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[ Reverse signal beeping ]
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♪♪
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[ Whirring ]
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♪♪
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-Remember how bad this road is?
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I couldn't make the left.
-Mm-hmm.
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♪♪
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I think
there's 18,000 coming out.
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It's about -- be about
40 tractor-trailer loads.
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♪♪
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Now we go out
and straighten boxes,
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straighten covers,
make sure our count's right.
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And, uh...
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A little more than we did
last year,
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but two years ago,we did 64 trailer loads, though.
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We're just a little bit of it.
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It's the biggest...
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annual move of bees
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in the world.
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We got them in on time...
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[ Indistinct talking
in distance ]
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...this year.
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[ Chuckles ]
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Now we can get some sleep.
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♪♪
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-Bees are so fascinating.
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When you first go
into a beehive,
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you are, like, worried
about getting stung,
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and then as soon as you
start watching them
30
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and seeing them on the combs,
communicating with each other,
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all of the chemical signals
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that keep the worker bees
doing the right thing,
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it's just so fascinating,
so complex,
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and it mostly works
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until we get in the way of it.
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♪♪
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-Well, most beekeepers,
including ourselves --
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now if you're
a commercial beekeeper,
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for the most part,
your honey bees are mounted.
40
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The hives are sitting
on pallets --
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They're either four hives
on a pallet,
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or there are six hives
on a pallet.
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And everybody's got forklifts.
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You know, all-terrain forklifts,
45
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Bobcats, swingers,
46
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articulated loaders.
47
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Most of all of
our short-distance bee moving
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for pollinating apples
and vegetables and so on,
49
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that's all done with
straight trucks and so forth.
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[ Indistinct conversations ]
51
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Now we start crisscrossing
the United States,
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that's all done with semis.
53
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Most of the public out here
54
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has probably seen loads of bees
going down a road
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and didn't even know
what they were looking at.
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Just looks like something
covered up with a big net.
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Most of the bee moving all
is done at nighttime.
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The bees all come home
in the evening,
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you know, come in after dusk.
60
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So, we wait till the bees
are all home,
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00:04:05,521 --> 00:04:07,281
and then we go out there
and load them
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and send them
on their merry way.
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So, when a semi-truck
gets to its destination,
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there'll be a beekeeper there
that's gonna unload that truck
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and put them out
in the almond orchard,
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the apples, the blueberries,
or what have you.
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00:04:18,844 --> 00:04:21,778
The farmer, basically, pays us
for bringing the bees in --
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depends what the crop is.
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00:04:23,332 --> 00:04:24,505
You know, almonds in California,
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00:04:24,540 --> 00:04:26,266
the going rate right now
is anywhere
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00:04:26,300 --> 00:04:29,579
from $165 to $225 a hive.
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00:04:29,614 --> 00:04:32,099
And that's for a period of,
you know, five to six weeks
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while the almond bloom is.
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♪♪
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[ Whirring ]
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♪♪
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-Many crops require
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00:05:01,922 --> 00:05:04,338
pollination by insects,
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and because
the native pollinators
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00:05:06,064 --> 00:05:08,584
who used to be here
are no longer
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in large enough quantities
to do that pollination,
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00:05:12,208 --> 00:05:14,141
the managed honey bees
have stepped in
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to take the role of pollinator.
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00:05:17,075 --> 00:05:19,388
-Pollination is a basic
natural function.
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A lot of plants in nature need
insects to transfer pollen,
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and one of the most efficient
is the honey bee.
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-So, basically, you know,
of all the good stuff we eat,
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00:05:29,812 --> 00:05:33,125
you know, the vegetables
and the fruits and so on,
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most of that needs
honey bee pollination
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or pollination
by native pollinators.
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-The chemical companies --
they figure we should eat corn,
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00:05:40,409 --> 00:05:43,722
soybeans, and rice, and that
don't need to be pollinated.
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And that's what they think
we ought to live on.
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But if you like your fruits
and vegetables and your nuts,
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a lot of that stuff
need pollinating.
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A lot of wild insects
can do the job,
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but not as well as bringing in
a commercial beekeeper
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to put down a thousand colonies
in one area
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and give a good blast
to the pollination.
100
00:06:04,294 --> 00:06:06,849
-Our business has got
two different ends to it.
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00:06:06,883 --> 00:06:09,403
One of them is producing honey,
but, of course,
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00:06:09,438 --> 00:06:11,198
the reason them honey bees
are here in the first place
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is to pollinate our crops,
you know,
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00:06:12,613 --> 00:06:14,166
'cause one out of every
three bites of food
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we put in our mouths comes
106
00:06:16,272 --> 00:06:18,239
from honey bee pollination.
107
00:06:18,274 --> 00:06:20,380
-I think
the general public should know
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that our food system
is threatened
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by the fact that
the bees are in trouble.
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And they should care about that
because they eat food.
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00:06:30,976 --> 00:06:35,187
-So, the problem is that native
pollinators have disappeared
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00:06:35,222 --> 00:06:37,327
and farming has become
a lot bigger,
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and so due to all this,
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you know,
now they need beekeepers
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that can move bees
from one place to the other.
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And, of course, the only bees
that are really movable,
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that you could put
on the back of a truck
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and truck them
all over the place
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is honey bees.
120
00:06:51,169 --> 00:06:53,171
The big pollination in
this country is almonds,
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which is in the dead
of the winter.
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The almond tree's not very smartin that way,
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because blooming in the end
of February, in through March.
124
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So, in California,
125
00:07:02,007 --> 00:07:05,597
now today, there's close
to a million acres of almonds.
126
00:07:05,632 --> 00:07:07,323
It takes two hives of bees
to the acre
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00:07:07,357 --> 00:07:08,462
to pollinate them almonds.
128
00:07:08,497 --> 00:07:09,912
So these bees got to crisscross
129
00:07:09,946 --> 00:07:11,431
the United States to get there.
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Our business, basically --
it's a timing situation,
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that orchard
or blueberry grower
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or almond grower,
or vegetable grower,
133
00:07:18,679 --> 00:07:22,165
his livelihood is depending
on him growing a crop.
134
00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:23,857
And if that crop
isn't pollinated
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00:07:23,891 --> 00:07:27,550
when the flowers are in bloom,
we got a short window there.
136
00:07:27,585 --> 00:07:30,104
When he picks up the phone
and calls us --
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"In two days, I need bees" --
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00:07:32,072 --> 00:07:34,971
it's not two weeks,
or two months.
139
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He needs bees in two days.
140
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♪♪
141
00:07:39,769 --> 00:07:42,220
-Beekeepers are kind of like
the last of the cowboys
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you've seen in the Westerns.
143
00:07:44,429 --> 00:07:48,502
We migrate the bees from up
in the northern prairies
144
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all down here
to the Bakersfield area,
145
00:07:50,918 --> 00:07:55,026
and we keep 'em
in the west side of the valley.
146
00:07:55,060 --> 00:07:57,649
When the spring bloom comes,
we'll take the bees,
147
00:07:57,684 --> 00:08:00,169
and we'll spread 'em
from the Turlock area
148
00:08:00,203 --> 00:08:03,828
down to the southern
Bakersfield area.
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00:08:03,862 --> 00:08:05,795
The almond pollination is
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00:08:05,830 --> 00:08:09,937
the biggest pollination event
in the U.S. bee industry.
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00:08:09,972 --> 00:08:13,941
It takes almost the entire
national bee supply.
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♪♪
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-And so a semi-truck
will hold somewhere around
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400 to 450 hives of bees.
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And so you start
thinking about this.
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It takes somewhere
in the neighborhood
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of two million hives of bees
in California.
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Say, you know,
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a couple hundred thousand
of them are already there,
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maybe 250,000 of them
are already there,
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so that means
the rest of those beehives
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have to come
from someplace else.
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So there's a lot
of truckloads of bees
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crisscrossing the United States.
165
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-Our honey bees get
picked up and moved
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almost 22 times a year.
167
00:08:50,150 --> 00:08:52,324
And a lot of people think
that this is one of the reasons
168
00:08:52,359 --> 00:08:54,637
why our bees are not surviving
like they used to.
169
00:08:54,672 --> 00:08:57,571
But we've been pollinating
fruits and vegetables and nuts
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00:08:57,606 --> 00:09:00,194
since the '70s, '60s, '50s,
171
00:09:00,229 --> 00:09:03,543
and we haven't had
these kind of losses.
172
00:09:03,577 --> 00:09:06,200
-You know, it depends on
whose numbers you look at,
173
00:09:06,235 --> 00:09:08,927
but the USDA numbers say
174
00:09:08,962 --> 00:09:12,482
we have somewhere around
2.6 million hives.
175
00:09:12,517 --> 00:09:15,969
And the Bee Informed Partnershipout of Maryland's
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00:09:16,003 --> 00:09:19,213
been showing -- been losing
30% to 40% of our hives.
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00:09:19,248 --> 00:09:24,771
So a 30% loss there puts us downto about 1.8 million hives,
178
00:09:24,805 --> 00:09:26,842
and that's about
what the almond industry takes,
179
00:09:26,876 --> 00:09:30,500
so we're almost
at 100% utilization
180
00:09:30,535 --> 00:09:33,676
of the bee supply.
181
00:09:33,711 --> 00:09:39,199
[ Bees buzzing ]
182
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-We rely
on the managed honey bee
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00:09:41,097 --> 00:09:44,860
for our relatively inexpensive
fruits and vegetables
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00:09:44,894 --> 00:09:47,310
that we have
in the grocery story,
185
00:09:47,345 --> 00:09:49,968
and this means
that they're in an area
186
00:09:50,003 --> 00:09:53,040
that is treated with pesticides
on a regular basis
187
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and also densely packed
188
00:09:55,387 --> 00:09:57,286
with agricultural crops,
189
00:09:57,320 --> 00:09:59,460
leaving very few wildflowers.
190
00:09:59,495 --> 00:10:00,807
Once the crop has bloomed,
191
00:10:00,841 --> 00:10:03,637
there's nothing there
for the bees to eat.
192
00:10:03,672 --> 00:10:06,606
For example, the almond bloom
in California --
193
00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:10,506
very intense activity
for the bees for about a month,
194
00:10:10,540 --> 00:10:11,783
and then the beekeepers
195
00:10:11,818 --> 00:10:13,543
can't leave their bees
there afterwards
196
00:10:13,578 --> 00:10:16,581
because there's nothing more
for the bees to eat.
197
00:10:16,616 --> 00:10:17,789
The managed honey bee
198
00:10:17,824 --> 00:10:21,275
has the beekeeper
helping them survive
199
00:10:21,310 --> 00:10:22,863
because it's in
everyone's interest
200
00:10:22,898 --> 00:10:24,347
for the bees to survive,
201
00:10:24,382 --> 00:10:26,626
and so they do move their bees
202
00:10:26,660 --> 00:10:29,145
to places that have good forage,
203
00:10:29,180 --> 00:10:30,699
away from threats,
204
00:10:30,733 --> 00:10:32,666
although that's not
always possible.
205
00:10:32,701 --> 00:10:35,565
The native pollinators
are in deep trouble.
206
00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:36,774
They're in trouble because
207
00:10:36,808 --> 00:10:39,431
they can't move away
from agriculture.
208
00:10:39,466 --> 00:10:41,710
We're not monitoring
the populations
209
00:10:41,744 --> 00:10:43,573
as well
as the managed honey bees
210
00:10:43,608 --> 00:10:45,541
but we are seeing
in certain places
211
00:10:45,575 --> 00:10:47,750
that their populations
have plummeted.
212
00:10:47,785 --> 00:10:50,304
One, the rusty patched
bumble bee,
213
00:10:50,339 --> 00:10:52,272
was just listed
as an endangered species
214
00:10:52,306 --> 00:10:55,862
and a lot has to do
with agriculture
215
00:10:55,896 --> 00:10:58,968
and pesticide use,
in particular.
216
00:10:59,003 --> 00:11:01,143
-It's so important
what happens in California
217
00:11:01,177 --> 00:11:03,628
'cause it sets up the table
for the rest of the year,
218
00:11:03,663 --> 00:11:05,526
because right after
the almonds --
219
00:11:05,561 --> 00:11:08,046
Almonds are the earliest crop
in the spring,
220
00:11:08,081 --> 00:11:10,739
and after this,
most of the bees will go either
221
00:11:10,773 --> 00:11:12,464
into a secondary pollination
222
00:11:12,499 --> 00:11:15,951
or into a breeding program
to replace the old queens
223
00:11:15,985 --> 00:11:19,748
and to make up for the
previous year's death losses.
224
00:11:19,782 --> 00:11:22,336
It's really important
on how bees come out here
225
00:11:22,371 --> 00:11:24,338
and
the Almond Board of California
226
00:11:24,373 --> 00:11:26,582
has done some really good
extension work,
227
00:11:26,616 --> 00:11:29,619
trying to educateall the farmers across the state
228
00:11:29,654 --> 00:11:32,312
on what the best
management practices are
229
00:11:32,346 --> 00:11:34,072
for bee conservation.
230
00:11:34,107 --> 00:11:37,662
But it's kind of sad sometimes,
you know.
231
00:11:37,697 --> 00:11:40,147
A farmer or a rancher
has so many obligations,
232
00:11:40,182 --> 00:11:43,461
he doesn't have time to stay up
with the latest technology
233
00:11:43,495 --> 00:11:45,014
until there's a bad event.
234
00:11:45,049 --> 00:11:49,536
♪♪
235
00:11:51,538 --> 00:11:53,574
-Bees are important
for all kinds of reasons.
236
00:11:53,609 --> 00:11:56,508
They're important
because we're not capable
237
00:11:56,543 --> 00:12:00,133
of making all kinds of things
grow by ourselves.
238
00:12:00,167 --> 00:12:02,135
It's not some kind of magic,
239
00:12:02,169 --> 00:12:04,758
it's a deep biological process,
240
00:12:04,793 --> 00:12:06,726
of which, bees are a part.
241
00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:09,142
But bees are also
important to us
242
00:12:09,176 --> 00:12:13,318
because they're a very good
kind of sentinel signal
243
00:12:13,353 --> 00:12:15,838
for the trouble that we're in.
244
00:12:15,873 --> 00:12:18,703
There they are every day,
out in the world,
245
00:12:18,738 --> 00:12:20,429
foraging through every corner
246
00:12:20,463 --> 00:12:23,743
of the rural landscape.
247
00:12:23,777 --> 00:12:28,886
If suddenly, one year,
25% of them show up missing,
248
00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:30,646
that means there
is something wrong
249
00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:34,201
with that landscape.
250
00:12:34,236 --> 00:12:37,239
-There's been a pretty dramatic
change in agriculture
251
00:12:37,273 --> 00:12:40,138
over the last 20 years or so
252
00:12:40,173 --> 00:12:44,625
in the types of pesticides
that are being used.
253
00:12:44,660 --> 00:12:48,422
In 1996, Congress passed
the Food Quality Protection Act
254
00:12:48,457 --> 00:12:52,944
that required a reevaluation of
all of the existing pesticides,
255
00:12:52,979 --> 00:12:57,121
and the ones that were
really a big target
256
00:12:57,155 --> 00:13:00,089
because they were so problematicfor worker poisonings
257
00:13:00,124 --> 00:13:03,437
were these nerve toxins
called organophosphates
258
00:13:03,472 --> 00:13:05,129
and carbamate pesticides.
259
00:13:05,163 --> 00:13:08,822
Those have dropped dramatically
in use.
260
00:13:08,857 --> 00:13:11,721
Many of them have been pulled
out of the system altogether.
261
00:13:11,756 --> 00:13:15,760
And what came into replace them
are a group of pesticides
262
00:13:15,795 --> 00:13:17,589
called the neonicotinoids,
263
00:13:17,624 --> 00:13:20,040
and starting in 1994,
264
00:13:20,075 --> 00:13:22,422
the first one
was registered in the U.S.,
265
00:13:22,456 --> 00:13:24,320
and every year,
more and more crops
266
00:13:24,355 --> 00:13:25,735
and more and more acres
267
00:13:25,770 --> 00:13:29,049
are treated with these
types of pesticides.
268
00:13:29,084 --> 00:13:31,845
These are very problematic
for bees,
269
00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:35,745
and while the organophosphates
were highly toxic to bees,
270
00:13:35,780 --> 00:13:38,162
they degraded
relatively quickly.
271
00:13:38,196 --> 00:13:40,889
The neonicotinoids take years
272
00:13:40,923 --> 00:13:42,856
to degrade in the environment,
273
00:13:42,891 --> 00:13:44,720
and what that means is,
274
00:13:44,754 --> 00:13:46,687
you're going to continue
to poison the bees
275
00:13:46,722 --> 00:13:49,552
for many years after you apply
these pesticides.
276
00:13:49,587 --> 00:13:51,623
They're so widely marketed
and so widely used
277
00:13:51,658 --> 00:13:55,282
that they're, really,
everywhere now.
278
00:13:55,317 --> 00:13:58,976
-Neonicotinoids basically work
by breaking down immune system,
279
00:13:59,010 --> 00:14:01,254
cause the insects
to lose their memory,
280
00:14:01,288 --> 00:14:03,014
make them sick.
281
00:14:03,049 --> 00:14:06,155
Whether it's the insect
or it's a human, you know,
282
00:14:06,190 --> 00:14:09,779
your immune system's broke down,you don't want to eat,
283
00:14:09,814 --> 00:14:11,851
and that's exactly
what we got going on
284
00:14:11,885 --> 00:14:14,163
inside these honey bee hives,
and, eventually, you know,
285
00:14:14,198 --> 00:14:17,477
we're going
to somebody's funeral.
286
00:14:17,511 --> 00:14:19,548
-Bees, it turns out,
are very good
287
00:14:19,582 --> 00:14:22,723
at picking up pesticides
in the environment.
288
00:14:22,758 --> 00:14:23,966
It seems like even
289
00:14:24,001 --> 00:14:25,657
the smallest amount
of pesticide,
290
00:14:25,692 --> 00:14:29,730
even if pesticides have
been sprayed months
291
00:14:29,765 --> 00:14:31,905
or even a year or two earlier,
292
00:14:31,940 --> 00:14:35,598
there seems to be residues
in the environment,
293
00:14:35,633 --> 00:14:38,118
and the bees seem
to pick these things up
294
00:14:38,153 --> 00:14:40,810
and actually bring them
back to the hive.
295
00:14:40,845 --> 00:14:42,985
It was shocking
how much pesticide
296
00:14:43,020 --> 00:14:45,781
and the diversity of pesticides
that we were finding --
297
00:14:45,815 --> 00:14:48,335
herbicides, fungicides,
growth regulators,
298
00:14:48,370 --> 00:14:49,889
insecticides,
299
00:14:49,923 --> 00:14:53,202
all of them showed up
in samples that we collected
300
00:14:53,237 --> 00:14:55,584
and looked at
across the country.
301
00:14:55,618 --> 00:14:58,311
It was --
It was disturbing.
302
00:14:58,345 --> 00:14:59,933
Most pesticides are lipophilic,
303
00:14:59,968 --> 00:15:02,004
meaning they want
to dissolve in a fat,
304
00:15:02,039 --> 00:15:03,005
and so pollen
305
00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:05,456
and particularly wax are fats.
306
00:15:05,490 --> 00:15:09,149
Wax, it turns out, is almost
like a fossil record.
307
00:15:09,184 --> 00:15:11,289
The wax combs
that the bees live in,
308
00:15:11,324 --> 00:15:14,016
that they put their food in,
that the brood is produced in,
309
00:15:14,051 --> 00:15:18,918
accumulates and holds onto
these pesticide contaminants,
310
00:15:18,952 --> 00:15:21,023
and so it's very hard
for a beekeeper
311
00:15:21,058 --> 00:15:23,508
who's doing crop pollination
to protect their bees
312
00:15:23,543 --> 00:15:25,890
from pesticides --
very hard.
313
00:15:25,925 --> 00:15:29,342
-The effect of pesticides
on bees of all sorts,
314
00:15:29,376 --> 00:15:31,482
our native species,
as well as honey bees,
315
00:15:31,516 --> 00:15:34,692
has been documented
in North America,
316
00:15:34,726 --> 00:15:37,108
and now it's being documented
worldwide.
