The Value of the Beekeeping Industry to Agriculture

Originally printed in BioAg World Digest.
From the Editor, Jerry Hayes

This is 2022 and at the end of the day it’s all about data/numbers, isn’t it? Two hundred years ago, one billion people were on the earth according to ourworldindata.org.

As I write this, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of the U.S. has 332,479,038 hungry people with a net gain of one person every 38 seconds. The world population is 7,875,805,340 and growing. The UN is forecasting that by 2050, the world population will be 9,735,033,900.

The UN estimates that 68% of the global population is in urban areas. That is a lot of people who require housing, electricity, transportation, water, sewage disposal and regular meals. Cityscapes are resource ‘black holes,’ however they are also the most efficient way to “house” people.

That means as populations increase, spread out and absorb agricultural areas, the remaining arable earth must exhibit phenomenal efficiency accompanied by parallel production agriculture crop protection accompanied by food safety. Considering all these factors as well as the “wild card” of climate change, finding a market while growing sales will become increasingly more challenging.

That is where bioag can play a significant positive role.

I am a beekeeper. Honey bees are a masterpiece of nature. As a result of my love and fascination of them, I have been associated with managed honey bees and the beekeeping industry while active in business, government, and media.

Here are some facts about the value of managed honey bees:

“Many of our fruits, vegetables, and nuts are reliant upon pollinators for their production. In fact, without pollinators, 70% of plants would be unable to reproduce or provide food. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, of the 100 crop varieties that provide 90% of the world’s food, 71 are pollinated by bees. In North America, honey bees alone pollinate nearly 95 kinds of fruits, such as almonds, avocados, cranberries, and apples, in addition to commodity crops like soy. The health of pollinators is directly linked to food security. Pollination services are a core component of global agricultural production. In the U.S., the value of pollination services is estimated to be $20-30 billion annually.”

~‘Impacts on Food Supply,’ Center for Food Safety

“Three out of four crops across the globe producing fruits or seeds for human use, as food, depend at least in part, on pollinators.

Improving pollinator density and diversity boosts crop yields – pollinators affect 35 percent of global agricultural land, supporting the production of 87 of the leading food crops worldwide.

Pollinator-dependent food products contribute to healthy diets and nutrition.

Safeguarding bees safeguards biodiversity: the vast majority of pollinators are wild, including over 20,000 species of bees.

FAO plays a leading role in facilitating and coordinating the International Pollinators Initiative 2.0.”

~UN FAO, ‘Why Bees Matter’

“Many areas of agriculture depend on pollinators. Scientists estimate that 200,000 – 350,000 different animal species help with pollination, from birds to bats, marsupials to monarch butterflies. But when it comes to the majority of crops around our globe, we have honey bees to thank. Pollinators are critical to the food system as we know it, but can we quantify their value? It turns out, maybe we can.

Every season, pollination from honey bees, native bees, and flies deliver billions of dollars (U.S.) in economic value. Between $235 and $577 billion (U.S.) worth of annual global food production relies on their contribution. With such an impact on the economy, it begs the question: if these critical insects were public companies, how might they stack up in the global marketplace?

Managed honey bees are the most valuable pollinators in terms of agricultural economics. These hyper efficient insects can provide pollination to virtually any crop. Almonds, for example, are almost entirely dependent upon honey bee pollination. Without honey bees, the harvest of blueberries, squash, watermelon, and other fruits would be greatly reduced, driving up prices and disrupting the marketplace. According to the USDA, one colony of honey bees is worth 100 times more to the community than to the beekeeper — meaning the value they deliver extends well beyond their actual price. Honey is more than just a by-product of pollination. This sweet nectar serves as an economic driver in its own right. Used commercially for food, skin creams, anti-aging lotions, and medical wound dressings, over 160 million pounds of honey are produced each year in the U.S. alone. In 2013, the honey crop was valued at over $300 million (U.S.).

Beeswax produced by these insects is used for candles, carpentry, lip balm and other cosmetic products while pollen is valued for medicinal purposes. Propolis, a resinous sealant created by bees to construct and protect the bees from bacteria and fungi, serves as a varnish for stringed musical instruments, and in some countries a toothpaste or mouthwash.

Agricultural leaders understand both the economic and ecological importance of pollinators. Each season these insects provide a service that boosts harvest size and quality, creates value for farmers, and drives the global food supply. It’s hard to imagine an ecosystem without them.

Without pollinators, more than 39 different crops would see a decline in production. In order to meet demand, farmers would be forced to pursue more intensive and less environmentally sustainable practices. More land would likely be needed to match current production levels. Farming these greater land masses would result in greater carbon emissions from the increased operation of tractors and other machinery. And by expanding the physical footprint of farms, organisms in wild habitats would risk being displaced or disrupted.

These tiny insects play a large role in the preservation of our ecosystem and economy, helping agriculture grow enough while using fewer natural resources.”

~Forbes, ‘The Value of Pollinators To The Ecosystem and Our Economy’

There it is.

I am going to assume that you have been aware of the pest, parasite, disease, and environmental stressors that managed honey bees have had for the last three decades or so. This starts with the introduction of varroa mites to the United States in 1987 and Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD, described in 2006.

At that time, I was the Chief of the Apiary Section for the Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Beekeepers reported these unusual honey bee colony deaths in Florida to me. I remember being on a call late one night with representatives from USDA, Universities, State Government and other entities. We didn’t know what was causing these deaths, so we named it Colony Collapse Disorder – a disorder because we had no clue as to the reason. What we learned was that the invasive honey bee parasitic mite, Varroa destructor, was one of the prime causes. As the parasitic Varroa mite fed on all life stages of the honey bee, it also vectored damaging viruses.

The only control option, at that time (and even now) are pesticides introduced into the honey bee colony to try to kill or damage a “little bug” (varroa) on a “big bug” (honey bee). The “dose makes the poison,” so these varroacides are dosed to impact the Varroa mite but not show “acute damage” to the honey bees. But collateral damage has been noted from residues in the colony overtime. Unfortunately, we as beekeepers have no choice. If Varroa mites are left uncontrolled, colonies will be dead in 18 months as they continue to weaken from the effects of the parasites. Diseases and secondary pests also plague colonies making honey bee management post 1987 much more difficult than before.

The Bee Informed Partnership (BIP) conducts an annual survey of managed honey bee colony losses. Here is the latest from their report.
“Over the entire year (1 April 2020 – 1 April 2021), beekeepers in the United States lost an estimated 45.5% of their managed honey bee colonies. This is the second highest annual loss on record, 1.8 pp higher than last year’s estimated annual loss (43.7%), and a 6.1 pp increase over the average loss rate (39.4%) over the last 10 years.”

~ Bee Informed

Let’s say you are in production agriculture. And let’s fantasize that you are fighting uncontrolled pests, parasites, diseases and environmental inputs causing you to lose 40% of ‘your crop’ every year. Think about it. Imagine losing 40% of a herd of cattle or 40% of your yield of corn, 40% of fruit production. What would you do? Who would you reach out to?

This is where bioag solutions can positively help the situation, resulting on an increased awareness and willingness to collaborate with beekeepers. The value of managed honey bees as the only viable pollinator for production agriculture, has been devalued for too long.

The managed beekeeping industry needs you – it is critical for you and them. Many organizations have made attempts to bridge gaps in understanding between the beekeeping industry, big ag, government agencies and the public but consistent, sustainable momentum has been missing. If we all work together, we can make beekeeping and pollinator dependent agriculture more successful – and more biologically friendly – for the long term.