U.S. Court of International Trade Rejects Chinese Honey Exporter’s Attempt to Lower Its Anti-Dumping Duty

Plaintiff Dongtai Peak Honey Industry Co., Ltd. (“Peak”), moved for judgment on the agency record contesting the United States Department of Commerce’s(“Commerce”) determination in Administrative Review of Honey From the People’s Republic of China: Final Results of Anti-dumping Duty Administrative Review, 77 Fed. Reg. 70,417 (Nov. 26, 2012) (“Final Results”). Commerce and defendant-intervenors American Honey Producers Association and Sioux Honey …

2013 U.S. Honey Production Up 5 Percent

(Courtesy National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA) Honey production in 2013 from producers with five or more colonies totaled 149 million pounds, up 5 percent from 2012. There were 2.64 million colonies producing honey in 2013, up 4 percent from 2012. Yield per colony averaged 56.6 pounds, up 1 percent from the 56.0 pounds in 2012. Colonies which produced honey in more …

USDA Announces Growth of U.S. Organic Industry and Additional USDA Support Available with New Farm Bill

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2014 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced new figures today that show the organic industry continues to grow domestically and globally, with over 25,000 certified organic operations in more than 120 different countries around the world. Through the Agricultural Marketing Service's National Organic Program, USDA has helped an additional 763 producers become certified organic in just …

Bees Capable of Learning Feats with Tasty Prize in Sight

They may have tiny brains, but bumblebees are capable of some remarkable learning feats, especially when they might get a tasty reward, according to two studies by University of Guelph researchers. PhD student Hamida Mirwan and Prof. Peter Kevan, School of Environmental Sciences, are studying bees' ability to learn by themselves and from each other. In the first study, published in February …

Nectar: A Sweet Reward from Plants to Attract Pollinators

Flowering plants need sugar transporter SWEET9 for nectar production Evolution is based on diversity, and sexual reproduction is key to creating a diverse population that secures competitiveness in nature. Plants as largely immobile organisms had to solve a problem: they needed to find ways to spread their genetic material beyond individual flowers. To make sure that flying pollinators such as insects, …

Disinfecting Honey Comb with Ozone

By Jan Suszkiw ARS News Service Read the magazine story to find out more. ARS research has found ozone gas can disinfect honeycomb of chalkbrood and foulbrood—diseases that may persist for years on beekeeping equipment— as well as degrade pesticide levels. Photo by Stephen Ausmus. Sometimes even honey bees need help with "housekeeping," especially when it comes to cleaning their honeycombs once the honey's been …

2nd International Workshop on Hive and Bee Monitoring, September 17, 2014, Missoula, MT – Call for Papers

This is the First Call for Papers, Exhibits, and Demonstrations of Hive AND Bee Monitoring Methods, Equipment, and Research.  Topic Areas include, but are not limited to: Scale Hives, Hive Sensors, Hive Communications (wireless, phone, and satellite), Infrared Imaging of Hives and Bees, Bee and Colony Acoustics, Radiofrequency Identification Tags for Bees and Hives, Bee Tracking and Mapping Using Sound, …

Virtual Bees Help to Unravel Complex Causes of Colony Decline

New computer model to help scientists, beekeepers and regulators to understand multiple environmental effects on honeybee colonies Scientists have created an ingenious computer model that simulates a honey bee colony over the course of several years. The BEEHAVE model, published today in the Journal of Applied Ecology, was created to investigate the losses of honeybee colonies that have been reported in recent …