317
00:15:37,143 --> 00:15:39,179
And this is a real --
a real concern,
318
00:15:39,214 --> 00:15:42,769
that pesticides seem
to be playing a key role
319
00:15:42,803 --> 00:15:44,426
in the downturn
320
00:15:44,460 --> 00:15:48,464
of our bee populations.
321
00:15:48,499 --> 00:15:50,294
-The fighting man came home.
322
00:15:50,328 --> 00:15:52,572
Families that have been
torn apart were reunited.
323
00:15:52,606 --> 00:15:55,023
-Something changed
after World War II
324
00:15:55,057 --> 00:15:58,819
in America for agriculture.
325
00:15:58,854 --> 00:16:01,581
The advent
of synthetic chemicals
326
00:16:01,615 --> 00:16:02,996
that could be used
327
00:16:03,031 --> 00:16:05,516
to poison insects
was a big one.
328
00:16:05,550 --> 00:16:06,862
-Man fights back.
329
00:16:06,896 --> 00:16:08,968
Modern insecticides
have come into being
330
00:16:09,002 --> 00:16:11,901
as a hoped for poison gas
to stop the enemy.
331
00:16:11,936 --> 00:16:13,593
The stakes are high --
332
00:16:13,627 --> 00:16:15,491
millions of dollars
of valuable foods
333
00:16:15,526 --> 00:16:16,699
stand as the reward.
334
00:16:16,734 --> 00:16:18,046
-And synthetic chemists,
335
00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:20,013
taking chemicals from the paints
336
00:16:20,048 --> 00:16:23,637
and pigments industry
and other industrial uses,
337
00:16:23,672 --> 00:16:24,949
and evaluating those
338
00:16:24,984 --> 00:16:27,262
for their potential use
in agriculture
339
00:16:27,296 --> 00:16:29,057
really accelerated
the development
340
00:16:29,091 --> 00:16:31,818
of synthetic
pesticide production.
341
00:16:31,852 --> 00:16:33,406
Natural molecules
342
00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:35,960
like nicotine and pyrethrum
343
00:16:35,995 --> 00:16:39,032
that have an inherent property
for killing insects,
344
00:16:39,067 --> 00:16:41,103
could those be improved upon?
345
00:16:41,138 --> 00:16:44,555
And the answer was yes,
and without any other regard
346
00:16:44,589 --> 00:16:47,799
about what placing that chemicalin the environment might mean,
347
00:16:47,834 --> 00:16:49,456
short-term or long-term,
348
00:16:49,491 --> 00:16:53,391
at first it seemed like this
was the silver bullet.
349
00:16:53,426 --> 00:16:54,910
There are major differences
350
00:16:54,944 --> 00:16:57,947
between the United States
and Europe and other places,
351
00:16:57,982 --> 00:16:59,915
in a philosophical basis,
352
00:16:59,949 --> 00:17:03,229
by which risks for pesticides
are evaluated,
353
00:17:03,263 --> 00:17:06,163
and in the European Union,
the precautionary principle,
354
00:17:06,197 --> 00:17:09,028
which states that,
if we don't understand fully
355
00:17:09,062 --> 00:17:12,100
the risk of using something,
we should not use it
356
00:17:12,134 --> 00:17:15,034
until we have that
greater understanding.
357
00:17:15,068 --> 00:17:16,311
Whereas in the United States,
358
00:17:16,345 --> 00:17:18,175
without
the precautionary principle,
359
00:17:18,209 --> 00:17:19,935
we say,
"Well, let's take the risk,
360
00:17:19,969 --> 00:17:22,972
and we'll find out if it's not
working and readjust."
361
00:17:23,007 --> 00:17:26,735
And that's a matter of law
that the EPA's bound by,
362
00:17:26,769 --> 00:17:28,288
but I would really
like to see us
363
00:17:28,323 --> 00:17:32,085
reevaluate that situation
from a policymaking standpoint.
364
00:17:32,120 --> 00:17:34,191
-I mean, nobody's looking
at what damage
365
00:17:34,225 --> 00:17:36,227
we're doing here
to our environment.
366
00:17:36,262 --> 00:17:38,195
Some of the stuff we're using
is a neurotoxin
367
00:17:38,229 --> 00:17:40,818
that's gonna destroy
our health and children
368
00:17:40,852 --> 00:17:43,993
and everything else,
but we're spraying it
369
00:17:44,028 --> 00:17:47,066
'cause somebody has more say
and more power than we do.
370
00:17:47,100 --> 00:17:50,379
♪♪
371
00:18:21,100 --> 00:18:26,105
♪♪
372
00:18:28,659 --> 00:18:29,970
-Yesterday, I got a call
373
00:18:30,005 --> 00:18:34,251
from one of the partners
of this ranch,
374
00:18:34,285 --> 00:18:35,769
said, you know,
375
00:18:35,804 --> 00:18:37,840
"Adee, the bees are dying.
376
00:18:37,875 --> 00:18:39,221
Come up here
and figure out why."
377
00:18:39,256 --> 00:18:42,466
And so I jumped in the pickup
and came up here.
378
00:18:42,500 --> 00:18:46,194
And it was very obvious
it was an acute bee kill,
379
00:18:46,228 --> 00:18:49,473
you know, some type
of insecticide or fungicide
380
00:18:49,507 --> 00:18:53,408
or some synergistic reaction
with chemicals around the area
381
00:18:53,442 --> 00:18:54,995
was killing the bees.
382
00:18:55,030 --> 00:18:57,101
They were dying today
as they were looking at them.
383
00:18:57,136 --> 00:18:59,034
The first sets
they were looking at,
384
00:18:59,068 --> 00:19:00,553
we seen bees laying
on the ground.
385
00:19:00,587 --> 00:19:03,728
We found a queen staggering out
in front of a hive.
386
00:19:03,763 --> 00:19:05,868
Anyway, that's what
we want to do,
387
00:19:05,903 --> 00:19:07,422
is find out what's affecting it.
388
00:19:07,456 --> 00:19:09,458
This family spent a lot of moneyfor these bees,
389
00:19:09,493 --> 00:19:12,081
and they're counting on them
for their pollination.
390
00:19:12,116 --> 00:19:14,394
And it would be terrible
to think that they were doing
391
00:19:14,429 --> 00:19:18,640
something that was completely
legal and by the book,
392
00:19:18,674 --> 00:19:20,228
yet it was hurting the bees,
393
00:19:20,262 --> 00:19:22,851
and if a neighbor was being
sloppy and hurting the bees,
394
00:19:22,885 --> 00:19:24,197
that would be really bad, too,
395
00:19:24,232 --> 00:19:27,476
but something's definitely
hurting the bees.
396
00:19:27,511 --> 00:19:29,927
-How many are you here?
-We just finished eight.
397
00:19:29,961 --> 00:19:31,204
-Okay, that's fine.
-Yeah, yeah.
398
00:19:31,239 --> 00:19:32,930
That's fine, good.
-And that'll give you --
399
00:19:32,964 --> 00:19:34,759
That'll give you enough
to compare.
400
00:19:34,794 --> 00:19:38,660
-Yeah, well, when they do
the chemical analysis, I know,
401
00:19:38,694 --> 00:19:43,216
yeah, they'll have enough
to tease out a difference.
402
00:19:43,251 --> 00:19:45,253
Nobody's going to want
to admit that this happened
403
00:19:45,287 --> 00:19:47,703
because, you know,
this man spent
404
00:19:47,738 --> 00:19:50,879
hundreds of thousands of dollarsto rent these bees.
405
00:19:50,913 --> 00:19:52,432
And he has, probably,
406
00:19:52,467 --> 00:19:55,194
millions of dollars worth
of nuts at risk.
407
00:19:55,228 --> 00:19:57,196
And, you know,
the guy down the road
408
00:19:57,230 --> 00:19:58,542
is not going to come up and say,
409
00:19:58,576 --> 00:20:00,958
"Hey, well I put a cocktail
on my apricots
410
00:20:00,992 --> 00:20:02,856
that happened
to kill your bees."
411
00:20:02,891 --> 00:20:04,306
Nobody's going to say
anything like that
412
00:20:04,341 --> 00:20:06,791
because they don't
want the liability.
413
00:20:06,826 --> 00:20:10,519
So, anyway, it's really hard
to track these things down.
414
00:20:10,554 --> 00:20:13,246
You know, this is why we have
to have lab work done.
415
00:20:13,281 --> 00:20:17,768
So, you know,
it can be prevented.
416
00:20:17,802 --> 00:20:20,288
You can't bring the dead
back to life,
417
00:20:20,322 --> 00:20:24,533
but, you know, you can keep
more from getting killed.
418
00:20:24,568 --> 00:20:26,984
It's really important
to have good stewardship
419
00:20:27,018 --> 00:20:28,537
while they're in the almonds
420
00:20:28,572 --> 00:20:30,401
so they're available
for everything else.
421
00:20:30,436 --> 00:20:33,956
This is the crop100% of the bees are exposed to.
422
00:20:33,991 --> 00:20:37,788
How bees leave this crop is
how they start the next crop.
423
00:20:37,822 --> 00:20:40,031
After this,
it will be a real rush
424
00:20:40,066 --> 00:20:42,758
to get the bees
to the apples and the cherries
425
00:20:42,793 --> 00:20:46,417
and after that, the seed crops
across the nation.
426
00:20:46,452 --> 00:20:49,696
You know, if we put
the same economic value
427
00:20:49,731 --> 00:20:53,528
on a honey bee as cattle,
you know, we wouldn't have
428
00:20:53,562 --> 00:20:56,772
a pesticide investigator out
there for this kind of losses.
429
00:20:56,807 --> 00:20:58,705
We'd have the FBI out there.
430
00:20:58,740 --> 00:21:01,432
Honey bees are kind of
thought of as, you know,
431
00:21:01,467 --> 00:21:03,572
oh, well,
they'll just make more.
432
00:21:03,607 --> 00:21:05,954
People talk about
the financial viability
433
00:21:05,988 --> 00:21:07,231
of the bee industry,
434
00:21:07,266 --> 00:21:09,682
but what I think
I'm more concerned with
435
00:21:09,716 --> 00:21:12,478
is the biological viability
of the bee industry.
436
00:21:12,512 --> 00:21:14,963
It's like,
can we divide them fast enough
437
00:21:14,997 --> 00:21:16,930
to make up for the losses?
438
00:21:16,965 --> 00:21:22,315
♪♪
439
00:21:42,818 --> 00:21:45,442
[ Engine idling ]
440
00:21:57,592 --> 00:21:59,697
[ Hydraulics hiss ]
441
00:22:03,356 --> 00:22:06,808
-Shut that thing off,
make less noise.
442
00:22:06,842 --> 00:22:08,879
Phone here before I lose that.
443
00:22:08,913 --> 00:22:12,434
-How many you putting on?
-46 pallets.
444
00:22:12,469 --> 00:22:15,748
-What's that come out to?
-That's three rows --
445
00:22:15,782 --> 00:22:17,853
That's five rows on top.
446
00:22:17,888 --> 00:22:19,407
Them things are jumpy.
447
00:22:19,441 --> 00:22:22,720
Put three rows of two,and the rest of them will go up.
448
00:22:22,755 --> 00:22:26,621
Warmer tonight
than it was last night.
449
00:22:28,174 --> 00:22:31,073
[ Bees buzzing ]
450
00:22:31,108 --> 00:22:33,800
They're kind of pissy.
451
00:22:33,835 --> 00:22:36,285
What did you do to get them
all pissed off today?
452
00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:38,529
-We took 300 hives out
of here last night.
453
00:22:38,564 --> 00:22:40,842
What do you expect?
454
00:22:40,876 --> 00:22:43,500
[ Engine revs ]
455
00:23:14,047 --> 00:23:16,395
-I'm a lot slower
getting out of here
456
00:23:16,429 --> 00:23:18,707
than I used to be.
[ Chuckles ]
457
00:23:22,780 --> 00:23:26,922
Just throw some straps on them,
down the road.
458
00:23:26,957 --> 00:23:28,579
-Hold on.
459
00:23:28,614 --> 00:23:31,927
-Well, we just loaded
46 pallets of bees,
460
00:23:31,962 --> 00:23:34,620
180-some hives.
461
00:23:34,654 --> 00:23:37,208
We're going to two
apple orchards
462
00:23:37,243 --> 00:23:39,452
out around Martinsburg,
463
00:23:39,487 --> 00:23:42,386
Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania.
464
00:23:42,421 --> 00:23:43,732
Drop these bees off
at the orchard
465
00:23:43,767 --> 00:23:46,217
and come home --
come back home and go to bed
466
00:23:46,252 --> 00:23:48,461
in the wee hours of the morning.
467
00:23:48,496 --> 00:23:50,290
Spring came early this year.
468
00:23:50,325 --> 00:23:52,810
Wasn't supposed to, but it did.
469
00:23:52,845 --> 00:23:56,573
Apples are just roughly
10 days early.
470
00:23:56,607 --> 00:23:58,333
-Neil, the guy we're
going to tonight,
471
00:23:58,367 --> 00:24:00,300
told me he had
some early apples out.
472
00:24:00,335 --> 00:24:01,647
He wasn't really much
worried about them
473
00:24:01,681 --> 00:24:03,234
because he's got quite
a few native pollinators
474
00:24:03,269 --> 00:24:04,443
around there.
475
00:24:04,477 --> 00:24:06,479
[ Bees buzz, birds chirping ]
476
00:24:06,514 --> 00:24:09,102
Farmers, apple growers,
apple growers especially,
477
00:24:09,137 --> 00:24:11,415
are seeing a need to promote,
478
00:24:11,450 --> 00:24:15,246
you know, native pollinators
and, you know,
479
00:24:15,281 --> 00:24:18,698
preserve what they got
in the woods around them.
480
00:24:18,733 --> 00:24:22,806
♪♪
481
00:24:47,831 --> 00:24:52,111
♪♪
482
00:24:52,145 --> 00:24:53,630
-Peaches, cherries, apples --
483
00:24:53,664 --> 00:24:55,908
they have to have
so many degrees below 40.
484
00:24:55,942 --> 00:24:57,703
Peaches have less requirement
than apples.
485
00:24:57,737 --> 00:24:58,911
Apples have the most.
486
00:24:58,945 --> 00:25:01,430
Most of them at around
1,000, 1,200 hours
487
00:25:01,465 --> 00:25:03,778
below 40 degrees to bloom.
488
00:25:03,812 --> 00:25:07,540
Once you reach those degrees,
they can come any time.
489
00:25:07,575 --> 00:25:09,300
So, if it's a cold winter,
they already have
490
00:25:09,335 --> 00:25:12,545
the chilling requirement
in by early March,
491
00:25:12,580 --> 00:25:13,995
so as soon as it warms up,
492
00:25:14,029 --> 00:25:15,928
they're ready to move,
493
00:25:15,962 --> 00:25:17,550
and that's what happens.
494
00:25:17,585 --> 00:25:19,448
We're gonna go to another place,and then ten more off,
495
00:25:19,483 --> 00:25:23,004
and that will be all for me.
496
00:25:23,038 --> 00:25:27,387
♪♪
497
00:25:31,391 --> 00:25:33,255
-If I had a dollar
for every time
498
00:25:33,290 --> 00:25:35,879
I went on and off
that trailer...
499
00:25:35,913 --> 00:25:37,294
I think I did have a dollar
500
00:25:37,328 --> 00:25:40,400
for every time I went on and offthat trailer.
501
00:25:40,435 --> 00:25:42,195
Him and I were just having
502
00:25:42,230 --> 00:25:43,714
this discussion.-We were having that discussion.
503
00:25:43,749 --> 00:25:45,336
-Having this discussion here
the last five minutes.
504
00:25:45,371 --> 00:25:46,890
How long is this thing
going to last?
505
00:25:46,924 --> 00:25:48,719
-Oh, I would say
we'll have them till probably
506
00:25:48,754 --> 00:25:50,203
the end of next week,
at least.
507
00:25:50,238 --> 00:25:51,550
-I think.
-Those are Fuji right there,
508
00:25:51,584 --> 00:25:54,345
and their flowers
are barely open yet.
509
00:25:54,380 --> 00:25:57,210
But I have Empires
just down here,
510
00:25:57,245 --> 00:25:58,902
and they're in full bloom.
511
00:25:58,936 --> 00:26:01,318
Does anybody document where the
wild bees are having trouble?
512
00:26:01,352 --> 00:26:02,664
Or nobody says,
there isn't any wild bees?
513
00:26:02,699 --> 00:26:06,910
-Oh, yeah, there's a guy
at Cornell University
514
00:26:06,944 --> 00:26:08,221
that's done some work.
515
00:26:08,256 --> 00:26:10,465
-I mean, we use as many --
probably more --
516
00:26:10,499 --> 00:26:11,811
We use more chemicals
than dairy.
517
00:26:11,846 --> 00:26:14,193
We don't use as much herbicide
as they do.
518
00:26:14,227 --> 00:26:15,643
You know your salesman
comes around,
519
00:26:15,677 --> 00:26:17,714
and he expects you
to buy something
520
00:26:17,748 --> 00:26:20,509
every time he come around.
-I know.
521
00:26:20,544 --> 00:26:23,098
[ Engine revs in distance ]
522
00:26:23,133 --> 00:26:26,274
♪♪
523
00:26:37,285 --> 00:26:39,494
-Is it possible to grow fruit
524
00:26:39,528 --> 00:26:42,083
without insecticides
and fungicides?
525
00:26:42,117 --> 00:26:43,705
Well, yeah, it is.
526
00:26:43,740 --> 00:26:45,638
Probably not the fruits
we have today
527
00:26:45,673 --> 00:26:48,399
because, you know, obviously,
my great-grandfather
528
00:26:48,434 --> 00:26:50,539
and great-great-grandfather
were growing fruit,
529
00:26:50,574 --> 00:26:52,369
and they didn't have pesticides.
530
00:26:52,403 --> 00:26:53,888
I don't know
what the yields were,
531
00:26:53,922 --> 00:26:55,648
and I'm sure there were
some disasters.
532
00:26:55,683 --> 00:26:57,754
But, you know,
the consumer today
533
00:26:57,788 --> 00:27:00,135
is so used to a perfect
piece of fruit,
534
00:27:00,170 --> 00:27:01,896
and they can get it year round.
535
00:27:01,930 --> 00:27:05,796
I don't know that they'd want
to go back to the varieties
536
00:27:05,831 --> 00:27:07,349
that were growing,
537
00:27:07,384 --> 00:27:10,594
that are resistant
to insects and diseases.
538
00:27:10,629 --> 00:27:14,529
You know, the consumers
in those days before pesticides
539
00:27:14,563 --> 00:27:17,463
would put up with,
you know, a mark on an apple.
540
00:27:17,497 --> 00:27:20,259
They would just be happy
to have a piece of fruit.
541
00:27:20,293 --> 00:27:22,019
-Fruit growing
without chemicals --
542
00:27:22,054 --> 00:27:25,644
I'd be happy because
it's a major expense for me.
543
00:27:25,678 --> 00:27:27,887
That and labor are
my two biggest expenses.
544
00:27:27,922 --> 00:27:29,751
And if I could cut way back
on my use,
545
00:27:29,786 --> 00:27:31,304
I would tomorrow.
546
00:27:31,339 --> 00:27:34,169
And we don't use any more
than we have to,
547
00:27:34,204 --> 00:27:36,137
but we have to use it
548
00:27:36,171 --> 00:27:39,519
to get the fruit that we want,
that people want to buy.
549
00:27:39,554 --> 00:27:43,351
Varieties that we grow
are Ginger Gold, Gala,
550
00:27:43,385 --> 00:27:45,146
Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious,
551
00:27:45,180 --> 00:27:48,563
Red Delicious, McIntosh,
552
00:27:48,597 --> 00:27:53,085
Fuji, Jonagolds, and Empire.
553
00:27:53,119 --> 00:27:54,845
We start now,
start in spring.
554
00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:56,467
The trees will come out
in the spring
555
00:27:56,502 --> 00:27:59,056
when it warms up,
comes into bloom.
556
00:27:59,091 --> 00:28:00,368
When the blooms starts to open,
557
00:28:00,402 --> 00:28:02,439
we want bees to come in
to pollinate,
558
00:28:02,473 --> 00:28:04,337
'cause if we have --
we need pollination.
559
00:28:04,372 --> 00:28:07,168
We need to move the pollen
to the ovary,
560
00:28:07,202 --> 00:28:09,584
'cause then it grows down,
and that's what forms an apple.
