Distressed Appalachian counties could turn to beekeeping to help improve the economy

Economically distressed counties in Eastern Kentucky could soon find anther source of income to help stanch the loss of coal -- beekeeping. With the number of U.S. bee colonies falling from 3.44 million in 1989 to 2.64 million in 2013, and demand for honey still high, Tammy Horn of Eastern Kentucky University's Center for Development Entrepreneurship and Technology said Kentucky has the potential to fill the U.S. need for honey, Kristi Branham reports for The Lane Report. Horn will become the apiarist for the state Department of Agriculture on June 1.

Bees once thrived in Eastern Kentucky, "but they were decimated by mite infestations in the 1980s and populations have yet to recover," Branham writes. "In seeking to create a viable forest-based bee industry, Horn has partnered with the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative, with support from other state agencies and universities. She describes the bee industry as an economic tiger with five tails: honey production; wax production; queen bee production; pollination; and extension work."

Horn "works to inspire coal companies to again plant the high-nectar or high-pollen-producing native Appalachia trees that bees love, such as tulip poplars, black locust and sourwoods, as well as wildflowers to help support beekeeping and related sustainable forest industries," Branham writes. "There are obstacles, one of which is convincing the USDA to acknowledge trees as crops."

"Bees typically thrive in the mountains, and lots of rural Appalachian land is underutilized since its slopes make row crop production difficult," Branham writes. "Honey prices are up, and so is demand for and plantings of crops pollinated by bees. The 2014 Kentucky State Fair will sell honey at $8.50 per pound, up by more than 40 percent from the 2012 price of $6. And if bees gather their pollen from sourwood, the price could range from $10 or $12 per pound." (Read more)