![]() ![]() It’s not that public funding for beekeeping hasn’t been tried. And unfortunately, folks may not find the answer they hoped for. So after a few rounds of frustrating clicks on vague posts, many people will call their Cooperative Extension offices for clarification. Some stories promise plenty, but are short on concrete details. I found some vague articles online, but trying to trace their origin leads in a circle of web pages and social media posts linking to each other and back around to where you started, with little useful information. I receive many phone calls and emails that begin this way, so I started trying to track down the source of these rumors to see what opportunities do exist. But given the economic state of things in the wake of the pandemic, don’t hold your breath for a bee hive bailout. And there is certainly a vested public interest in keeping honey bees around, for their agricultural and economic benefits. Pollinators benefit the environment in countless ways. The long answer is yes, there are numerous programs that can benefit beekeepers, either directly or indirectly.ĭespite increased awareness of the plight of the humble bee, and the imperative need to maintain a healthy pollinator population, the government simply isn’t going to fund your hobby interest backyard beehives any more than they will pay you subsidies to grow a tomato patch, learn to knit, take up the banjo, or collect rare stamps. There is no large federal fund writing blank checks to pay citizens to start new bee hives. Have you heard rumors that there is free federal cash available for bees, and wondered how you could get in on that? People complain about crooks in charge and having to pay taxes, but the same folks line up with their hands out when checks are being issued. Where can you turn for help? A recurring question I receive at the Cooperative Extension office is how to get a government grant to start keeping honey bees. It can take you a while to see a return on your investment in bees, but it can happen if you stick it out. But then you learned that most bee colonies won’t even produce a surplus crop of honey until their second year. You may have seen the price tag on a jar of fresh local honey at your farmer’s market and thought you could just bottle your own liquid gold. Want chickens? Price out the feed, watering trays, heat lamps and a good coop, then calculate how much each delicious farm fresh egg is actually costing you. Of course, no agricultural venture comes cheap. Many of the expenses are on the front end, leading to sticker shock for some who just wanted to do their part to protect and promote these invaluable pollinators. ![]() Even the fictional sleuth Sherlock Holmes has helped to popularize the hobby.īut, as you well know from experience, getting started with honey bees is not cheap. The Pope has a number of hives at what has been the Vatican’s Summer residence since the 16th century. Michelle Obama had a hive installed in her white house vegetable garden. Guitar wizard Steve Vai and funky bass thumper Flea have joined our ranks. Celebrities like Morgan Freeman, Scarlet Johansson and Leonardo DiCaprio keep bees. No longer a quaint pastime for bearded old men named Burt, tending bees is a trendy way to hold Mother Nature’s hand while you help save the planet. Many have considered picking up a hive tool and trying their hand at beekeeping, and it has taken on a new image. Since CCD entered our vocabulary in 2006 we have seen alarming headlines with gloom and doom predictions for the disappearing honey bee, and by extension, the end life as we know it. Government agencies, private entities and virtuous citizens have all been concerned for the plight and peril of pollinators for over a decade now. ![]()
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