561
00:28:09,618 --> 00:28:11,517
Well, the bees are one
of the most efficient ways
562
00:28:11,551 --> 00:28:15,141
to transfer the pollen
from the flower to flower.
563
00:28:15,176 --> 00:28:17,799
On a typical apple bud,
when it comes open,
564
00:28:17,834 --> 00:28:20,077
there's usually five to six
blooms on that bud.
565
00:28:20,112 --> 00:28:22,148
But there'll be one
that will come out first.
566
00:28:22,183 --> 00:28:23,598
It's called the king flower.
567
00:28:23,632 --> 00:28:25,738
That's the flower that
we would like to set,
568
00:28:25,773 --> 00:28:28,672
'cause that gives
the biggest apple.
569
00:28:28,707 --> 00:28:32,296
If that sets like this one --
I'll just pull this off.
570
00:28:32,331 --> 00:28:34,126
If they all set,
there's five apples --
571
00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:36,922
If they would all set,
there's five apples on there.
572
00:28:36,956 --> 00:28:39,959
And that's more than I want.
I only want one.
573
00:28:39,994 --> 00:28:41,754
So, I have to have
some come off.
574
00:28:41,789 --> 00:28:44,067
We do mostly chemical thinning,
575
00:28:44,101 --> 00:28:45,793
and it'll cause
the fruit to fall off.
576
00:28:45,827 --> 00:28:48,312
We don't do any flower
or blossom thinning,
577
00:28:48,347 --> 00:28:49,658
as they called it.
578
00:28:49,693 --> 00:28:50,901
This will be the --
579
00:28:50,936 --> 00:28:52,731
This here will be
the stem of the apple.
580
00:28:52,765 --> 00:28:55,285
If this develops into an apple,
this would be the stem,
581
00:28:55,319 --> 00:28:56,907
where it's attached,
582
00:28:56,942 --> 00:28:59,807
and this brown part
at the bottom here is
583
00:28:59,841 --> 00:29:02,188
actually the start of the form
of the apple right here.
584
00:29:02,223 --> 00:29:05,467
We have to put on a fungicide,
which is for disease.
585
00:29:05,502 --> 00:29:06,606
Apples get disease.
586
00:29:06,641 --> 00:29:09,057
They get disease on the leaves
587
00:29:09,092 --> 00:29:11,680
then that transfers
onto the fruit.
588
00:29:11,715 --> 00:29:13,199
I know there's
some work being done
589
00:29:13,234 --> 00:29:16,616
that some of the fungicides
are not good for bees.
590
00:29:16,651 --> 00:29:19,481
As far as I know, they're okay.
591
00:29:19,516 --> 00:29:20,551
And then we have insects.
592
00:29:20,586 --> 00:29:22,726
There's a whole list of insects
593
00:29:22,761 --> 00:29:26,316
that attack the trees
and the fruit.
594
00:29:26,350 --> 00:29:29,768
And if we don't control them,
then we have problems.
595
00:29:29,802 --> 00:29:32,391
And there's some insecticides
that you can use
596
00:29:32,425 --> 00:29:34,393
that are safe on bees.
597
00:29:34,427 --> 00:29:36,084
My policy is,
when the bees come,
598
00:29:36,119 --> 00:29:38,293
we don't put any insecticide on.
599
00:29:38,328 --> 00:29:40,917
-I know when I grew up,
600
00:29:40,951 --> 00:29:42,573
the fruit business
was very seasonal.
601
00:29:42,608 --> 00:29:44,334
Strawberries were
in strawberry season,
602
00:29:44,368 --> 00:29:45,818
blueberries were
in blueberry season,
603
00:29:45,853 --> 00:29:47,578
raspberries were in
raspberry season.
604
00:29:47,613 --> 00:29:49,857
You didn't see them
till the next year.
605
00:29:49,891 --> 00:29:54,723
With the worldwide production
and transportation,
606
00:29:54,758 --> 00:29:56,449
you have strawberries,
blueberries,
607
00:29:56,484 --> 00:29:58,106
raspberries, year-round.
608
00:29:58,141 --> 00:29:59,625
You know, you can go
in the chain store
609
00:29:59,659 --> 00:30:01,144
and find these things
610
00:30:01,178 --> 00:30:03,318
and you have such a plethora
611
00:30:03,353 --> 00:30:07,219
of fruits
that we never saw before.
612
00:30:07,253 --> 00:30:10,843
Fruit is much more available
than it was in the past.
613
00:30:10,878 --> 00:30:13,812
So, I think, for that reason,
people don't understand
614
00:30:13,846 --> 00:30:16,055
the seasonality
of local produce.
615
00:30:16,090 --> 00:30:19,300
♪♪
616
00:30:25,306 --> 00:30:26,479
-Alright.
Sounds good.
617
00:30:26,514 --> 00:30:28,827
Thanks, Kevin.
Talk to you later.
618
00:30:28,861 --> 00:30:32,831
♪♪
619
00:30:35,868 --> 00:30:37,870
I've been doing this, you know,
620
00:30:37,905 --> 00:30:40,942
consistently for 16 plus years,
621
00:30:40,977 --> 00:30:42,806
and, you know,
you jump out of the truck,
622
00:30:42,841 --> 00:30:44,428
and these bees have been here
623
00:30:44,463 --> 00:30:46,810
less than 24 hours,
sitting here.
624
00:30:46,845 --> 00:30:49,986
And there's quite a few beeson the ground outside the hives,
625
00:30:50,020 --> 00:30:53,058
and it's only 50 degrees or so.
626
00:30:53,092 --> 00:30:55,888
So, it's definitely
an alarming situation
627
00:30:55,923 --> 00:30:58,857
where you see this many,
you know, bees dead
628
00:30:58,891 --> 00:31:01,929
on the ground outside the hives
when it's only 50 degrees.
629
00:31:01,963 --> 00:31:04,690
Bees haven't been flying much
today.
630
00:31:04,724 --> 00:31:06,934
They are flying a little bit,
but this is nothing
631
00:31:06,968 --> 00:31:09,419
compared to what it would be
if it was 70 degrees out.
632
00:31:09,453 --> 00:31:10,903
We probably wouldn't be able
to stand here
633
00:31:10,938 --> 00:31:12,629
without any equipment on.
634
00:31:12,663 --> 00:31:14,596
Sometimes I feel as though
I get numb to it,
635
00:31:14,631 --> 00:31:18,324
and I just -- I'm used to it
'cause it's the way it is now.
636
00:31:18,359 --> 00:31:20,395
But, you know, other times,
637
00:31:20,430 --> 00:31:22,328
I want to sit here
and scoop all these bees up
638
00:31:22,363 --> 00:31:24,468
and send them off to a lab
to get analyzed
639
00:31:24,503 --> 00:31:26,332
and, you know,
640
00:31:26,367 --> 00:31:28,817
find out what's wrong,
what's going on here.
641
00:31:28,852 --> 00:31:32,407
But, you know, in many cases,
like right now, I don't.
642
00:31:32,442 --> 00:31:34,306
Beekeepers are hustling around.
643
00:31:34,340 --> 00:31:35,548
I'm moving this load out
tonight,
644
00:31:35,583 --> 00:31:37,343
and I got to move
another load in tomorrow
645
00:31:37,378 --> 00:31:39,000
to do the same thing again.
646
00:31:39,035 --> 00:31:42,348
Consistent pollination race,
so to speak.
647
00:31:42,383 --> 00:31:44,661
If you look up close there,
you can see the bees
648
00:31:44,695 --> 00:31:46,870
are pulling out the dead
from inside the hive.
649
00:31:46,905 --> 00:31:48,734
They'll just drop them off
the front of the hive
650
00:31:48,768 --> 00:31:50,667
and leave them out in front.
651
00:31:50,701 --> 00:31:52,841
I just recently found out,
basically,
652
00:31:52,876 --> 00:31:55,396
that they're using Sevin
to thin the apples,
653
00:31:55,430 --> 00:31:57,225
which is a highly
toxic pesticide
654
00:31:57,260 --> 00:31:59,055
for bees and all insects.
655
00:31:59,089 --> 00:32:00,884
You know, everybody's wanting
to thin right now,
656
00:32:00,919 --> 00:32:02,713
so as soon as the bees get out,
657
00:32:02,748 --> 00:32:06,062
they start up the sprayers
and and try to thin.
658
00:32:06,096 --> 00:32:07,960
-Things like apples,
where they purposely
659
00:32:07,995 --> 00:32:09,272
only want to set the king bloom,
660
00:32:09,306 --> 00:32:11,964
because they want
to get larger fruit size,
661
00:32:11,999 --> 00:32:15,450
what they've found isthat if they set too much bloom,
662
00:32:15,485 --> 00:32:18,108
they actually have to send
people out to thin them.
663
00:32:18,143 --> 00:32:20,628
And they found that some
of the insecticides,
664
00:32:20,662 --> 00:32:22,768
particularly Sevin or Carbaryl,
665
00:32:22,802 --> 00:32:25,736
can be used --
sprayed on the blossom
666
00:32:25,771 --> 00:32:28,636
to actually cause it
to abort bloom.
667
00:32:28,670 --> 00:32:32,812
And so one of the issues we havearound those types of crops
668
00:32:32,847 --> 00:32:35,746
is actually removing the bees
quick enough
669
00:32:35,781 --> 00:32:38,197
that we don't come in contact
670
00:32:38,232 --> 00:32:40,751
with the thin sprays
671
00:32:40,786 --> 00:32:42,684
later in the bloom.
672
00:32:42,719 --> 00:32:44,548
-Even though this is
a really big orchard,
673
00:32:44,583 --> 00:32:47,413
just the other side of that hillright there is somebody else,
674
00:32:47,448 --> 00:32:49,933
and it looks like,
judging by the tire tracks,
675
00:32:49,968 --> 00:32:51,279
someone was in there
spraying last night.
676
00:32:51,314 --> 00:32:53,730
Every single row had been
gone up and down
677
00:32:53,764 --> 00:32:55,352
in the last 24 hours.
678
00:32:55,387 --> 00:32:56,664
You can see it in the grass.
679
00:32:56,698 --> 00:32:58,769
I'm sure there's a good reason
for it.
680
00:32:58,804 --> 00:33:01,910
It's an effective thinner.
It's what they're using.
681
00:33:01,945 --> 00:33:04,292
But is everybody
communicating enough
682
00:33:04,327 --> 00:33:07,019
with their neighbors
about the bees?
683
00:33:07,054 --> 00:33:08,917
Or is it just,
"Well, my bees are out,
684
00:33:08,952 --> 00:33:10,574
so I'm going to thin"?
685
00:33:10,609 --> 00:33:13,439
You know there's still partial
bloom on some of his trees,
686
00:33:13,474 --> 00:33:14,820
and my bees work those trees.
687
00:33:14,854 --> 00:33:17,029
So, you know,
it's something that --
688
00:33:17,064 --> 00:33:19,445
It's definitely a danger
in pollination,
689
00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:21,965
and we don't quite have answers
690
00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:23,587
as to what to do about it.
691
00:33:23,622 --> 00:33:25,796
One guy doesn't know the other
guy's bees are there,
692
00:33:25,831 --> 00:33:27,522
and next thing you know,
they get dead bees
693
00:33:27,557 --> 00:33:29,628
and an upset beekeeper.
694
00:33:29,662 --> 00:33:31,802
So...
[ Sighs ]
695
00:33:31,837 --> 00:33:34,322
[ Chuckles ]
696
00:33:34,357 --> 00:33:36,221
Never ends.
697
00:33:36,255 --> 00:33:40,880
♪♪
698
00:33:40,915 --> 00:33:42,951
-Populations of honey bees
are dying at levels
699
00:33:42,986 --> 00:33:46,334
that are unprecedented
and very concerning.
700
00:33:46,369 --> 00:33:51,236
So, we have been seeing
between 33% and close to half
701
00:33:51,270 --> 00:33:54,377
of the colonies in the U.S.
dying every single year,
702
00:33:54,411 --> 00:33:56,448
which is disturbing.
703
00:33:56,482 --> 00:33:59,140
But the numbers of colonies
in the U.S.
704
00:33:59,175 --> 00:34:01,073
have been able to hold steady,
705
00:34:01,108 --> 00:34:03,593
because we then split
the colonies that survive,
706
00:34:03,627 --> 00:34:05,077
and we recoup those losses.
707
00:34:05,112 --> 00:34:06,768
We're doing it
because we have to,
708
00:34:06,803 --> 00:34:08,115
but our hope is that,
eventually,
709
00:34:08,149 --> 00:34:10,082
we can stop splitting colonies,
710
00:34:10,117 --> 00:34:12,740
which is not a sustainable way
of keeping them,
711
00:34:12,774 --> 00:34:14,259
and get back to a time
712
00:34:14,293 --> 00:34:18,953
where we had acceptable levels
of loss, at 10% or lower.
713
00:34:18,987 --> 00:34:20,472
-One of the things that
they're not really looking at
714
00:34:20,506 --> 00:34:23,854
and not telling you is
that beekeepers have changed
715
00:34:23,889 --> 00:34:25,201
a lot of their management.
716
00:34:25,235 --> 00:34:27,720
Everybody is replacing queens,
you know,
717
00:34:27,755 --> 00:34:29,791
at an unheard of rate.
718
00:34:29,826 --> 00:34:31,828
-So, we're up
at the bee yard here.
719
00:34:31,862 --> 00:34:35,107
We're going to put in
some queen cells
720
00:34:35,142 --> 00:34:37,661
to hives that we split earlier.
721
00:34:37,696 --> 00:34:39,836
And that's what is
in this box here,
722
00:34:39,870 --> 00:34:44,530
it's some attendant worker bees
and a frame --
723
00:34:44,565 --> 00:34:46,739
a couple frames of honey
for feed,
724
00:34:46,774 --> 00:34:49,087
and then we purchase queen cells
725
00:34:49,121 --> 00:34:52,504
from a beekeeping operation
that raises those.
726
00:34:52,538 --> 00:34:54,920
So, what I'll be doing is,
I'll be taking these,
727
00:34:54,954 --> 00:34:57,992
and I'll be installing
one queen cell
728
00:34:58,026 --> 00:35:00,167
per hive that we've split,
729
00:35:00,201 --> 00:35:01,927
and you can see the queen cell.
730
00:35:01,961 --> 00:35:04,205
You can see the bees
working on it.
731
00:35:04,240 --> 00:35:06,863
We'll put the queen cell
in each of the hives.
732
00:35:06,897 --> 00:35:11,005
♪♪
733
00:35:11,039 --> 00:35:13,594
-I go back to the dayswhen you put a queen in the box,
734
00:35:13,628 --> 00:35:15,423
and she was there for years.
735
00:35:15,458 --> 00:35:18,116
I mean, literally,
three, four years,
736
00:35:18,150 --> 00:35:19,565
and you didn't re-queen
a lot of beehives
737
00:35:19,600 --> 00:35:21,740
because they normally
re-queened themselves.
738
00:35:21,774 --> 00:35:23,190
Now it's a different story.
739
00:35:23,224 --> 00:35:25,882
You re-queen them,
or you got a dead beehive.
740
00:35:25,916 --> 00:35:27,366
A lot of guys are out there,
741
00:35:27,401 --> 00:35:29,334
carrying a hundred queens
with them every day.
742
00:35:29,368 --> 00:35:31,163
You know, maybe they don't
use a hundred a day,
743
00:35:31,198 --> 00:35:33,303
but the next two days, they're
gonna use that hundred up,
744
00:35:33,338 --> 00:35:34,753
and they got another
hundred coming,
745
00:35:34,787 --> 00:35:36,548
you know, sizeable outfits.
746
00:35:36,582 --> 00:35:40,068
-There are about 320 hives
that we're going to assess
747
00:35:40,103 --> 00:35:42,899
which half the queen is in
and confine her
748
00:35:42,933 --> 00:35:45,039
so we know where she is,
and then this evening,
749
00:35:45,073 --> 00:35:48,215
we'll move off those
queen-less halves
750
00:35:48,249 --> 00:35:50,078
so that we can
establish new hives,
751
00:35:50,113 --> 00:35:53,599
put queen cells in them
in the next few days.
752
00:35:53,634 --> 00:35:56,913
[ Bees buzzing ]
753
00:35:56,947 --> 00:35:58,535
-They're keeping the losses
at bay,
754
00:35:58,570 --> 00:36:00,192
but I can remember the days
755
00:36:00,227 --> 00:36:03,644
when I ran 1,500 hives of bees
by myself.
756
00:36:03,678 --> 00:36:04,990
But them days are over.
757
00:36:05,024 --> 00:36:07,095
I mean, there's just
so much management.
758
00:36:07,130 --> 00:36:09,028
We ran bees on
a let-alone system.
759
00:36:09,063 --> 00:36:10,547
I mean the more
you left them alone,
760
00:36:10,582 --> 00:36:11,962
the more honey they made.
761
00:36:11,997 --> 00:36:13,481
Now if you leave them alone,
they're dead.
762
00:36:13,516 --> 00:36:16,898
I mean, you got to --
You just basically got to be
763
00:36:16,933 --> 00:36:18,797
in them things
about every two weeks.
764
00:36:18,831 --> 00:36:20,419
You know,
if queens are starting to fail,
765
00:36:20,454 --> 00:36:23,146
then we pop a new queen
in there,
766
00:36:23,181 --> 00:36:25,390
or you got an empty box.
767
00:36:25,424 --> 00:36:27,357
[ Bees buzzing ]
768
00:36:27,392 --> 00:36:29,566
-We start a new hive
769
00:36:29,601 --> 00:36:33,052
by combining the frames of brood
770
00:36:33,087 --> 00:36:35,158
from several different colonies.
771
00:36:35,193 --> 00:36:37,229
Bring your camera in quick here.
772
00:36:37,264 --> 00:36:41,233
There's a Varroa mite
on that drone larva.
773
00:36:41,268 --> 00:36:45,375
Red, orange fleck there
on the larva here is
774
00:36:45,410 --> 00:36:46,928
a Varroa mite.
775
00:36:46,963 --> 00:36:50,829
They were accidentally imported.
776
00:36:52,451 --> 00:36:56,317
-Varroa destructor is public
enemy number one, by far.
777
00:36:56,352 --> 00:36:58,457
It was a parasite
in Southeast Asia,
778
00:36:58,492 --> 00:37:00,528
and around the 1960s,
779
00:37:00,563 --> 00:37:02,806
it started making the spread
around the world.
780
00:37:02,841 --> 00:37:06,983
Now it's present pretty much
everywhere honey bees are kept.
781
00:37:07,017 --> 00:37:10,158
-It's a small, little mite
782
00:37:10,193 --> 00:37:13,541
that if you compared it
to the size of a human being,
783
00:37:13,576 --> 00:37:15,543
a 150-pound human being,
784
00:37:15,578 --> 00:37:18,270
it would be like having a tick
the size of your fist.
785
00:37:18,305 --> 00:37:21,308
So, it's a huge parasite
relative to the bee's body.
786
00:37:21,342 --> 00:37:23,068
And it, literally, just pokes
787
00:37:23,102 --> 00:37:24,725
right through the body wall
of the bee
788
00:37:24,759 --> 00:37:26,520
and feeds on it,
both the adult bee
789
00:37:26,554 --> 00:37:30,731
and the developing bee,
in the larval and pupal stage.
790
00:37:30,765 --> 00:37:32,698
-Mites carry viruses.
791
00:37:32,733 --> 00:37:34,286
They transmit viruses,
792
00:37:34,321 --> 00:37:36,564
and they also, we know,
suppress the immune system.
793
00:37:36,599 --> 00:37:39,084
So, it's like a double whammy
for the bees.
794
00:37:39,118 --> 00:37:41,293
-You can kind of imagine it
as a triangle.
795
00:37:41,328 --> 00:37:44,054
There are parasites
at the top of this triangle,
796
00:37:44,089 --> 00:37:45,642
pesticides, and poor nutrition.
797
00:37:45,677 --> 00:37:47,195
There's a lot going on.
798
00:37:47,230 --> 00:37:49,474
But it seems like they're all
related to each other.
799
00:37:49,508 --> 00:37:52,304
-Most bee populations can deal
with one of these issues,
800
00:37:52,339 --> 00:37:55,238
but they can't deal with
multiple ones at the same time.
