We have long been advocates of educating the next generation on the honey bee and William & Mary is incorporating a new program that will do just that. The University is partnering up with KelRae Farm to incorporate honey into its student dining menus. The hives producing the honey will also be integrated into the…
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All of a sudden, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has become the honey bee’s biggest advocate in Washington D.C. After appearing in Upstate New York last week, Schumer appears to have a new affection for the honey bee. The problem was brought to his attention during that appearance and Schumer vowed to help the state’s agriculture…
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South Dakota is regularly among the biggest contributors to the honey industry in the United States. It is also among the leaders in the pollination industry, so any untypical loss in honey bees is going to set the state back considerably. Due to the significant loss of hives over the last year, the entire country…
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A local honey store in Polk County, FLA, Struther’s Honey, caught a small honey-theft ring on tape and now the local sheriff’s office is looking for help to lock up the culprits. The store is putting a lot of faith in its customers by allowing them to pay on the honor system. While the “thieves”…
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Lately, it seems like all we have been reporting is negative news, but that, unfortunately, is the state of the industry right now. The honey production numbers from Wisconsin are finally in and once again, it is not good news. Wisconsin hit a 10-year low in 2018, producing a total of 2.3 million pounds. This…
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The drive to cash in on the honey craze has been taken too far too often by some honey providers. In the case of Evergreen Life and company manager Tak Yoon Lee, it meant some extremely heavy fines. According to reports, the company was fined $260,000 and Lee himself was fined an additional $112,500. Trying…
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Colony collapse disorder has proven to be a significant challenge for beekeepers all over the world, but France appears to be getting hit especially hard. Over the last two weeks, we have seen reports throughout the United States of massive losses over this past winter, and now France is adding to the numbers. Continued Problems…
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Sadly, it seems as though every time another report comes out on the state of the honey bee, it is just more bad news. A new survey released by the Bee Informed Partnership (BIP) is offering more of the same. According to the group’s latest survey, U.S. beekeepers are estimated to have lost roughly 40…
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As more and more states start to report their 2018 production numbers, there is a very clear trend that honey production is far lower than usual. Wisconsin is yet another state reporting declining production, but the situation is far more serious than just this past year. This is now the third straight year where production…
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The honey industry in the United States has taken quite a hit over the last couple of years. While a recent international study showed a 16 percent decline in colonies, the number here in the states is almost double that. The U.S. Department of Agriculture cites the decline at roughly 30 percent here in the…
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We have seen reports of declining honey production throughout the United States, but one state, in particular, seems to be getting hit extremely hard. The numbers for 2018 were just released for Wisconsin and it is not good. According to the National Agriculture Statistics Service, honey production in Wisconsin was down 23 percent from the…
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Beekeepers in South Carolina are asking for some cooperation from residents. As bee season kicks into high gear, they are begging residents to leave the bees alone. Call for help if you must, but do not kill off the local bee population. Big Problems Most people do not realize how vital bees are to the…
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According to a team of researchers from the University of California in San Diego, a pesticide that has been deemed safe for honey bees may actually endanger certain demographics of these bees, especially if it is used alongside other chemicals, such as fungicides. Sivanto, which was developed by the company Bayer CropScience AG, has been…
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A team of researchers from Australia have found a method for differentiating honey based on geographical origins, which could help in preventing common adulteration issues regarding honey. According to this study, honey ranks among the world’s most adulterated foods, with many common practices for this including adding corn syrup or cane sugar to it or…
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Thanks to a group of researchers from University College London (UCL) and Imperial College London (ICL), there is now a new possible method for authenticating honey via microscopy and machine learning. This technique, discussed in a paper published by arXiv, can detect mislabeled or diluted honey at costs far lower than current methods. Honey, the…
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Despite four different final goodbyes by his owners, Adrian and Kyla Harris, a very lucky hound from England has proven everyone wrong and pulled through after he previously scorched himself with hot, burning fat. After the July 4 accident, where the Harris’s lemon beagle, Mylo, pulled a deep fryer from their kitchen countertop, the worried…
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These days, rather than inspecting beehives by hand, beekeepers and other industry insiders are leaning more toward new high-quality sensors for monitoring commercial honey bees. Basically, this shift means honey bees, which have seen declining numbers for over a decade now, can get the full attention of the keepers working hard to keep them healthy…
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According to the Department of Health Services in the state of Texas, parents of infant children as well as other adults were warned about giving certain pacifiers to babies, specifically those containing honey. This warning came as a result of four babies in that state becoming sick with botulism and then being treated for it…
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One Israeli farmer has begun cashing in through an exotic honey he’s made from one of the rarer types of trees in Israel that can produce frankincense—a once highly-valued resin long praised in the Bible. The Balm of Gilead—the name of the farm owned by Guy Erlich—is the home of roughly 1,000 of these rare…
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As most homeowners and renters will tell you, taking care of a rat problem is no easy feat and can take weeks to finally eradicate. To fix their rat or mouse problem, many opt for snap traps, sticky pads, poison (if there are no pets present in the house), or even live-catch traps. However, for…
