order to survive. Without pollination they would have no bees.

Johno- That's the point. It is not sustainable. 

MP- I think the Adee's and others are suing the EPA, so I guess they have stopped complaining and are taking action.

Jean-Marc


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

Oh yes, I almost forgot OldTimer, 92 000 is impressive. There are very, very few people that could manage this and keep it afloat even if it was given to them. Hats off to him and the family.

Jean-Marc


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## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

Somewhere in the 1990s Richard Adee was invited to the Oregon State Beekeepers Association fall conference to talk about their operation.
At that time, they had 70,000 hives.
Richard walked up to the podium after being introduced and said, " I am Richard Adee and we run seventy thousand hives."
From that point on, he continually blew every one in attendance away with the sheer scale of the Adee operation.
I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but that was the most impressive beekeeping presentation I have ever seen to date.
Total, jaw dropping massive scale.
That is one presentation I will never forget.


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## Maybee Apiaries (Jun 23, 2016)

jean-marc said:


> The way I read it Jim, nbody received, it came from the beekeepers pocket. It cost them $200/hive to replace the lost ones. They came fro within th industry, either from their own, or from another acquired outfit.
> 
> Maybee, the Adee's have been in the bee business since the depression. Whether or not trucking them from A to B is the best or not for bees is not the point. Their claim is that until very recently, industry losses were in the 10-15%, the Adee's losses were 3-7%. The trucking part did not change. They were trucking them for a long time. They started almond pollination in 1990 because of the Chinese. So sure there is money to be in the honey business but it is not being made by the beekeepers today. The Chinese problem has never really gone away and it put the whole industry up against a wall. Tofield is a 135 pound to maybe 200 in a very good year. So yeah, you have a fighting chance if honey prices recover quickly. I think the mid west is now more in the 60-70 pound range.
> 
> ...


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## Bee Arthur (Mar 21, 2015)

Dude with 92,000 hives complains of neonics and CCD, but makes no mention of varroa mites after losing nearly 50% of his colonies. Hmmm...sounds like this guy needs to retire so he doesn't keep killing 40,000 colonies each year.

At least the Penn State bee expert brought up mites.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

I'm not here to criticize the Adee's my family has know them since the 60's. They are honorable people and have done a lot for the industry. I would neither want to or have any idea how to go about managing that many hives. My point is that any article that talks about large purchases of replacement bees should at least question where the heck the replacements are coming from, we are talking about the New York Times here and not Mother Earth News. Is there or isn't there a bee crisis? If someone is buying bees then someone somewhere must be making some good money selling them.....or am I missing something.


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

Jean Marc,

You know my averages better than I do. Lol.[/QUOTE]

Hehe, well 99 days growing season, you had better chop chop and get er done.

Bee Arthur, I am pretty sure the Adee's are fully aware of varroa. Just because there was no mention of them in the article means what? Afterall Adee is the beekeeper not the newspaperman who wrote the article.

Are you suggesting it was varroa? Amitraz resistance? It could be possible. If he does retire, it would not be the first varroa induced early retirement.

Jean-Marc


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## Bee Arthur (Mar 21, 2015)

jean-marc said:


> Bee Arthur, I am pretty sure the Adee's are fully aware of varroa. Just because there was no mention of them in the article means what? Afterall Adee is the beekeeper not the newspaperman who wrote the article.


You're right. It's possible it could've just been selective reporting.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

There is a history of them attributing everything to CCD, not varroa.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

90,000 hives sitting in a 3000 acre pasture... poor cows ...


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## johno (Dec 4, 2011)

Hey guys just saw an article from Buzzkill, 40% loss is not too bad they have my state VA as greater than 50%loss per year. Hell if I lose 10% they will hear me squawking all the way down in Richmond, yet I make more than 100% increases every year. I think a lot of stats are being skewed by the one hive keeper who loses his hive and has a 100% loss.
Johno


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

Like Mr. Lyon, our family has known the Adee's since at least the 60's. They are no dummies. You do not become the largest in the country by being stupid. I would guess that, at their skill level, mits are not a problem. To be honest, mites rank way below pesticides, queen failures, and forage issues in our world.

Crazy Roland
Linden Apiary, est. 1852


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

**** those farmers


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

It ain't the farmers Ian, it's the corporate world that has their own agenda pushing their products on them. 

Anyways I don't know the Adee's personally but you don't get to have 92 000 hives by being dummies or lucky. I think maybe I could do 10 000 hives but their number is just so incredible. Them boys best have ice in their veins. Surely they must at that number. Just the numbers for budgeting purposes must be mind bending. Feeding 1 gallon to each hive would require 16 loads of syrup based on 6000 U.S. gallons/load. We get 5000 Imperial gallons on a triaxle load. We were paying as much as 23 000 cdn load last year for sucrose. That works out to $368 000.00 for 1 feeding, before the cost of fuel and manpower to do it. I think these kinds of numbers would be incredibly intimidating for all, seeing as how they are the only ones in that league. 

Jean-Marc


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

I'm sure, I'm sure, 
Figuring the logistics around sizeable operations interest me, actually logistics around all types of operations interest me.

90,000 bees chill out on 3000 acre pasture h, ...


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## B&E (Dec 27, 2011)

It's a nice "collection of hives" .

I'm with the crazy frenchman...theyre no dummies. I can't imagine managing bees in 5 or 6 states at once with 100 guys.


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## tomg15 (Feb 15, 2017)

65 dollars per replacement? Where is this info?


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## Riverderwent (May 23, 2013)

tomg15 said:


> 65 dollars per replacement? Where is this info?


Is this what they are referring to: www.fsa.usda.gov/Assets/USDA-FSA-Public/usdafiles/FactSheets/2016/2016_elap_for_honeybee.pdf


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## svtkpr (Mar 16, 2011)

Does any body know whats in those tanks that are in the bee yard? If they are buying out other operations it maybe cheaper dollar wise, but what problems are they inheriting? If someone is selling out there is usually a reason why.


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## James Kellie (Oct 30, 2010)

thanks


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## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

HarryVanderpool said:


> Richard walked up to the podium after being introduced and said, " I am Richard Adee and we run seventy thousand hives."


So Harry, you still have one more than Bret? lol


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## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

Oldtimer said:


> There is a history of them attributing everything to CCD, not varroa.


CCD... When was the last time there was a confirmed case of this? To me, upon hearing CCD many folks automatically blame the agro industry. Then the bashing of Monsanto/Bayer, greed, monoculture, etc. start and discussions of fund raising and banning XYZ start kicking in. Varroa? Much less sexy and pretty cut and dried. No cause de'celeb and no one gets to ban diddle and no funds get raised.


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## wildbranch2007 (Dec 3, 2008)

D Coates said:


> CCD... When was the last time there was a confirmed case of this? To me, upon hearing CCD many folks automatically blame the agro industry. Then the bashing of Monsanto/Bayer, greed, monoculture, etc. start and discussions of fund raising and banning XYZ start kicking in. Varroa? Much less sexy and pretty cut and dried. No cause de'celeb and no one gets to ban diddle and no funds get raised.


beautiful synopses :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## Bkwoodsbees (Feb 8, 2014)

D Coates , you nailed it.


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

Keith Jarrett said:


> So Harry, you still have one more than Bret? lol


Heck, if they suffered 40% losses, he may have 2 more hives than the Adee's.


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## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

JRG13 said:


> Heck, if they suffered 40% losses, he may have 2 more hives than the Adee's.


Thanks JRG!

So how do you like those little apples, Keith?


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