801
00:37:55,273 --> 00:37:58,655
Example of this is
the interaction of Varroa mites
802
00:37:58,690 --> 00:38:01,589
and pesticides and viruses.
803
00:38:01,624 --> 00:38:05,248
-The mites are parasites
that weaken the bees.
804
00:38:05,283 --> 00:38:06,629
They weaken the bees
805
00:38:06,663 --> 00:38:08,941
and make them more susceptible
to pesticides.
806
00:38:08,976 --> 00:38:10,978
The pesticides further
weaken the bees.
807
00:38:11,012 --> 00:38:12,359
They reduce the population,
808
00:38:12,393 --> 00:38:14,499
the number of bees
that are in the colony,
809
00:38:14,533 --> 00:38:16,949
and that gives you
a lower force of bees
810
00:38:16,984 --> 00:38:18,882
to actually go out
and retrieve food.
811
00:38:18,917 --> 00:38:21,816
-So, you have this sort of
feedback loop where, you know,
812
00:38:21,851 --> 00:38:25,061
if you have high pesticides,
virus titers can go higher,
813
00:38:25,095 --> 00:38:26,925
Varroa populations
can go higher,
814
00:38:26,959 --> 00:38:28,340
which can transmit more virus,
815
00:38:28,375 --> 00:38:30,549
and then you can
get into the cycle
816
00:38:30,584 --> 00:38:34,553
that your bees are
unable to cope with.
817
00:38:34,588 --> 00:38:36,969
-The big problem
with the mite is...
818
00:38:37,004 --> 00:38:39,662
how do you get rid
of a bug on a bug?
819
00:38:39,696 --> 00:38:41,560
We think we've put a chemical
in there to treat the mite,
820
00:38:41,595 --> 00:38:44,114
and we're going
to kill the mites.
821
00:38:44,149 --> 00:38:46,013
Well, a lot of times --
sometimes, it works,
822
00:38:46,047 --> 00:38:47,463
and sometimes it don't,
and that's where
823
00:38:47,497 --> 00:38:49,154
you get yourself
into deep trouble,
824
00:38:49,188 --> 00:38:50,914
because you either
treat for the mites,
825
00:38:50,949 --> 00:38:52,122
or the mites put you
out of business.
826
00:38:52,157 --> 00:38:53,331
It's just as simple as that.
827
00:38:53,365 --> 00:38:55,850
-You know,
it's one straw too many.
828
00:38:55,885 --> 00:38:57,162
You got mites.
You got virus.
829
00:38:57,196 --> 00:38:58,853
You got, you know,
poor nutrition,
830
00:38:58,888 --> 00:39:00,096
and then you have
831
00:39:00,130 --> 00:39:01,925
pesticide exposure
on top of that.
832
00:39:01,960 --> 00:39:07,137
It's more than we should expect
of any organism to survive.
833
00:39:07,172 --> 00:39:08,967
-What is happening
with bees right now
834
00:39:09,001 --> 00:39:11,038
is not colony collapse disorder
835
00:39:11,072 --> 00:39:13,627
that we saw over a three
to five year period.
836
00:39:13,661 --> 00:39:16,284
Rapid loss of bees
from a colony,
837
00:39:16,319 --> 00:39:17,596
and the brood's left behind
838
00:39:17,631 --> 00:39:19,460
and usually the queen
is left behind.
839
00:39:19,495 --> 00:39:20,875
That's CCD.
840
00:39:20,910 --> 00:39:25,501
-You know so many people are
so focused on CCD, CCD, CCD.
841
00:39:25,535 --> 00:39:28,089
CCD is a small,
little manifestation
842
00:39:28,124 --> 00:39:30,195
of this whole
pollinator decline.
843
00:39:30,229 --> 00:39:31,541
It much more rare
844
00:39:31,576 --> 00:39:33,681
than it was during those
initial few years --
845
00:39:33,716 --> 00:39:38,030
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008.
846
00:39:38,065 --> 00:39:41,413
It's really not
what's important.
847
00:39:41,448 --> 00:39:46,176
-Everyone uses this CCD to mean
whenever a colony dies.
848
00:39:46,211 --> 00:39:50,146
We're seeing colonies die
for a lot of reasons now.
849
00:39:58,154 --> 00:40:02,469
♪♪
850
00:40:07,474 --> 00:40:09,372
-Wild blueberries are growin'.
851
00:40:09,407 --> 00:40:12,202
Only grow here in Maine
and Nova Scotia
852
00:40:12,237 --> 00:40:16,206
Prince Edward Island,
New Brunswick, and Quebec.
853
00:40:16,241 --> 00:40:18,208
Annual event.
854
00:40:18,243 --> 00:40:19,658
Been doing this
for 30-something years
855
00:40:19,693 --> 00:40:21,004
for this company.
856
00:40:21,039 --> 00:40:25,284
So the bees are being brought inin the middle of May.
857
00:40:25,319 --> 00:40:29,703
They'll be here until
early, mid-June --
858
00:40:29,737 --> 00:40:33,258
somewhere around the 10th,
12th, 14th of June.
859
00:40:33,292 --> 00:40:35,191
The blueberries
will be done blooming,
860
00:40:35,225 --> 00:40:36,434
and they'll get them out of here
861
00:40:36,468 --> 00:40:38,470
and take them
on over to New York
862
00:40:38,505 --> 00:40:40,368
or wherever they've got to go
to produce honey
863
00:40:40,403 --> 00:40:42,370
for the rest of the summer.
864
00:40:47,410 --> 00:40:52,519
This load came out of Florida.
There's 396 hives on here.
865
00:40:52,553 --> 00:40:55,832
We're gonna put these out
in three or four yards
866
00:40:55,867 --> 00:40:58,421
this morning.
867
00:40:58,456 --> 00:40:59,940
The black flies are bad.
868
00:40:59,974 --> 00:41:02,390
We're effected by commodity
pricing everywhere --
869
00:41:02,425 --> 00:41:05,221
almonds, apples, you know,
blueberries, everything.
870
00:41:05,255 --> 00:41:07,706
You know, if they
ain't making any money,
871
00:41:07,741 --> 00:41:09,846
they can't afford to pay us
or don't want to.
872
00:41:09,881 --> 00:41:11,986
It's just the way life is.
873
00:41:12,021 --> 00:41:13,678
You got a wrecking bar?
874
00:41:13,712 --> 00:41:15,438
-It's on the nose
of the trailer.
875
00:41:15,473 --> 00:41:16,784
-Oh, okay.
I'm trying to find --
876
00:41:16,819 --> 00:41:20,098
Somebody must of took one
out of this truck.
877
00:41:20,132 --> 00:41:21,548
-But blueberries prices
are down,
878
00:41:21,582 --> 00:41:23,826
and it's costing more to producethe blueberries
879
00:41:23,860 --> 00:41:25,275
than they're worth.
880
00:41:25,310 --> 00:41:27,174
So, you know...
881
00:41:27,208 --> 00:41:28,796
it's economics.
882
00:41:36,528 --> 00:41:39,358
Well, I guess we won't
get it off quick.
883
00:41:40,877 --> 00:41:43,535
-Yeah, last night,
two tractor trailers came in,
884
00:41:43,570 --> 00:41:46,089
both of them were
Dave Hackenberg's bees.
885
00:41:46,124 --> 00:41:49,196
We put about
a third of them out.
886
00:41:49,230 --> 00:41:51,716
This morning,
we put another third out.
887
00:41:51,750 --> 00:41:53,234
Tonight we'll finish
that load --
888
00:41:53,269 --> 00:41:55,236
those two loads up.
889
00:41:57,894 --> 00:42:01,277
This road didn't get any better
since last year, either.
890
00:42:30,755 --> 00:42:33,240
[ Engine revs ]
891
00:42:37,209 --> 00:42:38,901
I'll let you put
the other one here.
892
00:42:38,935 --> 00:42:40,109
[ Chuckles ]
893
00:42:40,143 --> 00:42:42,939
-[ Indistinct talking]
894
00:42:44,734 --> 00:42:47,737
-Yeah, the other one
will go in a big hole.
895
00:42:47,772 --> 00:42:49,152
Okay.
896
00:42:49,187 --> 00:42:50,429
-There's no place
to turn around.
897
00:42:50,464 --> 00:42:52,017
It's nothing but a rock pile.
898
00:42:52,052 --> 00:42:54,364
You got to fix the fence --
His fence is there.
899
00:42:54,399 --> 00:42:56,159
I got to put his fence up.
900
00:42:56,194 --> 00:42:57,505
I got put the bees in the fence,
901
00:42:57,540 --> 00:43:00,267
and I've got to get the fence
closed up.
902
00:43:00,301 --> 00:43:01,993
[ Cellphone rings ]
903
00:43:02,027 --> 00:43:04,409
Ah, I don't want to talk to you.
904
00:43:04,443 --> 00:43:05,997
-He sits by the windows,
905
00:43:06,031 --> 00:43:08,378
'cause it's the only place
in here he gets cell service.
906
00:43:08,413 --> 00:43:10,346
-I start out to put bees
in the first yard,
907
00:43:10,380 --> 00:43:13,763
and there's spraying rigs
in the first yard.
908
00:43:13,798 --> 00:43:15,903
And where I wanted
to unload the truck,
909
00:43:15,938 --> 00:43:17,077
there was a hole.
910
00:43:17,111 --> 00:43:18,561
They were filling spray tanks
911
00:43:18,596 --> 00:43:19,769
and had their tractor trailer
912
00:43:19,804 --> 00:43:22,461
and all their spray rigs
sitting in there.
913
00:43:24,636 --> 00:43:25,982
Them pancakes sure ain't mine,
914
00:43:26,017 --> 00:43:27,777
'cause I know better than
to eat pancakes here.
915
00:43:27,812 --> 00:43:31,643
-[ Laughs ] You'll be full
for the rest of the day.
916
00:43:31,678 --> 00:43:34,025
-I can't handle
that much pancake.
917
00:43:34,059 --> 00:43:36,786
-Did you have guys have
less bees this year brought up?
918
00:43:36,821 --> 00:43:38,512
That's, like, the rumor
that's been going on,
919
00:43:38,546 --> 00:43:40,548
so I was wondering.
-Yeah, it's not a rumor.
920
00:43:40,583 --> 00:43:42,620
-So, cause I know --
-They cleared way back.
921
00:43:42,654 --> 00:43:44,656
-So, how much did they
cut you guys for?
922
00:43:44,691 --> 00:43:47,210
-They didn't cut us,
but, I mean, they cut --
923
00:43:47,245 --> 00:43:48,833
They got rid of just --
924
00:43:48,867 --> 00:43:51,594
Let a bunch of people go.
-'Cause I know a lot of people
925
00:43:51,629 --> 00:43:53,492
have been worried about, like,blueberry prices and everything.
926
00:43:53,527 --> 00:43:55,667
-Oh, yes.
-So...
927
00:43:55,702 --> 00:44:01,293
♪♪
928
00:44:01,328 --> 00:44:07,092
♪♪
929
00:44:07,127 --> 00:44:10,233
-OSHA don't want to see that!
930
00:44:10,268 --> 00:44:11,787
Go right out the road here,
931
00:44:11,821 --> 00:44:15,204
until you turn left,
and then make that first right.
932
00:44:15,238 --> 00:44:21,037
♪♪
933
00:44:34,050 --> 00:44:36,328
[ Rooster crows ]
934
00:44:36,363 --> 00:44:38,572
-We can learn a good deal
from bees
935
00:44:38,606 --> 00:44:41,713
about the health of
the landscapes that we inhabit.
936
00:44:41,748 --> 00:44:44,716
And sort of secondarily,
we can learn a good deal
937
00:44:44,751 --> 00:44:47,788
about the folly
of setting up our agriculture
938
00:44:47,823 --> 00:44:50,480
in quite the way that we have.
939
00:44:50,515 --> 00:44:52,172
It looked so efficient
940
00:44:52,206 --> 00:44:56,659
and concentrate everything
in the ways that we've done it,
941
00:44:56,694 --> 00:44:59,938
but that turns out to be
a false efficiency.
942
00:44:59,973 --> 00:45:01,388
It is the cheapest way
943
00:45:01,422 --> 00:45:05,012
to produce pork or corn
or whatever else,
944
00:45:05,047 --> 00:45:07,774
but that cheapness
comes at a high price,
945
00:45:07,808 --> 00:45:12,502
and that price is the loss
of the agricultural diversity,
946
00:45:12,537 --> 00:45:15,678
redundancy, resiliency,
947
00:45:15,713 --> 00:45:19,509
that is really beyond price.
948
00:45:19,544 --> 00:45:21,546
You know it's the thing
that we've built up
949
00:45:21,580 --> 00:45:23,790
over 10,000 years
of agriculture,
950
00:45:23,824 --> 00:45:25,619
and now in a kind of
hundred years
951
00:45:25,653 --> 00:45:27,345
of industrialization,
952
00:45:27,379 --> 00:45:29,312
we've managed to get rid
of most of it.
953
00:45:29,347 --> 00:45:33,075
-The Industrial Revolution
in the early 1900s was founded
954
00:45:33,109 --> 00:45:35,560
to take people off the land,
955
00:45:35,594 --> 00:45:37,873
bring them into cities
and into places
956
00:45:37,907 --> 00:45:39,806
where there were
other kinds of jobs
957
00:45:39,840 --> 00:45:43,257
that could be more profitable
for them.
958
00:45:43,292 --> 00:45:44,949
We had more than enough people
959
00:45:44,983 --> 00:45:47,503
to grow the food
that was necessary.
960
00:45:47,537 --> 00:45:48,953
And so the emphasis
in agriculture
961
00:45:48,987 --> 00:45:52,542
was totally focused
on increasing
962
00:45:52,577 --> 00:45:55,200
the productivity
of crop production
963
00:45:55,235 --> 00:45:59,515
and animal production
of the individual farm level.
964
00:45:59,549 --> 00:46:02,794
And we've made great strides
in doing that.
965
00:46:02,829 --> 00:46:05,693
And as a consequence,
fewer and fewer individuals
966
00:46:05,728 --> 00:46:08,800
are engaged in farming
because fewer individuals
967
00:46:08,835 --> 00:46:11,182
can farm larger
and larger operations,
968
00:46:11,216 --> 00:46:14,702
whether that's a milking herd
of a 100 cows,
969
00:46:14,737 --> 00:46:18,258
or farming 300 or 400 acres
of crops.
970
00:46:18,292 --> 00:46:19,535
We've evolved a system
971
00:46:19,569 --> 00:46:22,952
that's efficient
from use of land
972
00:46:22,987 --> 00:46:27,577
in terms of amount of food
that can be produced on it,
973
00:46:27,612 --> 00:46:29,407
but it's not
a sustainable system.
974
00:46:29,441 --> 00:46:30,995
It's not healthy for the soil.
975
00:46:31,029 --> 00:46:34,688
It's not healthy for the productthat's produced
976
00:46:34,722 --> 00:46:37,760
in terms of its nutrition
or other properties,
977
00:46:37,795 --> 00:46:42,109
and it's not healthy
for the environment as a whole.
978
00:46:42,144 --> 00:46:47,045
-Well, we went down a road
with agriculture, didn't we?
979
00:46:47,080 --> 00:46:48,633
And that road said
980
00:46:48,667 --> 00:46:50,738
that the only way to be
a successful farmer
981
00:46:50,773 --> 00:46:53,327
was to have clean fields
982
00:46:53,362 --> 00:46:56,296
and control --
983
00:46:56,330 --> 00:46:59,575
in control of your land, right?
984
00:46:59,609 --> 00:47:00,852
If you had weeds
985
00:47:00,887 --> 00:47:03,751
or if you had something
out of place,
986
00:47:03,786 --> 00:47:05,995
you were a bad farmer,
987
00:47:06,030 --> 00:47:08,549
and the easiest way
to maintain that --
988
00:47:08,584 --> 00:47:11,483
As that perception
started to increase,
989
00:47:11,518 --> 00:47:13,554
the food production system
became simpler
990
00:47:13,589 --> 00:47:15,280
and simpler and simpler.
991
00:47:15,315 --> 00:47:17,731
And the only way to maintain
a simplified system
992
00:47:17,765 --> 00:47:19,767
is with more and more jugs,
you know?
993
00:47:19,802 --> 00:47:22,253
Maybe it's fertilizers,
maybe it's GM plants,
994
00:47:22,287 --> 00:47:23,461
maybe it's herbicides,
995
00:47:23,495 --> 00:47:27,879
maybe it's insecticides,
fungicides.
996
00:47:27,914 --> 00:47:30,330
Simplify it.
Control it, right?
997
00:47:30,364 --> 00:47:33,264
And that seems to have
worked for a long time,
998
00:47:33,298 --> 00:47:36,129
but the cracks
are really showing through
999
00:47:36,163 --> 00:47:37,855
in the ice right now.
1000
00:47:37,889 --> 00:47:39,822
Everything within
the current infrastructure
1001
00:47:39,857 --> 00:47:43,032
is hell-bent on making
the system work,
1002
00:47:43,067 --> 00:47:44,344
rather than questioning,
1003
00:47:44,378 --> 00:47:48,072
should we have ever gone down
this road to begin with?
1004
00:47:52,179 --> 00:47:53,732
-In the year 2000,
1005
00:47:53,767 --> 00:47:55,665
the only corn you saw
in eastern North Dakota
1006
00:47:55,700 --> 00:47:56,943
was silage corn,
1007
00:47:56,977 --> 00:47:59,117
and there were a few
soybean fields,
1008
00:47:59,152 --> 00:48:00,739
but not very many.
1009
00:48:00,774 --> 00:48:05,468
And in 2006,
George Bush gave a talk,
1010
00:48:05,503 --> 00:48:11,371
and he mentioned something
called biofuels. [ Chuckles ]
1011
00:48:11,405 --> 00:48:13,062
And as soon as that happened,
1012
00:48:13,097 --> 00:48:15,927
the renewable fuel standard
was created.
1013
00:48:15,962 --> 00:48:21,415
We saw massive changes
here in North Dakota.
1014
00:48:21,450 --> 00:48:25,764
Now the two predominant crops
are corn and soybeans
1015
00:48:25,799 --> 00:48:28,181
and we have lost many,
many opportunities
1016
00:48:28,215 --> 00:48:30,838
for producing honey
due to those changes.
1017
00:48:30,873 --> 00:48:34,083
A lot of the grassland,a lot of the conservation acres,
1018
00:48:34,118 --> 00:48:36,120
a lot of the more
traditional crops
1019
00:48:36,154 --> 00:48:40,262
have all been replacedwith acres of corn and soybeans.
1020
00:48:40,296 --> 00:48:43,955
-When we were looking at mappingaround apiaries in North Dakota,
1021
00:48:43,990 --> 00:48:45,888
we were looking at the amount
of grasslands
1022
00:48:45,923 --> 00:48:47,338
and natural areas and stuff.
1023
00:48:47,372 --> 00:48:49,202
And as those grasslands
and all disappeared
1024
00:48:49,236 --> 00:48:51,100
and turned into crops,
like corn and soybeans,
1025
00:48:51,135 --> 00:48:53,516
there's very little fencerows
or hedgerows at all.
1026
00:48:53,551 --> 00:48:56,795
So you've got corn and soybeans
that bloom, you know,
1027
00:48:56,830 --> 00:48:58,176
one time during the year.
1028
00:48:58,211 --> 00:48:59,971
Very little other forage
out there.
1029
00:49:00,006 --> 00:49:02,318
And plus, you've got
the pesticide exposure
1030
00:49:02,353 --> 00:49:03,699
that comes with agriculture.
1031
00:49:03,733 --> 00:49:05,080
♪♪
1032
00:49:05,114 --> 00:49:07,841
-A lot of them grasslands
have not had anything
1033
00:49:07,875 --> 00:49:09,774
planted on it
for hundreds of years
1034
00:49:09,808 --> 00:49:11,362
and, all of a sudden,
we have corn in areas
1035
00:49:11,396 --> 00:49:14,606
that shouldn't have corn
because of ethanol.
1036
00:49:14,641 --> 00:49:16,160
And if they stop
planting corn today,
1037
00:49:16,194 --> 00:49:18,541
it's going to take 20
to 30 years for that ground
1038
00:49:18,576 --> 00:49:20,164
to get back in the shape it was
1039
00:49:20,198 --> 00:49:23,995
to sustain life for all
these wild insects,
1040
00:49:24,030 --> 00:49:26,860
birds, and fowl,
and everything else.