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When a hive has grown so large that it must divide its numbers to survive, one half leaves with a new queen in tow to find a new place to build a hive and call home. However, while honey bees can usually find sufficient spots out in the wild to set up shop, they sometimes…
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Whether you know her for her early work in Blue Velvet or Wild at Heart, her starring role in Jurassic Park, or her recent, award worthy work, including a supporting role in HBO’s Big Little Lies that won her an Emmy and a Golden Globe, Laura Dern is an actress who has earned our attention…
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Within the past few weeks, it was reported that a swarm of roughly 30,000 honey bees had descended upon a Times Square hot dog stand, which is a very public place for a vulnerable group of bees to settle. Fortunately, this story doesn’t end tragically with someone calling the exterminator; instead, a friendly face came…
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It’s often surprising to see the type of things criminals will attempt to steal in bulk, and police in Victoria, Australia have certainly been in for a strange one in the last couple of weeks. Police uncovered an unprecedentedly huge stash of vitamins and baby formula inside of a truck that had been reported stolen—just…
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Residents in the small Western Australian town of Wadpole are pledging to fight off a scandalous proposal that has conservationists worried about its potential for damaging the area’s ecology and contaminating drinking supplies. Through a deal between ManukaLife, a honey producer, and a company simply called the Water Corporation, land in the possession of the…
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Being the home of Manuka honey, it’s always good to hear about the various ways the island country of New Zealand is expanding this crucial industry. Last Friday, in Northland, New Zealand, the first Manuka trees of over a half million were planted, with the goal being for them to contribute to the government’s export…
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With popular honey like Manuka honey being in relatively short supply, it’s not uncommon to hear about counterfeit honeys made to look like such honeys in order to capitalize on the profitable industry. A recent study on Australian honey, which contains its own pollen signature as most honeys do, determined that this type of honey—and…
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While the state of Hawaii has been in the news for more visibly upsetting reasons in the past few months, a study conducted recently revealed something else to be concerned with in the Aloha State. Specifically, it’s been revealed that a significant amount of honey within Hawaii’s Garden Isle has tested positively for RoundUp, the…
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In recent months, honey and maple syrup producers from the state of Maine have been fighting a US Senate proposal to add a confusing “added sugar” label to all their products, a distinction that could be false in its vague presentation. However, these businesses can rest a bit more easily for now, as an amendment…
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Trader Joe’s, a grocery chain famed for selling food items from all over the world, has been accused of cutting jars of novelty Manuka honey with less expensive varieties and then selling the product as pure, an alleged act that has resulted in a lawsuit. “While the demand for Manuka honey has increased, the supply…
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Soon after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its plans to implement a requirement that pure honey and maple syrup must carry the label “added sugar,” they stated they were reconsidering the plan altogether. As to the reason behind this, maple syrup producers, especially those in Vermont, rallied hard against the FDA’s plan,…
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According to the watchdog consumer group Hong Kong Consumer Council, nine brands of Manuka honey sold within the territory, including a brand that bills honey at over $165 per jar, were discovered to have included other sweeteners in their products, such as cane sugar. This finding came after the watchdog group tested 35 different honey…
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AgriFutures Australia, a trading name for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), is an organization that specializes in investment for new, emerging industries affecting agriculture that currently don’t have a developed research function. In their quest to develop Australian agricultural industries, AgriFutures recently highlighted 26 in particular they deem to be priorities, with…
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Despite all the focus that’s been placed on honeybees in the last few years, specifically how their populations have declined significantly, there are still those out there who see them and other bee species as pests and a nuisance. In Johnson County, Kentucky, one man, Jason Conley, has made it his mission to protect bees…
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With beekeeping becoming as popular as it has and the Manuka honey market only going up, it’s unsurprising that more people are admitting to joining the industry, whether it’s as a hobbyist or as a professional apiarist. However, it’s likely still surprising to hear about young people, even those outside of typical farming communities, jumping…
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“Button batteries,” also called coin cell batteries, are shiny, small little objects that feel tingly to the tongue. For toddlers, unfortunately, that puts these batteries into the “belongs inside my mouth” category, and swallowed button batteries can burn holes through a child’s esophagus within hours, leading to pain, serious injury, and even complications that could…
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Back in March of this year, the Australian Manuka Honey Association (AMHA) was awarded a grant from the country’s federal government to expand its place in the international market for the novelty honey. Now, the AMHA has received even more support—this time from heavyweights in the country’s honey industry. Specifically, the Australian Honeybee Industry Council recently…
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With Manuka honey growing in popularity every year, the number of stories detailing thefts of the novelty honey in various parts of the world are growing just as much. Adding to the trend is a story out of Ireland featuring stolen Manuka honey and a convicted thief who isn’t so much a criminal as he…
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After rising to fame as a star of the reality show Big Brother in 2014, Aisha Jade, now a fashion designer, has kept up a physique that would make many out in the world envious, as she often does via social media. Jade, who is originally from New Zealand, recently revealed how she approaches fitness…
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About 15 years ago, Hackenberg Aviaries, which has beehives in Florida and Pennsylvania, was harvesting 300 raw honey barrels per year. According to owner Davey Hackenberg, this number has dropped to as low as 40 barrels per year, with many beekeepers having similar stories about their diminished harvest returns. With honey numbers dropping, the wholesale…
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