The First International Conference on Identification and Tracking of Animals organized by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), announced today the National Service of Agricultural Health and Quality (Senasa) will be developed in Argentina. During the meeting, which will take place in 2009, will discuss the advantages of identification and traceability for animal health, disease control, health safety and food quality including labelling, genetic selection and control of trade

See Original Article  

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) took a turn for the worse this year, killing off 1.1 million bee colonies across the country -? that?s 35 percent of the nation's colonies, more than ever before. Some commercial beekeepers struggling to survive say the federal government has failed the beekeeping industry and endangered food crops. With the new farm bill about to survive a presidential veto, that could change. The bill includes a provision that would give about $75 million over five years to bee research. But it could be too late for many beekeepers who will be forced to shut down within five year?s time. And, some point out, the legislation promises billions in farm subsidy policies that could be harming the bees in the first place. CCD puts about $15 billion of vegetable, fruit and nut crops in jeopardy. Apples, cucumbers, blueberries, strawberries, soybeans, almonds, avocados, melons and pumpkins are just a few of the crops that depend on honey bee pollination. Honey bees are also needed to pollinate seeds for a number of crops, including cabbage, broccoli and herbs.

See Original Article  

Manchester?s beekeepers are based at the stately Dower House, in the centre of the park, and thanks to a £250,000 facelift courtesy of Manchester City Council they are fully equipped with an apiary, observation hive and various other pieces of kit to extract and bottle honey. They also run weekly beekeeping classes. The treasurer Keith Hibbert estimates that the association has lost about 30 ? 50 per cent of their colonies in the last year and as a result honey stocks are well down. The association estimates that six per cent of the colonies have been lost to wasps, mice and starvation but that the bulk of the bees have fallen foul of something more sinister ? mystery viruses such as Nosema and the Varroa mite.

See Original Article  

Oregon State University has asked the state for $250,000 in emergency funding to find out why honey bees are dying at an unprecedented rate and to find a solution. OSU said it is a crisis that threatens many Oregon food producers and agricultural companies. More than $457 million worth of Oregon crops are dependent on pollination, OSU said, citing federal figures. If there aren?t enough bees to pollinate crops such as blueberries, cherries, pears and speciality seeds, yields of major Northwest crops are expected to diminish by 25 to 100 percent in a single season, OSU said.

See Original Article  

Honeybee populations are threatened worldwide. With one in five of the UK's 270,000 honeybee colonies dying this winter as a result of disease and starvation and higher mortality rates across Europe, beekeepers are increasingly interested in trying to conserve the continent's remaining black bees. In Denmark, where beekeepers favoured the Italian bee because it was better at pollinating red clover and produced copious amounts of honey, a few black bee colonies survived on Lęsų.

See Original Article  

Emeritus Professor Lesley Rogers of the University of New England in Armidale, Australia and Professor Giorgio Vallortigara, of the University of Trento in Italy report their findings this week in the journal PLoS ONE. The researchers show that bee brains are divided into two halves with different functions in a way that is reminiscent of the hemispheres of the human brain.

See Original Article  

The bees add an estimated $15 billion in value to staples such as nuts, fruit and vegetables. The California almond crop alone requires 1.3 million colonies of bees, roughly half of all honeybees in the U.S. By 2010, the almond crop is projected to need 1.5 million colonies. If colony collapse disorder continues, beekeepers may not be able to meet demand.

See Original Article  

Programed from june 6 to 8, 2008 was suspended by their organizers due to the agro producers strike

See Original Article  

At the meeting of the Confederation of Brazilian Apiculture, held in the city of Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais state, is elected for a further period of two years the queens breder José Gomercindo Corrźa da Cunha, to serve as President. Also elected to the city of Gramado in the state of Rio Grande do Sul as the home of 2012 Congress.

See Original Article  

The work of the warehouse of honey from Campo Maior, further action projects to generate income from the Government of the State, will also be visited by Vice-Governor Wilson Martins and Mr Paulo Martins. The visit is planned for the 18 pm. He will be the planned opening of the warehouse.

See Original Article