1041
00:49:26,894 --> 00:49:30,243
So we're not doing ourselves
any good.
1042
00:49:30,277 --> 00:49:32,590
-Agriculture, you know,
1043
00:49:32,624 --> 00:49:35,006
is an interruption
of a natural system.
1044
00:49:35,041 --> 00:49:38,976
But it can be done thoughtfully
as an interruption
1045
00:49:39,010 --> 00:49:42,048
of a natural system
with great benefits.
1046
00:49:42,082 --> 00:49:44,291
From what I've studied
and what I've learned
1047
00:49:44,326 --> 00:49:46,121
from visits to these farms
1048
00:49:46,155 --> 00:49:48,261
that are forced
into monoculture --
1049
00:49:48,295 --> 00:49:50,297
I just want to be careful
that we talk about farmers
1050
00:49:50,332 --> 00:49:54,715
that are driven to want to farm
in monocultures.
1051
00:49:54,750 --> 00:49:57,511
There aren't a lot
that I've met.
1052
00:49:57,546 --> 00:49:59,824
We have a system
that's teetering.
1053
00:49:59,858 --> 00:50:01,205
It's hard to recognize that
1054
00:50:01,239 --> 00:50:03,517
because the supermarket shelves
are filled.
1055
00:50:03,552 --> 00:50:06,934
The instability is there
because of our food choices.
1056
00:50:06,969 --> 00:50:08,971
Not because of some evil empire
1057
00:50:09,006 --> 00:50:13,803
trying to destabilize
our breadbasket to the world.
1058
00:50:13,838 --> 00:50:16,496
If anything,
it's because we have demanded
1059
00:50:16,530 --> 00:50:22,019
an alarmingly small diversity
of grains mostly that feed us,
1060
00:50:22,053 --> 00:50:24,676
and that's pushed
the food system that we have
1061
00:50:24,711 --> 00:50:25,815
into the place it's in.
1062
00:50:25,850 --> 00:50:28,956
So, it's a reflection of us.
1063
00:50:28,991 --> 00:50:33,409
-Crop rotation is just
really moving plants around
1064
00:50:33,444 --> 00:50:34,893
to different areas.
1065
00:50:34,928 --> 00:50:36,412
Rotation in general
1066
00:50:36,447 --> 00:50:39,967
is a really important concept
in nature.
1067
00:50:40,002 --> 00:50:43,833
It reduces the potential
of accumulated pathogens.
1068
00:50:43,868 --> 00:50:45,870
It exercises the soil
1069
00:50:45,904 --> 00:50:48,252
to really draw different things
out of it,
1070
00:50:48,286 --> 00:50:52,428
because every plant species
has a different need
1071
00:50:52,463 --> 00:50:54,085
that it's taking from the soil.
1072
00:50:54,120 --> 00:50:59,366
Kind of moving through sort of
a procession of plants.
1073
00:50:59,401 --> 00:51:02,990
You're balancing the soil
and working with that system.
1074
00:51:03,025 --> 00:51:05,510
That's not the case
with corn and soy.
1075
00:51:05,545 --> 00:51:06,891
It's our choice
1076
00:51:06,925 --> 00:51:10,446
to have transposed
this grass crop,
1077
00:51:10,481 --> 00:51:14,140
as corn or soybean crop,
1078
00:51:14,174 --> 00:51:16,728
on top of what really wants
1079
00:51:16,763 --> 00:51:18,523
to be a perennial grassland.
1080
00:51:18,558 --> 00:51:21,112
If we could really look close
at the Plains,
1081
00:51:21,147 --> 00:51:24,564
we would see huge shifts
in species.
1082
00:51:24,598 --> 00:51:28,119
And not just the animalsmoving across in the way they do
1083
00:51:28,154 --> 00:51:31,122
but the grasses changing,
one species to another,
1084
00:51:31,157 --> 00:51:32,675
over long periods of time.
1085
00:51:32,710 --> 00:51:37,128
What made the Great Plains
is that movement and change.
1086
00:51:37,163 --> 00:51:39,648
We have some of the most
beautiful soil on this planet
1087
00:51:39,682 --> 00:51:41,132
in the Midwest of our country
1088
00:51:41,167 --> 00:51:43,686
and we're just chipping it away
with corn and soy.
1089
00:51:43,721 --> 00:51:46,275
We're not generating
something new.
1090
00:51:46,310 --> 00:51:50,210
There's more that could be addedwith the corn and soy.
1091
00:51:50,245 --> 00:51:52,454
-We've lived in
the Garden of Eden.
1092
00:51:52,488 --> 00:51:54,973
We came to a place
that had virgin soils
1093
00:51:55,008 --> 00:51:57,355
and has temperate climate
that have resulted
1094
00:51:57,390 --> 00:52:00,117
in an over-abundance of food
from the beginning.
1095
00:52:00,151 --> 00:52:03,775
And when the soils were depletedon the East Coast,
1096
00:52:03,810 --> 00:52:05,329
we plowed up the Midwest
1097
00:52:05,363 --> 00:52:07,710
and became very rich
off of that.
1098
00:52:07,745 --> 00:52:11,818
And when those soils
were depleted and distraught,
1099
00:52:11,852 --> 00:52:12,957
we moved west.
1100
00:52:12,991 --> 00:52:14,821
Manifest Destiny
is about chasing
1101
00:52:14,855 --> 00:52:16,650
virgin soil and yields,
1102
00:52:16,685 --> 00:52:19,584
and we have come to the end
of the line, of course,
1103
00:52:19,619 --> 00:52:21,103
only just recently.
1104
00:52:21,138 --> 00:52:23,588
And so the question now
is a real inflection point
1105
00:52:23,623 --> 00:52:25,072
of a fork in the road --
1106
00:52:25,107 --> 00:52:26,453
Do you put the pedal
to the metal
1107
00:52:26,488 --> 00:52:27,730
and try and increase the yields?
1108
00:52:27,765 --> 00:52:29,180
You think about
how we produce food
1109
00:52:29,215 --> 00:52:30,906
in a completely different way,
and if we do,
1110
00:52:30,940 --> 00:52:32,252
then we have to change
the whole food culture.
1111
00:52:32,287 --> 00:52:34,358
We really have
to create a system,
1112
00:52:34,392 --> 00:52:36,394
a pattern of eating
that supports
1113
00:52:36,429 --> 00:52:38,396
the kind of diversity
that the landscape
1114
00:52:38,431 --> 00:52:40,364
needs to be healthy.
1115
00:52:40,398 --> 00:52:41,434
We don't have that.
1116
00:52:41,468 --> 00:52:43,401
-Think about a place
like the Dakotas,
1117
00:52:43,436 --> 00:52:47,336
which used to be a diverse
agricultural landscape
1118
00:52:47,371 --> 00:52:52,721
and actually perfect for bees,
in that part of their cycle,
1119
00:52:52,755 --> 00:52:54,378
you know, far north.
1120
00:52:54,412 --> 00:52:59,037
We've turned it into
a agricultural monoculture.
1121
00:52:59,072 --> 00:53:02,109
And we've interspersed
that monoculture
1122
00:53:02,144 --> 00:53:03,973
with thousands of oil wells,
1123
00:53:04,008 --> 00:53:06,700
as we have fracked apart
the Bakken shale.
1124
00:53:06,735 --> 00:53:09,047
It's a pretty remarkable
1125
00:53:09,082 --> 00:53:11,222
industrial landscape now.
1126
00:53:11,257 --> 00:53:12,982
And it's not very friendly
to people,
1127
00:53:13,017 --> 00:53:14,536
at least the people
who'd been there
1128
00:53:14,570 --> 00:53:16,572
for many thousands of years,
1129
00:53:16,607 --> 00:53:19,126
who have tried their best
to stand up against things
1130
00:53:19,161 --> 00:53:21,267
like the Dakota Access Pipeline.
1131
00:53:21,301 --> 00:53:24,028
And it's not very friendly
to wild nature,
1132
00:53:24,062 --> 00:53:27,238
including the pollinators.
1133
00:53:27,273 --> 00:53:30,483
We have this idea
of the American west
1134
00:53:30,517 --> 00:53:33,658
as this great untamed
natural place,
1135
00:53:33,693 --> 00:53:38,145
but, in fact,
outside of the national parks,
1136
00:53:38,180 --> 00:53:40,009
it's been about
as industrialized
1137
00:53:40,044 --> 00:53:42,253
as it's possible to get.
1138
00:53:42,288 --> 00:53:46,119
♪♪
1139
00:53:46,153 --> 00:53:48,708
-The bees are dying right now.
1140
00:53:48,742 --> 00:53:50,744
They're not the only things
that are dying.
1141
00:53:50,779 --> 00:53:54,886
I mean, we're also losing birds,bats, butterflies.
1142
00:53:54,921 --> 00:53:57,026
Entire habitats we're losing.
1143
00:53:57,061 --> 00:53:58,959
This is one of the worst
mass extinction events
1144
00:53:58,994 --> 00:54:01,238
the planet Earth has ever seen.
1145
00:54:01,272 --> 00:54:02,929
So, what are they facing
right now?
1146
00:54:02,963 --> 00:54:04,896
It's the same thing
that we're all facing.
1147
00:54:04,931 --> 00:54:07,244
Pollution in the environment,
1148
00:54:07,278 --> 00:54:09,176
a simplified
agricultural system,
1149
00:54:09,211 --> 00:54:12,421
a simplified landscape
where they can't find food.
1150
00:54:12,456 --> 00:54:15,355
Suddenly, you've got starving,poisoned bees, and guess what --
1151
00:54:15,390 --> 00:54:17,426
They get sick.
1152
00:54:17,461 --> 00:54:21,119
So, what do I see when I see
this simplified system?
1153
00:54:21,154 --> 00:54:24,468
I see farmers that are ready
to make a change,
1154
00:54:24,502 --> 00:54:26,021
but don't have --
1155
00:54:26,055 --> 00:54:27,919
They're not hearing any voices
telling them
1156
00:54:27,954 --> 00:54:29,231
what this is
supposed to look like
1157
00:54:29,266 --> 00:54:31,060
or how to get it done.
1158
00:54:31,095 --> 00:54:33,511
And we can start that.
1159
00:54:33,546 --> 00:54:34,788
It's already started.
1160
00:54:34,823 --> 00:54:36,928
It's already started.
1161
00:54:36,963 --> 00:54:38,309
We know what we have to do.
1162
00:54:38,344 --> 00:54:40,484
It's just a matter
of getting it done.
1163
00:54:50,563 --> 00:54:54,981
♪♪
1164
00:54:56,983 --> 00:54:59,572
-We got corn, soybeans,
and small grains.
1165
00:54:59,606 --> 00:55:02,954
We got some rye.
We're growing some canola.
1166
00:55:02,989 --> 00:55:05,232
That's up along
the hill up here.
1167
00:55:05,267 --> 00:55:06,717
It's about two years old.
1168
00:55:06,751 --> 00:55:09,167
We're also growing
some yellow field peas.
1169
00:55:09,202 --> 00:55:11,342
So, we got a diverse mix
of some things,
1170
00:55:11,377 --> 00:55:16,347
but we're just not
your standard farmers.
1171
00:55:16,382 --> 00:55:21,283
Last probably six, seven years,
we've been farming
1172
00:55:21,318 --> 00:55:24,182
a little bit different
than mainstream agriculture.
1173
00:55:24,217 --> 00:55:28,394
We've been trying
to solve some problems
1174
00:55:28,428 --> 00:55:29,981
we're seeing on some
of our farms
1175
00:55:30,016 --> 00:55:32,501
and bring it full circle
1176
00:55:32,536 --> 00:55:35,746
and bring it
into modern agriculture
1177
00:55:35,780 --> 00:55:38,818
and not just be satisfied
1178
00:55:38,852 --> 00:55:42,028
with status quo, I guess.
1179
00:55:42,062 --> 00:55:44,375
A lot of things are
self-pollinating.
1180
00:55:44,410 --> 00:55:47,344
That's why, I think,
a lot of farmers
1181
00:55:47,378 --> 00:55:50,795
don't recognize bees
as an important issue.
1182
00:55:50,830 --> 00:55:53,867
Because, well, what do I need
to worry about bees for?
1183
00:55:53,902 --> 00:55:55,386
The rye pollinates itself.
1184
00:55:55,421 --> 00:55:58,389
The corn pollinates itself.
1185
00:55:58,424 --> 00:56:00,564
Farmers need to realize,
is that the bees are,
1186
00:56:00,598 --> 00:56:02,186
like, one of the first
line of defense
1187
00:56:02,220 --> 00:56:04,222
of why they're disappearing.
1188
00:56:04,257 --> 00:56:05,534
If the bees are disappearing,
1189
00:56:05,569 --> 00:56:07,156
what else has
disappeared already,
1190
00:56:07,191 --> 00:56:09,642
because we don't count
anything else.
1191
00:56:09,676 --> 00:56:13,024
And I think that's --
that's kind of the canary
1192
00:56:13,059 --> 00:56:15,889
in the mine shaft.
1193
00:56:15,924 --> 00:56:17,995
Opened our eyes up
to pay attention
1194
00:56:18,029 --> 00:56:19,583
to what's going on the fields.
1195
00:56:19,617 --> 00:56:21,688
And people don't think
1196
00:56:21,723 --> 00:56:24,657
about how pollination
is important but it's --
1197
00:56:24,691 --> 00:56:28,419
Without pollination, we wouldn'thave nothing but a stalk here.
1198
00:56:28,454 --> 00:56:30,145
So...
1199
00:56:30,179 --> 00:56:33,459
Traditional farming guys
have a breakeven on --
1200
00:56:33,493 --> 00:56:34,839
They need the yields so much,
1201
00:56:34,874 --> 00:56:39,568
because I need to get
a hundred bushel of corn
1202
00:56:39,603 --> 00:56:41,398
to sell for "X" amount
of dollars
1203
00:56:41,432 --> 00:56:44,780
to pay for my input costs,
to breakeven.
1204
00:56:44,815 --> 00:56:47,990
Anything above that's good --
that's the money you make.
1205
00:56:48,025 --> 00:56:51,511
But everybody gets focused
on the yield, yield, yield.
1206
00:56:51,546 --> 00:56:53,375
We need more yield
to make money.
1207
00:56:53,410 --> 00:56:55,550
And it's -- In my book,
it's not all about yield.
1208
00:56:55,584 --> 00:56:59,070
It's about being profitable
on the front side
1209
00:56:59,105 --> 00:57:03,281
with keeping your costs at bay.
1210
00:57:03,316 --> 00:57:05,111
Most farmers would
be freaking out
1211
00:57:05,145 --> 00:57:06,699
by this crop
that's standing here,
1212
00:57:06,733 --> 00:57:09,426
and I'm just tickled to death
that it's still here yet.
1213
00:57:09,460 --> 00:57:11,255
This rye is going to lay down
1214
00:57:11,289 --> 00:57:15,224
and create a mat
on top of the surface.
1215
00:57:15,259 --> 00:57:19,815
It's going to create
a habitat for insects.
1216
00:57:19,850 --> 00:57:21,196
But it takes some management.
1217
00:57:21,230 --> 00:57:25,096
And the problem is,
is this isn't simple.
1218
00:57:25,131 --> 00:57:27,961
This isn't --
This is outside the box,
1219
00:57:27,996 --> 00:57:29,480
and farmers want
to be in the box.
1220
00:57:29,515 --> 00:57:30,895
They want to buy it in the jug.
1221
00:57:30,930 --> 00:57:33,588
They want to buy it in the bag.
1222
00:57:33,622 --> 00:57:35,900
I don't want to buy it
in the bag or a jug
1223
00:57:35,935 --> 00:57:37,730
because that all costs me money.
1224
00:57:37,764 --> 00:57:40,491
Yes, cover crop seed
costs me money,
1225
00:57:40,526 --> 00:57:43,252
but it's about learning
how to work with nature
1226
00:57:43,287 --> 00:57:46,324
and allowing our plants
to work for us.
1227
00:57:46,359 --> 00:57:48,568
-This was a soybean field
last year.
1228
00:57:48,603 --> 00:57:50,225
And soon as the soybeans
come off,
1229
00:57:50,259 --> 00:57:51,847
we get right on it with a drill
1230
00:57:51,882 --> 00:57:53,918
and plant the cover crop.
1231
00:57:53,953 --> 00:57:55,782
And it's the multispecies,
1232
00:57:55,817 --> 00:57:57,508
They call it multispecies.
1233
00:57:57,543 --> 00:58:00,062
It's crimson clover, the vetch,
1234
00:58:00,097 --> 00:58:03,410
the sweet peas, the rye.
1235
00:58:03,445 --> 00:58:06,275
He's got as much as seven
and eight different varieties.
1236
00:58:06,310 --> 00:58:09,244
He's just he's always
trying something.
1237
00:58:09,278 --> 00:58:12,350
Here we got vetch,
1238
00:58:12,385 --> 00:58:14,318
the purple flowers
1239
00:58:14,352 --> 00:58:16,976
and then crimson clover.
1240
00:58:17,010 --> 00:58:19,185
Right here is the vetch,
lays down.
1241
00:58:19,219 --> 00:58:21,739
They're all
the natural fertilizers.
1242
00:58:30,955 --> 00:58:33,302
This is before...
1243
00:58:33,337 --> 00:58:36,409
with everything up there,
and this is the after.
1244
00:58:36,443 --> 00:58:39,377
And, the only thing
1245
00:58:39,412 --> 00:58:41,310
that disturbs this soil
is the planter disk.
1246
00:58:41,345 --> 00:58:44,175
And this is the only place
where it's worked up.
1247
00:58:44,210 --> 00:58:46,074
And that's just perfect.
1248
00:58:46,108 --> 00:58:48,663
♪♪
1249
00:58:48,697 --> 00:58:51,735
-Come to the realization
that soil isn't dirt,
1250
00:58:51,769 --> 00:58:55,566
and that soil is a living,
growing, thriving thing.
1251
00:58:55,601 --> 00:59:00,571
And just as you commented
on why soil is so important
1252
00:59:00,606 --> 00:59:03,919
to the bee population
and bee health,
1253
00:59:03,954 --> 00:59:06,404
it's also important
to human health, also,
1254
00:59:06,439 --> 00:59:10,201
and that is something I think
is hugely overlooked.
1255
00:59:10,236 --> 00:59:11,582
-We're trying.
1256
00:59:11,617 --> 00:59:13,101
You know, we're trying
to help the environment.
1257
00:59:13,135 --> 00:59:14,309
I mean, we're doing
all we can do
1258
00:59:14,343 --> 00:59:18,520
to do our share to save soils,
1259
00:59:18,555 --> 00:59:23,594
cut down on sprays,
1260
00:59:23,629 --> 00:59:27,667
just trying to help
the environment, you know.
1261
00:59:27,702 --> 00:59:31,188
-So what we have here is kind ofa juxtaposition of contrast.
1262
00:59:31,222 --> 00:59:36,538
We've got what agriculture says,you know,
1263
00:59:36,573 --> 00:59:39,645
is a well-managed farm over here
1264
00:59:39,679 --> 00:59:43,614
and what I say is
well managed farm over here,
1265
00:59:43,649 --> 00:59:46,721
as far as the diversity
and stuff like that.
1266
00:59:46,755 --> 00:59:51,001
But this is soil from
a heavily tilled field, right?
1267
00:59:51,035 --> 00:59:52,623
[ Thudding ]
That's hard.
1268
00:59:52,658 --> 00:59:55,419
Imagine if you were a raindrop,
and you were falling,
1269
00:59:55,453 --> 00:59:57,732
none of that water
gets into the soil.
1270
00:59:57,766 --> 01:00:01,080
All of it just bounces off
and then runs away, right?
1271
01:00:01,114 --> 01:00:03,772
Carrying, often times, a lot
of your top soil with it.
1272
01:00:03,807 --> 01:00:05,532
I mean, when you --
[ Sniffs ]
1273
01:00:05,567 --> 01:00:09,088
When you smell it,
there's not a lot there, right?
1274
01:00:09,122 --> 01:00:10,986
You break it up
and what happens?
1275
01:00:11,021 --> 01:00:12,263
It plates off.
1276
01:00:12,298 --> 01:00:13,679
It plates.
Look at that.
1277
01:00:13,713 --> 01:00:16,026
because there's nothing
growing in there.
1278
01:00:16,060 --> 01:00:18,787
There's very little
organic matter, okay.
1279
01:00:18,822 --> 01:00:21,100
Breaking it up --
I don't see any worms.
1280
01:00:21,134 --> 01:00:23,930
I don't see any ants, nothing.
1281
01:00:26,588 --> 01:00:30,212
So, now let's take a look
at what we've got over here
1282
01:00:30,247 --> 01:00:32,870
in our regenerative soil.
1283
01:00:35,493 --> 01:00:37,668
Now look at this.
Look at this.
1284
01:00:37,703 --> 01:00:39,152
That...
1285
01:00:39,187 --> 01:00:41,810
That is a healthy soil.
1286
01:00:41,845 --> 01:00:43,294
It crumbles.
1287
01:00:43,329 --> 01:00:45,227
That is a healthy soil.
1288
01:00:45,262 --> 01:00:47,954
You want to know the answer
to your bee problem is?
1289
01:00:47,989 --> 01:00:49,611
Right there.
1290
01:00:49,646 --> 01:00:52,683
This is the answer
to the bee problem.
1291
01:00:52,718 --> 01:00:57,170
If we got this on most
of America's soils again,
1292
01:00:57,205 --> 01:00:59,379
your bees would stop dying.
1293
01:00:59,414 --> 01:01:03,936
♪♪
1294
01:01:05,938 --> 01:01:09,873
-Well, we're sitting
25 miles from New York City
1295
01:01:09,907 --> 01:01:13,739
in the middle of a working farm
and education center
1296
01:01:13,773 --> 01:01:18,019
that explores the intersection
between animal, vegetable,
1297
01:01:18,053 --> 01:01:20,711
and grain agriculture
and the dining table,
1298
01:01:20,746 --> 01:01:22,748
the community around food,
1299
01:01:22,782 --> 01:01:25,682
and how do we promote
good agriculture
1300
01:01:25,716 --> 01:01:27,062
and how do we talk about it
1301
01:01:27,097 --> 01:01:30,825
and inspire others
to do this kind of system
1302
01:01:30,859 --> 01:01:33,759
in other regions
of the country and the world?
1303
01:01:33,793 --> 01:01:37,970
-We want to generate health
in this space,
1304
01:01:38,004 --> 01:01:41,007
first with the soil
and the environment around it,
1305
01:01:41,042 --> 01:01:44,321
and that all areas,
not just the production,
1306
01:01:44,355 --> 01:01:45,736
are really our focus.
1307
01:01:45,771 --> 01:01:48,705
We recognize
the value of habitat
1308
01:01:48,739 --> 01:01:52,812
and the value of buffer
and diversity and rotation
1309
01:01:52,847 --> 01:01:54,158
and soil health
1310
01:01:54,193 --> 01:01:59,301
as sort of components
to long-term sustainability.
1311
01:01:59,336 --> 01:02:00,751
In the face of climate change,
1312
01:02:00,786 --> 01:02:03,133
these systems are
much more resilient.
1313
01:02:03,167 --> 01:02:04,686
Protecting the land around us,
1314
01:02:04,721 --> 01:02:08,310
protecting the soil under us
is really our obligation,
1315
01:02:08,345 --> 01:02:10,657
and from that, we get delicious,
1316
01:02:10,692 --> 01:02:13,660
nourishing products.
1317
01:02:13,695 --> 01:02:17,285
-Diversity is useful
1318
01:02:17,319 --> 01:02:19,252
because nature
1319
01:02:19,287 --> 01:02:23,463
is complicated.
1320
01:02:23,498 --> 01:02:25,500
Evolution has produced
1321
01:02:25,534 --> 01:02:27,744
an enormously intricate
1322
01:02:27,778 --> 01:02:32,990
and interesting world around us
1323
01:02:33,025 --> 01:02:34,785
with billions of niches
1324
01:02:34,820 --> 01:02:38,789
filled by different creatures
doing different things.
1325
01:02:38,824 --> 01:02:43,276
And the human effort
to simplify, basically,
1326
01:02:43,311 --> 01:02:44,761
is an effort of pulling out
1327
01:02:44,795 --> 01:02:46,659
as many of those pieces
as you can
1328
01:02:46,693 --> 01:02:48,695
and seeing what
you can get away with.
1329
01:02:48,730 --> 01:02:50,007
-When I look out and I see,
1330
01:02:50,042 --> 01:02:53,873
you know,
simplified agriculture,
1331
01:02:53,908 --> 01:02:55,806
I see an opportunity, I guess.
1332
01:02:55,841 --> 01:02:58,913
You know, 5% of the terrestrial
land surface of the country
1333
01:02:58,947 --> 01:03:00,880
right now is corn.
1334
01:03:00,915 --> 01:03:05,022
It's not 5% of the crop land.
5% of the land.
1335
01:03:05,057 --> 01:03:06,921
One plant species.
1336
01:03:06,955 --> 01:03:10,579
It's all maintained
with chemical fertilizers,
1337
01:03:10,614 --> 01:03:12,858
most of it's
genetically modified,
1338
01:03:12,892 --> 01:03:15,343
almost all of it is
treated with glyphosate,
1339
01:03:15,377 --> 01:03:19,174
almost all of it is treated withneonicotinoid seed treatments.
1340
01:03:19,209 --> 01:03:22,660
One corn seed has enough
neonicotinoid seed treatment
1341
01:03:22,695 --> 01:03:25,284
on it to kill tens
of thousands of bees.
1342
01:03:25,318 --> 01:03:28,390
There is a real sense
of urgency right now.
1343
01:03:28,425 --> 01:03:33,464
Climates are shifting because ofhow we're producing our foods.
1344
01:03:33,499 --> 01:03:36,088
Pollution
is rampant right now
1345
01:03:36,122 --> 01:03:38,745
because of how
we're producing our food.
1346
01:03:38,780 --> 01:03:40,609
That also gives us
an opportunity,
1347
01:03:40,644 --> 01:03:42,301
a large scale opportunity,
1348
01:03:42,335 --> 01:03:45,166
because our food production
system is so extensive,
1349
01:03:45,200 --> 01:03:49,895
to solve these
planetary scale problems.
1350
01:03:49,929 --> 01:03:51,413
♪♪
1351
01:03:51,448 --> 01:03:54,934
-The strip we're standing on is
actually a pollinator strip.
1352
01:03:54,969 --> 01:03:56,902
The farmer that
I rent this from,
1353
01:03:56,936 --> 01:03:58,869
he grows pumpkins
and sweet corn,
1354
01:03:58,904 --> 01:04:01,009
and the last three, four years,
1355
01:04:01,044 --> 01:04:04,495
his goal and my goal
is create habitat
1356
01:04:04,530 --> 01:04:06,843
for beneficial
insects and the bees.
1357
01:04:06,877 --> 01:04:08,983
Part of the field,
it doesn't get sprayed,
1358
01:04:09,017 --> 01:04:11,433
just to start working
with nature a little bit
1359
01:04:11,468 --> 01:04:13,746
and help them out
a little bit.
1360
01:04:13,780 --> 01:04:16,093
He takes pumpkins
to local produce over here,
1361
01:04:16,128 --> 01:04:19,096
and they want to know
how much time he spends
1362
01:04:19,131 --> 01:04:21,098
washing his pumpkins,
and he said,
1363
01:04:21,133 --> 01:04:22,686
"I don't wash my pumpkins
hardly anymore
1364
01:04:22,720 --> 01:04:23,756
because they're all clean.
1365
01:04:23,790 --> 01:04:25,068
They lay on top of this rye."
1366
01:04:25,102 --> 01:04:26,586
And they said,
"Well, you're full of mud.
1367
01:04:26,621 --> 01:04:27,898
You can't no-till pumpkins,"
1368
01:04:27,933 --> 01:04:30,901
and he's like,
"Well, come to my farm."
1369
01:04:32,834 --> 01:04:34,111
-What we've got here is --
1370
01:04:34,146 --> 01:04:36,044
this is going to be
a pumpkin field.
1371
01:04:36,079 --> 01:04:39,737
So, about a month ago,
we came in,
1372
01:04:39,772 --> 01:04:42,533
and we planted an early
pollinator strip,
1373
01:04:42,568 --> 01:04:45,191
which was buckwheat and mustard,
1374
01:04:45,226 --> 01:04:48,677
and the idea is to try to get
that established quickly
1375
01:04:48,712 --> 01:04:50,783
so that when you know,
1376
01:04:50,817 --> 01:04:52,923
we do start
to plant pumpkins in here,
1377
01:04:52,958 --> 01:04:56,858
that there already
will be something existing
1378
01:04:56,893 --> 01:04:58,895
to attract
our beneficial insects.
1379
01:04:58,929 --> 01:05:01,207
The idea to that is then
that we will have something
1380
01:05:01,242 --> 01:05:04,831
blooming the entire time
that the pumpkins are growing.
1381
01:05:04,866 --> 01:05:08,628
So, another tactic, if you
want to put it that way,
1382
01:05:08,663 --> 01:05:10,596
we tried this year was...
1383
01:05:10,630 --> 01:05:12,529
Now, we did this
about 10 days ago,
1384
01:05:12,563 --> 01:05:14,807
where we came in,
and we planted a row
1385
01:05:14,841 --> 01:05:16,119
of Blue Hubbard squash.
1386
01:05:16,153 --> 01:05:18,397
I've been told by numerous
seed companies
1387
01:05:18,431 --> 01:05:20,123
and also other producers
1388
01:05:20,157 --> 01:05:23,989
that Blue Hubbard squash attractthe cucumber beetles
1389
01:05:24,023 --> 01:05:26,267
particularly more
than they will attract
1390
01:05:26,301 --> 01:05:27,993
to regular pumpkin plants.
1391
01:05:28,027 --> 01:05:33,619
The idea is, it creates a trap
for these bugs to come to.
1392
01:05:33,653 --> 01:05:35,586
So, I pulled back the rye here
1393
01:05:35,621 --> 01:05:37,485
that was the cover crop
in this field,
1394
01:05:37,519 --> 01:05:40,350
and this is one of the
Blue Hubbard plants right here.
1395
01:05:40,384 --> 01:05:42,904
You can see how it's chewed.
1396
01:05:42,939 --> 01:05:45,217
Now, the cucumber beetles
you're not seeing right now
1397
01:05:45,251 --> 01:05:46,908
because they're very shy.
1398
01:05:46,943 --> 01:05:48,254
As soon as they hear
or see something,
1399
01:05:48,289 --> 01:05:51,809
they take off
and hide in the residue,
1400
01:05:51,844 --> 01:05:55,952
which you can see here, as well,which feeds our biologics
1401
01:05:55,986 --> 01:05:59,852
and our critters that live
in our soils here.
1402
01:05:59,886 --> 01:06:01,785
But there you can see
what we got,
1403
01:06:01,819 --> 01:06:06,479
and they're just chewing
the bejeepers out of this row,
1404
01:06:06,514 --> 01:06:08,654
and if we go over here...
1405
01:06:10,138 --> 01:06:13,279
...here's a row
that's 6 feet away from it,
1406
01:06:13,314 --> 01:06:16,144
and this isn't just one
that I picked out.
1407
01:06:16,179 --> 01:06:18,146
They're in a row here,
every 4 feet.
1408
01:06:18,181 --> 01:06:20,873
You can see that this plant
is green and lush
1409
01:06:20,907 --> 01:06:24,428
and no insect damage on it,
whatsoever.
1410
01:06:24,463 --> 01:06:27,017
There's another one
and right on down the row.
1411
01:06:27,052 --> 01:06:30,779
This is not the results
I expected to see this early.
1412
01:06:30,814 --> 01:06:32,643
I really didn't expect
to see this till later
1413
01:06:32,678 --> 01:06:34,611
when there was
actual flowers on them
1414
01:06:34,645 --> 01:06:35,992
and there'd be more pollen there
1415
01:06:36,026 --> 01:06:38,649
and that pollen I believe
is more attracted --
1416
01:06:38,684 --> 01:06:42,136
the cucumber beetles are more
attracted to that type pollen.
1417
01:06:42,170 --> 01:06:44,586
So, it has just really been
amazing,
1418
01:06:44,621 --> 01:06:46,899
and, like I said, we're in the
very beginning stages of this,
1419
01:06:46,933 --> 01:06:49,453
but man, it's got me
fired up right now.
1420
01:06:49,488 --> 01:06:52,042
So, we're excited.
1421
01:06:52,077 --> 01:06:53,423
What we're going to do is,
1422
01:06:53,457 --> 01:06:56,081
we're going to use
our little hand sprayer
1423
01:06:56,115 --> 01:06:58,152
and we're only going
to spray this row.
1424
01:06:58,186 --> 01:07:00,740
If we can keep them
contained to one area
1425
01:07:00,775 --> 01:07:02,777
and not have
to spray insecticide
1426
01:07:02,811 --> 01:07:04,020
over the entire field,
1427
01:07:04,054 --> 01:07:06,125
which, you know,
most of the insecticides,
1428
01:07:06,160 --> 01:07:08,507
when you spray it,
you kill everything,
1429
01:07:08,541 --> 01:07:11,406
and we don't want to do that.
1430
01:07:11,441 --> 01:07:14,099
[ Sheep bleat ]
1431
01:07:14,133 --> 01:07:16,446
-Regenerative farming,
number one,
1432
01:07:16,480 --> 01:07:19,311
it's the future
of our food production system.
1433
01:07:19,345 --> 01:07:21,140
I don't see any other way
around it.
1434
01:07:21,175 --> 01:07:24,419
The principles seem
to be consistent.
1435
01:07:24,454 --> 01:07:26,007
Do not disturb the soil.
1436
01:07:26,042 --> 01:07:29,493
Tillage was one
of our biggest follies.
1437
01:07:29,528 --> 01:07:33,670
Number two, there should always
be a living root in that soil.
1438
01:07:33,704 --> 01:07:36,983
Number three is,
some diversity of plants
1439
01:07:37,018 --> 01:07:38,399
is better than none,
1440
01:07:38,433 --> 01:07:40,573
and more is better than less.
1441
01:07:40,608 --> 01:07:43,473
And then the final principle
that seems to be unifying
1442
01:07:43,507 --> 01:07:46,096
in all of these different
regenerative farms
1443
01:07:46,131 --> 01:07:50,100
is integrating crops
and livestock production.
1444
01:07:50,135 --> 01:07:51,860
We separated them, didn't we?
1445
01:07:51,895 --> 01:07:53,793
We partitioned those things,
1446
01:07:53,828 --> 01:07:57,763
so now we ship our grain
from our cornfield
1447
01:07:57,797 --> 01:07:59,213
over to a feed lot
1448
01:07:59,247 --> 01:08:01,111
and shove it down
a cow's throat,
1449
01:08:01,146 --> 01:08:02,733
and then we have
to pump the manure
1450
01:08:02,768 --> 01:08:04,839
back over onto the crop ground,
1451
01:08:04,873 --> 01:08:08,118
and that's like,
what on Earth happened here?
1452
01:08:08,153 --> 01:08:09,740
When, really,
all the cows want to do
1453
01:08:09,775 --> 01:08:12,881
is just eat grass
to begin with.
1454
01:08:12,916 --> 01:08:16,057
-It's also an opportunity
where everybody wins.
1455
01:08:16,092 --> 01:08:18,266
The farmers win.
The beekeepers win.
1456
01:08:18,301 --> 01:08:21,166
Rural communities
are regenerated.
1457
01:08:21,200 --> 01:08:23,168
Natural resources are rebuilt.
1458
01:08:23,202 --> 01:08:25,342
When these farmers
start to adopt
1459
01:08:25,377 --> 01:08:27,758
these really
innovative practices,
1460
01:08:27,793 --> 01:08:29,829
then they become
the mouthpieces.
1461
01:08:29,864 --> 01:08:31,383
They have so much
more credibility
1462
01:08:31,417 --> 01:08:33,454
than a scientist does
with their neighbors.
1463
01:08:33,488 --> 01:08:35,318
You know,
there's a relationship there,
1464
01:08:35,352 --> 01:08:36,698
and there's a trust there
1465
01:08:36,733 --> 01:08:39,977
and seeing is believing.
1466
01:08:40,012 --> 01:08:42,083
-20 years from now, cover crops
1467
01:08:42,118 --> 01:08:44,258
and that regenerative farming
will be the norm.
1468
01:08:44,292 --> 01:08:47,882
I think we've probably hit
the worst spot for bees,
1469
01:08:47,916 --> 01:08:49,677
and we're on the mend now.
1470
01:08:49,711 --> 01:08:51,920
It hasn't had a lot
of acceptance,
1471
01:08:51,955 --> 01:08:54,164
but there's cutting edge guys
in every community
1472
01:08:54,199 --> 01:08:56,580
that are starting to do this
and experiment.
1473
01:08:56,615 --> 01:09:00,481
And, you know,
more than policy,
1474
01:09:00,515 --> 01:09:03,069
what gets buy-in is new pickups.
1475
01:09:03,104 --> 01:09:05,175
So, when they're successful,
1476
01:09:05,210 --> 01:09:08,903
their neighbors will notice it,
and anyway,
1477
01:09:08,937 --> 01:09:10,663
then that word will spread
like wildflower,
1478
01:09:10,698 --> 01:09:16,152
'cause even faster than policy,
new pickups. [ Chuckles ]
1479
01:09:16,186 --> 01:09:18,913
That's what spreads techniques.
1480
01:09:18,947 --> 01:09:23,124
♪♪
1481
01:09:23,159 --> 01:09:25,230
-We probably ought to talk
a little bit about EPA,
1482
01:09:25,264 --> 01:09:30,959
'cause, you know,
EPA, in my opinion,
1483
01:09:30,994 --> 01:09:34,239
has been co-opted by the people
1484
01:09:34,273 --> 01:09:36,241
they're supposed to regulate.
1485
01:09:36,275 --> 01:09:38,346
-[ Sighs ]
1486
01:09:38,381 --> 01:09:42,764
EPA should be taking care of,
protecting our environment.
1487
01:09:42,799 --> 01:09:43,972
I call them the CPA.
1488
01:09:44,007 --> 01:09:46,147
They're chemical
protection agency.
1489
01:09:46,182 --> 01:09:49,771
I've talked to people from EPA
in bee meetings already
1490
01:09:49,806 --> 01:09:51,739
about just, like,
this corn deal.
1491
01:09:51,773 --> 01:09:54,259
They know planting this corn.
They've tested the dust.
1492
01:09:54,293 --> 01:09:56,502
They know how bad
this chemical issue is
1493
01:09:56,537 --> 01:09:59,298
coming off the corn,
but when you talk to them,
1494
01:09:59,333 --> 01:10:01,127
the first thing out
of the guy's mouth is,
1495
01:10:01,162 --> 01:10:03,199
"What do you want me to do,
tell the farmer he can't use
1496
01:10:03,233 --> 01:10:05,408
his new $150,000
piece of equipment?"
1497
01:10:05,442 --> 01:10:07,962
And that my thing was,
what does it matter to you?
1498
01:10:07,996 --> 01:10:09,998
You're the EPA,
1499
01:10:10,033 --> 01:10:11,517
the Environmental
Protection Agency.
1500
01:10:11,552 --> 01:10:14,140
Your job is protecting
the environment at all cost.
1501
01:10:14,175 --> 01:10:15,659
It doesn't matter what
that farmer paid
1502
01:10:15,694 --> 01:10:17,143
for that piece of machinery.
1503
01:10:17,178 --> 01:10:19,145
It doesn't matter what
the chemical company paid
1504
01:10:19,180 --> 01:10:20,768
to put that chemical
on the market.
1505
01:10:20,802 --> 01:10:22,839
Your job is protecting
the environment.
1506
01:10:22,873 --> 01:10:26,118
-EPA doesn't do much
original science,
1507
01:10:26,152 --> 01:10:27,947
certainly not
the regulatory branches,
1508
01:10:27,982 --> 01:10:30,018
like the Office
of Pesticide Programs.
1509
01:10:30,053 --> 01:10:32,883
The Office of Research
and Development does,
1510
01:10:32,918 --> 01:10:34,540
but they don't
regulate anything.
1511
01:10:34,575 --> 01:10:37,785
The Office of Pesticide Programshas people who review studies
1512
01:10:37,819 --> 01:10:40,270
that are done by, typically,
1513
01:10:40,305 --> 01:10:41,961
chemical manufacturers,
themselves,
1514
01:10:41,996 --> 01:10:46,000
or consulting companies that
they hire to do these studies.
1515
01:10:46,034 --> 01:10:47,726
Guidelines for studies
on honey bees
1516
01:10:47,760 --> 01:10:49,279
are not very well developed yet,
1517
01:10:49,314 --> 01:10:50,832
and just in the last few years
1518
01:10:50,867 --> 01:10:53,490
do they even have
some guidelines.
1519
01:10:53,525 --> 01:10:55,699
And I would say there's
only been probably
1520
01:10:55,734 --> 01:11:00,117
three or four real studies done
1521
01:11:00,152 --> 01:11:03,051
that look at the bees
in their environment,
1522
01:11:03,086 --> 01:11:05,606
instead of in the lab.
1523
01:11:05,640 --> 01:11:08,988
-I think there's infighting
sometimes in the EPA.
1524
01:11:09,023 --> 01:11:12,302
And some are looking out
for the money stream
1525
01:11:12,337 --> 01:11:15,236
to the political appointees
who, you know,
1526
01:11:15,271 --> 01:11:18,274
answer to different politicians
that want donations,
1527
01:11:18,308 --> 01:11:20,206
and then others
are very concerned
1528
01:11:20,241 --> 01:11:22,036
with science and policy
1529
01:11:22,070 --> 01:11:24,452
and making sure
we get good science,
1530
01:11:24,487 --> 01:11:27,075
and I think there's sometimes
an internal fight,
1531
01:11:27,110 --> 01:11:28,594
and we, as citizens
and taxpayers,
1532
01:11:28,629 --> 01:11:31,045
don't get the best results
when those internal fights
1533
01:11:31,079 --> 01:11:32,667
are happening.
1534
01:11:32,702 --> 01:11:34,324
-Rules got changed at EPA.
1535
01:11:34,359 --> 01:11:37,085
Instead of registering a product
1536
01:11:37,120 --> 01:11:39,674
and making sure
this product's okay,
1537
01:11:39,709 --> 01:11:43,885
we come up with a new thingcalled conditional registration.
1538
01:11:43,920 --> 01:11:45,508
Here's the packet.
1539
01:11:45,542 --> 01:11:46,578
We did the research.
1540
01:11:46,612 --> 01:11:48,925
We want a conditional
registration.
1541
01:11:48,959 --> 01:11:50,823
The rules read that,
1542
01:11:50,858 --> 01:11:54,102
after this product's out there,
1543
01:11:54,137 --> 01:11:56,035
EPA has to review it,
1544
01:11:56,070 --> 01:12:00,143
and it can only be there so longwith conditional registration.
1545
01:12:00,177 --> 01:12:01,834
And it just go on
like that for years.
1546
01:12:01,869 --> 01:12:03,871
Nobody ever does
any more about it.
1547
01:12:03,905 --> 01:12:05,424
-Sometimes, you look and think,
1548
01:12:05,459 --> 01:12:07,909
"Well, is there a great cabal?"
1549
01:12:07,944 --> 01:12:11,050
[ Chuckling ] And I don't know
if there is or not,
1550
01:12:11,085 --> 01:12:13,639
but it does look like
a lot of times,
1551
01:12:13,674 --> 01:12:17,160
you have what's called,
I guess in political science,
1552
01:12:17,194 --> 01:12:19,024
"the captured client,"
1553
01:12:19,058 --> 01:12:20,991
where the regulated ends up
1554
01:12:21,026 --> 01:12:23,511
controlling the regulator.
1555
01:12:23,546 --> 01:12:26,894
And it's the idea that
a registrant that wants --
1556
01:12:26,928 --> 01:12:28,413
or a manufacturer,
1557
01:12:28,447 --> 01:12:31,450
that's a nice name for
a manufacturer of a product --
1558
01:12:31,485 --> 01:12:33,176
wants to bring a product
to the market,
1559
01:12:33,210 --> 01:12:36,075
so he'll write up the test
1560
01:12:36,110 --> 01:12:38,802
and show the EPA
the test he wants to do
1561
01:12:38,837 --> 01:12:42,565
to test the product
for its environmental impact.
1562
01:12:42,599 --> 01:12:46,016
Then they'll give him the nod,
"Yeah, this is a good test."
1563
01:12:46,051 --> 01:12:48,053
Then he'll go test it,
1564
01:12:48,087 --> 01:12:51,297
and he'll generate
all the results himself,
1565
01:12:51,332 --> 01:12:52,782
and then he'll give the results
1566
01:12:52,816 --> 01:12:54,887
back to the EPA for evaluation.
1567
01:12:54,922 --> 01:12:57,407
So, you know, given that model,
1568
01:12:57,442 --> 01:12:59,064
I think there's not
a single person
1569
01:12:59,098 --> 01:13:00,755
that couldn't be
a Harvard scholar.
1570
01:13:00,790 --> 01:13:03,033
It's like,
I get to write my own test,
1571
01:13:03,068 --> 01:13:04,897
I get to take my own test,
1572
01:13:04,932 --> 01:13:07,210
and I get to turn
the results in.
1573
01:13:07,244 --> 01:13:11,110
I know it came about
on Libertarian ideas --
1574
01:13:11,145 --> 01:13:12,974
the person that benefits
from the product
1575
01:13:13,009 --> 01:13:15,183
should pay for the process,
1576
01:13:15,218 --> 01:13:19,291
but it's like giving yourself
a speeding ticket.
1577
01:13:19,325 --> 01:13:22,398
It's just not gonna happen.
[ Chuckles ]
1578
01:13:22,432 --> 01:13:24,365
-You know, over the years,
I've been to the EPA
1579
01:13:24,400 --> 01:13:27,023
on many, many occasions,
and, of course,
1580
01:13:27,057 --> 01:13:29,094
gentleman
that's the chief toxicologist
1581
01:13:29,128 --> 01:13:30,336
for Bayer Crop Science,
1582
01:13:30,371 --> 01:13:31,786
I meet him
walking down the street.
1583
01:13:31,821 --> 01:13:34,202
We're a block from the EPA.
1584
01:13:34,237 --> 01:13:36,653
We walk in the door,
1585
01:13:36,688 --> 01:13:38,241
walk through security,
1586
01:13:38,275 --> 01:13:41,106
send our stuff through security,stand there in the lobby,
1587
01:13:41,140 --> 01:13:43,729
having to still finishing
our conversation.
1588
01:13:43,764 --> 01:13:45,869
The gentleman coming to get me,
because somebody
1589
01:13:45,904 --> 01:13:49,666
has to come down from upstairs
to get me, gets me.
1590
01:13:49,701 --> 01:13:51,703
But while we're standing there
having a conversation
1591
01:13:51,737 --> 01:13:55,361
with the EPA fellow,
the Bayer Crop Science guy
1592
01:13:55,396 --> 01:14:00,263
gets on the elevator by himself
and disappears.
1593
01:14:00,297 --> 01:14:01,575
I said to my friend
from the EPA,
1594
01:14:01,609 --> 01:14:03,818
I said,
"Oh, how does that work?"
1595
01:14:03,853 --> 01:14:05,682
His answer was,
"Well, they're like the angels,
1596
01:14:05,717 --> 01:14:08,098
They come through
the third story window."
1597
01:14:08,133 --> 01:14:09,652
So one of the problems
we got here is,
1598
01:14:09,686 --> 01:14:13,828
we got too many people
who know too many people,
1599
01:14:13,863 --> 01:14:15,243
And if you go to EPA,
1600
01:14:15,278 --> 01:14:16,935
it don't take you long
to figure it out,
1601
01:14:16,969 --> 01:14:18,764
who worked for who,
1602
01:14:18,799 --> 01:14:20,732
or they leave EPA
1603
01:14:20,766 --> 01:14:23,562
and go get a very good job
1604
01:14:23,597 --> 01:14:26,082
or position at one
of these companies.
1605
01:14:26,116 --> 01:14:27,532
As a taxpayer,
1606
01:14:27,566 --> 01:14:30,431
do I feel confident
that they're protecting me?
1607
01:14:30,466 --> 01:14:35,401
No, they're not protecting me
because they're basically
1608
01:14:35,436 --> 01:14:37,542
taking money
from the chemical company
1609
01:14:37,576 --> 01:14:41,511
for registration
to do the paperwork.
1610
01:14:41,546 --> 01:14:43,030
And that's how it all works.
1611
01:14:43,064 --> 01:14:44,963
You know, they're paying EPA.
1612
01:14:44,997 --> 01:14:50,693
-There's tremendous money
invested in the current system,
1613
01:14:50,727 --> 01:14:55,214
and that money funds
campaign contributions.
1614
01:14:55,249 --> 01:14:59,322
Those campaign contributions
then influence
1615
01:14:59,356 --> 01:15:03,533
what senators and congressmen
ultimately vote for,
1616
01:15:03,568 --> 01:15:08,676
and if you are jeopardizing
those contributions,
1617
01:15:08,711 --> 01:15:12,162
then, suddenly, your federal
agency's budget gets cut.
1618
01:15:12,197 --> 01:15:13,785
-Good friend of mine
at EPA says,
1619
01:15:13,819 --> 01:15:15,787
"Every time I go into a meeting
and start raising Cain
1620
01:15:15,821 --> 01:15:19,307
about something,
I'm told to shut up.
1621
01:15:19,342 --> 01:15:21,965
Just remember,
if they're not around,
1622
01:15:22,000 --> 01:15:23,277
you ain't going to have a job."
1623
01:15:23,311 --> 01:15:26,314
You know, it's just that simple.
1624
01:15:26,349 --> 01:15:29,870
-The USDA, the FDA, the EPA --
1625
01:15:29,904 --> 01:15:31,699
I mean, they're all
government employees,
1626
01:15:31,734 --> 01:15:33,598
and I think
there's a solidarity in that,
1627
01:15:33,632 --> 01:15:36,290
but the reality is that,
no, they don't really --
1628
01:15:36,324 --> 01:15:39,983
In my experience,
I didn't feel like they were --
1629
01:15:40,018 --> 01:15:43,608
they were working together
for a common goal.
1630
01:15:43,642 --> 01:15:45,782
And especially
the EPA and the USDA.
1631
01:15:45,817 --> 01:15:49,545
I mean, the USDA's job
is to support agriculture.
1632
01:15:49,579 --> 01:15:52,582
The EPA's job is to protect
the environment, right?
1633
01:15:52,617 --> 01:15:56,413
And so when agriculture
destroys the environment,
1634
01:15:56,448 --> 01:15:59,002
then what happens, you know?
1635
01:15:59,037 --> 01:16:03,559
You would think that there wouldbe a common mind on this,
1636
01:16:03,593 --> 01:16:07,770
but the reality is, no,
at least not in my experience.
1637
01:16:07,804 --> 01:16:11,394
-My naiveness that this thing
was going to be fixed in,
1638
01:16:11,428 --> 01:16:13,120
you know a matter of time,
1639
01:16:13,154 --> 01:16:14,639
that's, you know...
1640
01:16:14,673 --> 01:16:16,710
It'll probably never happen
in my lifetime.
1641
01:16:16,744 --> 01:16:18,263
I think the only way
it ever gets fixed
1642
01:16:18,297 --> 01:16:19,885
is if the farmers themselves
fix it.
1643
01:16:19,920 --> 01:16:24,649
♪♪
1644
01:16:24,683 --> 01:16:26,754
[ Bees buzzing ]
1645
01:16:26,789 --> 01:16:30,309
♪♪
1646
01:16:35,314 --> 01:16:37,351
-After the almond pollination,
1647
01:16:37,385 --> 01:16:40,837
we took a projectof re-queening all of our hives.
1648
01:16:40,872 --> 01:16:42,080
So, just because
1649
01:16:42,114 --> 01:16:45,670
of the environmental stresses
on bees nowadays,
1650
01:16:45,704 --> 01:16:48,811
we re-queen every hive
every year.
1651
01:16:48,845 --> 01:16:51,917
Concurrent to that, I had
a part of my men take bees up
1652
01:16:51,952 --> 01:16:54,023
and pollinate apples
and cherries in Washington,
1653
01:16:54,057 --> 01:16:56,646
and then we brought
those bees back down.
1654
01:16:56,681 --> 01:16:58,337
And then after that,
we began
1655
01:16:58,372 --> 01:17:01,237
the spring and summer
honey season.
1656
01:17:01,271 --> 01:17:02,756
-Out here with the bees.
1657
01:17:02,790 --> 01:17:05,655
Sweet honey,
and we are treating them,
1658
01:17:05,690 --> 01:17:08,071
putting some powder patties
on them.
1659
01:17:08,106 --> 01:17:10,453
Keep them healthy.
1660
01:17:10,487 --> 01:17:12,628
-Smoke makes the bees
very mellow.
1661
01:17:12,662 --> 01:17:15,389
The bees think that
there's a forest fire coming,
1662
01:17:15,423 --> 01:17:17,978
so they start gorging themselveswith honey,
1663
01:17:18,012 --> 01:17:19,876
and it makes them really docile.
1664
01:17:19,911 --> 01:17:23,569
We put bees on the citrus
to make citrus honey.
1665
01:17:23,604 --> 01:17:25,744
Then we started bringing bees
back here
1666
01:17:25,779 --> 01:17:29,886
to make our wildflower,
our clover, and alfalfa honey.
1667
01:17:29,921 --> 01:17:33,062
And in June, we're finished
spreading them out
1668
01:17:33,096 --> 01:17:34,857
across the prairie here
1669
01:17:34,891 --> 01:17:37,653
and putting on extra boxes
for honey.
1670
01:17:37,687 --> 01:17:40,690
And in July,
we let the bees do their work
1671
01:17:40,725 --> 01:17:43,555
and try and fill up those boxes.
1672
01:17:43,589 --> 01:17:45,074
-Well, we've been everywhere.
1673
01:17:45,108 --> 01:17:46,662
Bees were in California,
1674
01:17:46,696 --> 01:17:49,147
and then they came back
to Georgia and South Carolina,
1675
01:17:49,181 --> 01:17:51,114
and then they came back up
to Pennsylvania --
1676
01:17:51,149 --> 01:17:52,322
pollinated apples
1677
01:17:52,357 --> 01:17:54,635
in Pennsylvania,
here in southern PA,
1678
01:17:54,670 --> 01:17:56,464
and now the western part
of the state.
1679
01:17:56,499 --> 01:17:59,019
And from there,
a large portion of them
1680
01:17:59,053 --> 01:18:01,504
went to Maine
to pollinate blueberries.
1681
01:18:01,538 --> 01:18:03,437
I'm leaving a day
and a half here,
1682
01:18:03,471 --> 01:18:05,266
give or take,
to go back up there
1683
01:18:05,301 --> 01:18:07,717
and spend the next week
rounding them up
1684
01:18:07,752 --> 01:18:09,961
and sending them
to Davey in New York
1685
01:18:09,995 --> 01:18:11,928
to use them to make honey
and make more bees.
1686
01:18:11,963 --> 01:18:13,033
-This time a year,
1687
01:18:13,067 --> 01:18:15,483
we're beginning harvest
full throttle,
1688
01:18:15,518 --> 01:18:18,176
because we want to have
everything harvested
1689
01:18:18,210 --> 01:18:19,729
by the middle of September
1690
01:18:19,764 --> 01:18:22,007
and we'll ship themto the West Coast for the winter
1691
01:18:22,042 --> 01:18:25,942
before the prairies become
really cold and unbearable.
1692
01:18:25,977 --> 01:18:27,944
First step in the harvest
1693
01:18:27,979 --> 01:18:30,015
is taking the honey
away from the bees.
1694
01:18:30,050 --> 01:18:31,672
And then we'll heat it up,
1695
01:18:31,707 --> 01:18:34,330
and our first machine will take
these little wax caps off.
1696
01:18:34,364 --> 01:18:36,712
Just a very thin layer of wax.
1697
01:18:36,746 --> 01:18:39,093
The bees put this cap on
when they get it dry enough
1698
01:18:39,128 --> 01:18:41,371
so it won't spoil.
1699
01:18:41,406 --> 01:18:44,512
When it gets down
below 18.5% moisture,
1700
01:18:44,547 --> 01:18:46,998
it becomes so dry
that it can't ferment.
1701
01:18:47,032 --> 01:18:48,758
And so they put the cap on
to keep it
1702
01:18:48,793 --> 01:18:50,760
from re-absorbing moisture.
1703
01:18:50,795 --> 01:18:52,969
And then we'll put it
in a centrifuge.
1704
01:18:53,004 --> 01:18:56,662
It will spin the frame,
and that will throw it out,
1705
01:18:56,697 --> 01:18:59,182
and we'll sell that honey
to a packing house.
1706
01:18:59,217 --> 01:19:03,083
And then you can enjoy
the same thing I'm enjoying.
1707
01:19:03,117 --> 01:19:06,465
If it was any fresher,
you'd have to be a bee.
1708
01:19:06,500 --> 01:19:09,123
[ Whirring ]
1709
01:19:29,143 --> 01:19:31,801
-Well, we're getting ready
to move south for the winter.
1710
01:19:31,836 --> 01:19:34,321
It's time.
The cold weather is coming.
1711
01:19:34,355 --> 01:19:35,978
It's just that time
of the season,
1712
01:19:36,012 --> 01:19:39,050
it's a vicious cycle,
as I call it.
1713
01:19:39,084 --> 01:19:40,396
When the seasons change,
1714
01:19:40,430 --> 01:19:43,019
the bees need to go
with the seasons.
1715
01:19:43,054 --> 01:19:45,884
[ Engines idling ]
[ Indistinct conversation ]
1716
01:19:56,032 --> 01:20:00,381
♪♪
1717
01:20:02,383 --> 01:20:06,732
♪♪
1718
01:20:08,734 --> 01:20:10,771
-When I sit next to someone
in a plane
1719
01:20:10,806 --> 01:20:13,878
and they hear
that I'm involved with bees,
1720
01:20:13,912 --> 01:20:17,053
almost invariably they know
there are problems with bees,
1721
01:20:17,088 --> 01:20:19,849
and they want to know
what are the problems
1722
01:20:19,884 --> 01:20:21,955
and why is that important.
1723
01:20:21,989 --> 01:20:27,029
And, you know,
the problems are many.
1724
01:20:27,063 --> 01:20:29,859
We're working hard
to understand them.
1725
01:20:29,894 --> 01:20:32,620
And the importance is
that our food system
1726
01:20:32,655 --> 01:20:37,349
is dependent upon their role
as pollinators.
1727
01:20:37,384 --> 01:20:38,868
One of every three bites of food
1728
01:20:38,903 --> 01:20:40,836
is a result
of insect pollination,
1729
01:20:40,870 --> 01:20:43,977
and that's something
we don't want to give up.
1730
01:20:44,011 --> 01:20:47,359
-We ourselves have become users,consumers of pesticide.
1731
01:20:47,394 --> 01:20:50,086
You can see that very easily
when you go to Walmart,
1732
01:20:50,121 --> 01:20:52,778
or you go to Lowe's,
you go to Home Depot,
1733
01:20:52,813 --> 01:20:55,160
and the shelves are
lined with pesticides,
1734
01:20:55,195 --> 01:20:56,817
and particularly herbicides.
1735
01:20:56,852 --> 01:20:59,199
You know, you think, well,
herbicides aren't toxic,
1736
01:20:59,233 --> 01:21:02,064
but herbicides are completely,
in many places,
1737
01:21:02,098 --> 01:21:05,653
eliminating the forage
that bees require.
1738
01:21:05,688 --> 01:21:07,172
Bees require flowers.
1739
01:21:07,207 --> 01:21:10,589
They require nectar
and pollen-producing flowers.
1740
01:21:10,624 --> 01:21:12,695
And this widespread use
of herbicide,
1741
01:21:12,729 --> 01:21:16,043
not only in agriculture
but also by homeowners...
1742
01:21:16,078 --> 01:21:18,356
Everybody wants
a magnificent green lawn
1743
01:21:18,390 --> 01:21:21,980
without a single dandelion
or clover plant in that lawn
1744
01:21:22,015 --> 01:21:24,534
or a blooming flower
in that lawn.
1745
01:21:24,569 --> 01:21:27,399
That's a food desert for bees.
1746
01:21:27,434 --> 01:21:28,987
If you want a green lawn, great.
1747
01:21:29,022 --> 01:21:30,816
You know,
let your front yard be green
1748
01:21:30,851 --> 01:21:34,441
and allow the backyard to have
some dandelions and clover
1749
01:21:34,475 --> 01:21:37,789
and grow a pollinator garden.
1750
01:21:37,823 --> 01:21:40,309
Herbicides, fungicides
and insecticides --
1751
01:21:40,343 --> 01:21:41,897
all three of those categories
1752
01:21:41,931 --> 01:21:43,933
are problematic for our bees.
1753
01:21:43,968 --> 01:21:45,624
And, again,
it's not just honey bees.
1754
01:21:45,659 --> 01:21:50,388
It's all of our bee species.
1755
01:21:50,422 --> 01:21:54,357
-So, consumers may be curious
as to how they can figure out
1756
01:21:54,392 --> 01:21:58,568
whether a pesticide product
may hurt bees or not,
1757
01:21:58,603 --> 01:22:03,056
and I would avoid
anything systemic.
1758
01:22:03,090 --> 01:22:05,955
You could also avoid pesticides
altogether. [ Laughs ]
1759
01:22:05,990 --> 01:22:07,923
That's probably the best way.
1760
01:22:07,957 --> 01:22:11,098
There may be situations where
you find it really important,
1761
01:22:11,133 --> 01:22:13,998
that you have a particular tree
that you want to save,
1762
01:22:14,032 --> 01:22:16,241
in which case,
using pesticides
1763
01:22:16,276 --> 01:22:19,658
that are approved for use
in organic systems
1764
01:22:19,693 --> 01:22:22,868
are generally much less toxic,
1765
01:22:22,903 --> 01:22:25,423
and they won't be as persistent,for sure,
1766
01:22:25,457 --> 01:22:29,116
as the conventional pesticides.
1767
01:22:29,151 --> 01:22:32,257
-The dream of having agriculturewithout pesticides
1768
01:22:32,292 --> 01:22:36,710
is not a completely
unrealistic dream.
1769
01:22:36,744 --> 01:22:38,263
But it means that science
1770
01:22:38,298 --> 01:22:42,888
would have to understand
the complexity of biology
1771
01:22:42,923 --> 01:22:45,581
far more than we do now.
1772
01:22:45,615 --> 01:22:47,169
What the field
of chemical ecology
1773
01:22:47,203 --> 01:22:51,794
tells us or gives us hope
is that if we understand
1774
01:22:51,828 --> 01:22:54,762
the true complexities
of the system,
1775
01:22:54,797 --> 01:22:57,248
we may be able to use
those complexities
1776
01:22:57,282 --> 01:23:01,321
in a way that benefits us
and is more sustainable
1777
01:23:01,355 --> 01:23:03,530
than if we try to come in
1778
01:23:03,564 --> 01:23:05,187
and overpower the system
1779
01:23:05,221 --> 01:23:10,019
with an external chemical
that doesn't belong there.
1780
01:23:10,054 --> 01:23:13,505
-Beekeeping has changed a lot
in the last 10 years.
1781
01:23:13,540 --> 01:23:15,024
In urban areas, in cities,
1782
01:23:15,059 --> 01:23:16,784
people keeping bees on rooftops,
1783
01:23:16,819 --> 01:23:20,029
keeping them on their balconies.
1784
01:23:20,064 --> 01:23:21,686
-It seems backwards to say
1785
01:23:21,720 --> 01:23:23,343
honey bees do well
in urban areas,
1786
01:23:23,377 --> 01:23:25,862
but there's not
as much natural forage
1787
01:23:25,897 --> 01:23:28,486
as there used to be,
so in cities,
1788
01:23:28,520 --> 01:23:30,177
there's all these buffer zones,
1789
01:23:30,212 --> 01:23:32,628
and people like
to plant colorful gardens,
1790
01:23:32,662 --> 01:23:36,321
so there is more natural forage.
1791
01:23:36,356 --> 01:23:39,462
-Research is helping us
to better understand
1792
01:23:39,497 --> 01:23:41,257
what habitat we need to create,
1793
01:23:41,292 --> 01:23:44,605
and we're working right here
with the USGS
1794
01:23:44,640 --> 01:23:46,055
in order to better understand
1795
01:23:46,090 --> 01:23:48,609
which of these flowers
the bees are using,
1796
01:23:48,644 --> 01:23:49,886
when they're using them
1797
01:23:49,921 --> 01:23:52,199
and what it's going to do
for the hives,
1798
01:23:52,234 --> 01:23:56,031
and that is going to be used
to generate better recipes
1799
01:23:56,065 --> 01:23:57,687
for pollinator habitat
1800
01:23:57,722 --> 01:24:01,484
and conservation initiatives
and policy.
1801
01:24:01,519 --> 01:24:04,315
-I think the bees provide,
you know, sort of this window
1802
01:24:04,349 --> 01:24:08,905
into the natural world that
people are very excited about,
1803
01:24:08,940 --> 01:24:13,117
and they want to support this
as best as they can.
1804
01:24:13,151 --> 01:24:15,119
And then that trickles
down into, you know,
1805
01:24:15,153 --> 01:24:16,879
this renewed interest
and understanding
1806
01:24:16,913 --> 01:24:19,088
where our food comes from.
1807
01:24:19,123 --> 01:24:21,056
-When I started this job,
you know,
1808
01:24:21,090 --> 01:24:24,714
it was basically older men
who were keeping bees,
1809
01:24:24,749 --> 01:24:27,096
even at the, you know,
backyard level.
1810
01:24:27,131 --> 01:24:30,858
And they were desperate
for more young people
1811
01:24:30,893 --> 01:24:33,137
to get into beekeeping.
1812
01:24:33,171 --> 01:24:34,621
They weren't so vocal
about women,
1813
01:24:34,655 --> 01:24:37,002
about wanting to have women
[chuckling] come in
1814
01:24:37,037 --> 01:24:40,351
to the beekeeping arena,
but there are now.
1815
01:24:40,385 --> 01:24:42,042
And there are a lot
of young people,
1816
01:24:42,077 --> 01:24:44,113
a lot of new people,
and it's very interesting.
1817
01:24:44,148 --> 01:24:46,978
The older beekeepers
are a bit flummoxed,
1818
01:24:47,012 --> 01:24:48,980
because they don't
know how to deal
1819
01:24:49,014 --> 01:24:51,431
with all these young people
with new ideas
1820
01:24:51,465 --> 01:24:54,019
and, you know, new approaches
and the Internet
1821
01:24:54,054 --> 01:24:55,814
and where they're getting
their information.
1822
01:24:55,849 --> 01:24:57,782
So it's been a very interesting
1823
01:24:57,816 --> 01:24:59,818
to see how things have changed.
1824
01:24:59,853 --> 01:25:03,753
-The success of what's happening
with honey bees is education.
1825
01:25:03,788 --> 01:25:06,411
It's going out in your community
1826
01:25:06,446 --> 01:25:09,207
and talking to people
about bees, about farming,
1827
01:25:09,242 --> 01:25:11,382
bringing a beehive
to your child's school.
1828
01:25:11,416 --> 01:25:13,038
You're seeing more
female beekeepers.
1829
01:25:13,073 --> 01:25:14,419
You're seeing
younger beekeepers.
1830
01:25:14,454 --> 01:25:16,559
You're seeing kids taking
the beekeeping course
1831
01:25:16,594 --> 01:25:18,596
'cause they read about the bees
or they're learned,
1832
01:25:18,630 --> 01:25:19,769
and they want to help.
1833
01:25:19,804 --> 01:25:21,633
They want to be a beekeeper.
1834
01:25:21,668 --> 01:25:23,256
-The U.S. beekeeping industry
1835
01:25:23,290 --> 01:25:25,430
and the U.S. production
agriculture, I think,
1836
01:25:25,465 --> 01:25:27,225
would not have survived
the last 10 years
1837
01:25:27,260 --> 01:25:29,503
if it hadn't been for
the hard work of beekeepers.
1838
01:25:29,538 --> 01:25:31,298
Just dedicated to beekeeping
1839
01:25:31,333 --> 01:25:33,162
and replacing dead colonies
and stuff.
1840
01:25:33,197 --> 01:25:34,853
And so that's all come
at a cost to them,
1841
01:25:34,888 --> 01:25:37,925
usually personally,
you know, in lost time
1842
01:25:37,960 --> 01:25:39,272
and money and things like that,
1843
01:25:39,306 --> 01:25:41,032
And a lot of people
don't recognize that.
1844
01:25:41,066 --> 01:25:43,966
So, I think the U.S. beekeepers
have to be applauded
1845
01:25:44,000 --> 01:25:46,727
for staying in there
when the losses were so high,
1846
01:25:46,762 --> 01:25:47,935
otherwise they could
have cut and run
1847
01:25:47,970 --> 01:25:49,316
and just gotten out
of the business,
1848
01:25:49,351 --> 01:25:50,455
but they didn't.
1849
01:25:50,490 --> 01:25:52,457
They stayed in there,
and most of them
1850
01:25:52,492 --> 01:25:54,321
have found ways to be
a bit more productive.
1851
01:25:54,356 --> 01:25:57,600
Not as productive
as they were in the past.
1852
01:25:57,635 --> 01:25:59,464
But we're still facing
some uphill battles
1853
01:25:59,499 --> 01:26:01,535
in just trying
to manage good bees
1854
01:26:01,570 --> 01:26:04,228
and keep them healthy.
1855
01:26:04,262 --> 01:26:08,749
-European Union-wide,
there is a moratorium on use
1856
01:26:08,784 --> 01:26:13,029
of neonicotinoid insecticides
on bee-attractive crops.
1857
01:26:13,064 --> 01:26:16,205
So any legislation like that
that comes up,
1858
01:26:16,240 --> 01:26:18,483
the average person
can make a difference
1859
01:26:18,518 --> 01:26:20,382
by letting their legislator know
1860
01:26:20,416 --> 01:26:23,247
that they want them
to help protect bees,
1861
01:26:23,281 --> 01:26:27,216
and that that is a really
important concept
1862
01:26:27,251 --> 01:26:30,461
and is going to help them
get reelected, perhaps,
1863
01:26:30,495 --> 01:26:34,913
if they do support bees.
1864
01:26:34,948 --> 01:26:36,467
-So, what can consumers do?
1865
01:26:36,501 --> 01:26:40,022
Consumers can be aware
of where their food comes from.
1866
01:26:40,056 --> 01:26:43,508
Food is so available
in this country and so cheap.
1867
01:26:43,543 --> 01:26:46,062
We really have very
little appreciation
1868
01:26:46,097 --> 01:26:49,204
for what it takes
to produce food.
1869
01:26:49,238 --> 01:26:51,654
-Our foundation, our history
is built on agriculture
1870
01:26:51,689 --> 01:26:53,242
and family farms.
1871
01:26:53,277 --> 01:26:56,211
It's getting wiped out
through big agriculture
1872
01:26:56,245 --> 01:26:58,454
and, you know,
big chemical companies.
1873
01:26:58,489 --> 01:27:01,250
How do we bring a respect
and a reverence back
1874
01:27:01,285 --> 01:27:04,529
for the foundation of what
the country was built on
1875
01:27:04,564 --> 01:27:07,567
and how do we do that in a way
that's sustainable,
1876
01:27:07,601 --> 01:27:11,156
that looks towards the future
and future generations.
1877
01:27:11,191 --> 01:27:13,331
Putting beehives in cities
where people can go up
1878
01:27:13,366 --> 01:27:15,713
and see agriculture
for the first time --
1879
01:27:15,747 --> 01:27:17,680
you know, a lot of them for
the first time in their lives.
1880
01:27:17,715 --> 01:27:22,237
And to learn so much so quickly,it's the root
1881
01:27:22,271 --> 01:27:24,031
of what Bee Downtown
is doing in cities,
1882
01:27:24,066 --> 01:27:27,276
is trying to just share
education about it.
1883
01:27:27,311 --> 01:27:30,279
There are so many fantastic
beekeepers across the country,
1884
01:27:30,314 --> 01:27:33,765
and if we can help tell
their stories in cities,
1885
01:27:33,800 --> 01:27:36,112
then it helps to bring back
1886
01:27:36,147 --> 01:27:38,045
a respect and an understanding
1887
01:27:38,080 --> 01:27:42,015
for how much work goes
into agriculture.
1888
01:27:42,049 --> 01:27:45,087
-A really simple thing
people can do is just
1889
01:27:45,121 --> 01:27:47,123
buy U.S. honey.
1890
01:27:47,158 --> 01:27:49,747
It's cheaper to buy some
of the foreign honeys,
1891
01:27:49,781 --> 01:27:52,888
but to keep the bee industry
alive and healthy,
1892
01:27:52,922 --> 01:27:56,616
one of the things we need to do
is just buy U.S. honey.
1893
01:27:56,650 --> 01:27:59,964
If you know the beekeeper,
go directly to him.
1894
01:27:59,998 --> 01:28:03,519
If you're in a larger urban areaand you don't have that luxury,
1895
01:28:03,554 --> 01:28:05,970
you know, source it
and check the jar
1896
01:28:06,004 --> 01:28:09,318
to make sure it says
it's a product of USA.
1897
01:28:09,353 --> 01:28:13,322
If honey is
a viable alternative,
1898
01:28:13,357 --> 01:28:15,876
we can keep the bees
on flowers more.
1899
01:28:15,911 --> 01:28:19,294
-You know, supporting
local foods and local farmers
1900
01:28:19,328 --> 01:28:21,157
is, again, a great way
1901
01:28:21,192 --> 01:28:23,988
to better connect
with your community,
1902
01:28:24,022 --> 01:28:25,645
better sort of see
what's going on,
1903
01:28:25,679 --> 01:28:29,131
you know, in your backyard,
as it were,
1904
01:28:29,165 --> 01:28:33,169
and understand where your food
is coming from.
1905
01:28:33,204 --> 01:28:34,999
-Also, as consumers,
1906
01:28:35,033 --> 01:28:39,486
accept more blemishes
1907
01:28:39,521 --> 01:28:40,832
on our apples.
1908
01:28:40,867 --> 01:28:42,317
We can say it's okay.
1909
01:28:42,351 --> 01:28:45,112
Right now, we want
the perfect apple.
1910
01:28:45,147 --> 01:28:47,391
We want the perfect
piece of fruit.
1911
01:28:47,425 --> 01:28:50,773
And what it takes to produce
that perfect piece of fruit is
1912
01:28:50,808 --> 01:28:52,188
a lot of pesticide,
1913
01:28:52,223 --> 01:28:54,536
a lot of chemical pesticide.
1914
01:28:54,570 --> 01:28:58,609
The perfect apple
is not the perfect apple.
1915
01:28:58,643 --> 01:29:02,406
-A better way for creating a
sustainable agricultural system
1916
01:29:02,440 --> 01:29:06,306
is starting to come not
from the regulatory agencies,
1917
01:29:06,341 --> 01:29:07,687
not from the top down,
1918
01:29:07,721 --> 01:29:09,136
but from the bottom up.
1919
01:29:09,171 --> 01:29:12,139
From the consumers
demanding organic food,
1920
01:29:12,174 --> 01:29:13,382
from places like Costco
1921
01:29:13,417 --> 01:29:16,281
and Walmart
providing organic food
1922
01:29:16,316 --> 01:29:17,593
because they're big enough
1923
01:29:17,628 --> 01:29:19,699
that they need contracts
with growers.
1924
01:29:19,733 --> 01:29:23,944
They say "We need 500 acres
of organic tomato sauce.
1925
01:29:23,979 --> 01:29:25,739
Can you do it?"
1926
01:29:25,774 --> 01:29:27,569
And then it's like
1927
01:29:27,603 --> 01:29:29,398
you're not swimming
upstream anymore.
1928
01:29:29,433 --> 01:29:30,399
It's capitalism,
1929
01:29:30,434 --> 01:29:35,300
and you're using
that economic driver
1930
01:29:35,335 --> 01:29:37,406
to change the farming system.
1931
01:29:37,441 --> 01:29:40,271
That's where the future is,
in my opinion.
1932
01:29:40,305 --> 01:29:43,688
-We're seeing more people
buying directly from farmers
1933
01:29:43,723 --> 01:29:45,000
in different ways,
1934
01:29:45,034 --> 01:29:46,829
through farm markets,
through CSAs.
1935
01:29:46,864 --> 01:29:50,868
There's a whole food movement
that is very exciting,
1936
01:29:50,902 --> 01:29:52,352
and a lot of young people
1937
01:29:52,387 --> 01:29:55,804
actually are very aware
that there is a problem,
1938
01:29:55,838 --> 01:29:57,978
and they want to know where
their food comes from.
1939
01:29:58,013 --> 01:30:00,049
They want to eat good,
healthy food.
1940
01:30:00,084 --> 01:30:01,465
So, I am hopeful.
1941
01:30:01,499 --> 01:30:02,500
I am hopeful.
1942
01:30:02,535 --> 01:30:04,019
You know,
it's like so many things --
1943
01:30:04,053 --> 01:30:05,641
Things have to get really low.
1944
01:30:05,676 --> 01:30:08,333
Things have to get really bad
before they get better,
1945
01:30:08,368 --> 01:30:11,923
and I hope we're as low
as we're going to go.
1946
01:30:11,958 --> 01:30:13,131
-I mean, I see the future,
1947
01:30:13,166 --> 01:30:15,444
and it gets me so excited,
you know?
1948
01:30:15,479 --> 01:30:17,826
Not just the future
in terms of bees,
1949
01:30:17,860 --> 01:30:22,175
but also it's so exciting
to see these farmers
1950
01:30:22,209 --> 01:30:25,143
totally change what
we think we know.
1951
01:30:25,178 --> 01:30:29,216
Challenge the system, you know.
1952
01:30:29,251 --> 01:30:31,874
-Paying attention
to the natural world around us
1953
01:30:31,909 --> 01:30:35,533
and how it operates
can be a lesson for us
1954
01:30:35,568 --> 01:30:41,159
in how to not only survive
among fellow human beings,
1955
01:30:41,194 --> 01:30:44,508
but survive in synchrony
with our environment.
1956
01:30:44,542 --> 01:30:45,923
-Bees are just one
of those things
1957
01:30:45,957 --> 01:30:48,960
that benefit all the way around.
1958
01:30:48,995 --> 01:30:51,756
You know, you can see it
if you watch it.
1959
01:30:51,791 --> 01:30:54,000
And then you can see it
quantified
1960
01:30:54,034 --> 01:30:55,346
when scientists watch it.
1961
01:30:55,380 --> 01:30:57,382
I mean, we know bees
are the right thing
1962
01:30:57,417 --> 01:30:59,074
to have on the landscape.
1963
01:30:59,108 --> 01:31:01,214
We know it's a win-win-win,
1964
01:31:01,248 --> 01:31:03,975
and we really get
a nice pleasure out of it
1965
01:31:04,010 --> 01:31:06,495
when other people
realize it, too.
1966
01:31:06,530 --> 01:31:08,463
-I don't care how many
of these little,
1967
01:31:08,497 --> 01:31:11,293
you know, whack-a-moles
that you knock down.
1968
01:31:11,327 --> 01:31:15,021
Your arm is going to get tired
1969
01:31:15,055 --> 01:31:17,506
before you solve
the bee problem.
1970
01:31:17,541 --> 01:31:19,819
You need to focus back
on reinventing
1971
01:31:19,853 --> 01:31:23,788
how we produce our food
to begin with.
1972
01:31:23,823 --> 01:31:26,722
Then suddenly neonics
aren't an issue anymore.
1973
01:31:26,757 --> 01:31:28,759
You just don't need it.
1974
01:31:28,793 --> 01:31:32,694
You don't need all
the glyphosate anymore.
1975
01:31:32,728 --> 01:31:34,040
And...
1976
01:31:34,074 --> 01:31:35,248
yeah.
1977
01:31:35,282 --> 01:31:37,975
And we have healthy kids again.
1978
01:31:38,009 --> 01:31:40,564
We have healthy bees.
1979
01:31:40,598 --> 01:31:44,637
♪♪
1980
01:32:24,677 --> 01:32:28,612
♪♪
154581
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