The bees are not buzzing like they use too here in Texas or across the country.
Last week 25 News Bobby Poitevint shared a story about a Central Texas beekeeper’s fight to save bees and our environment,and now her concerns have reached our state’s top AG official.
Just last Thursday, we shared Malinda Richardson Sheffield with Richardson Bee Farm’s story of being at odds with the Navasota Valley Electric Cooperative over their use of herbicides.
You can read the original story by clicking here.
Now we’re hearing from Texas’ Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.
"The lady reached out to me here at the Texas Department of Agriculture. She was requesting help. She didn’t know what to do. She wasn’t that familiar with the complaint process. So we got her all lined out on that and we’re walking her through it now," he said.
Commissioner Miller told us you have a 90-day window to file a complaint with them and this is because chemicals that are sprayed start to disappear over time leaving less and less to be found if and when tested.
"if it is pesticide drift, we wanna get on top of it because we don’t want it to happen again obviously. So we’re working with her, we’re doing everything we can to help her resolve the issue and identify it. Today, we have not identified it. We kinda got notified late — been better if she had turned the complaint in a day or two within discovery of her bees dying.”
Commissioner Miller said results could be known in about two weeks or less but he's unsure of what kind of backlog there is for testing right now as Spring and Summer months are heavier times of year for testing.
“So we don’t know if it’s herbicide drift. I’m not pointing the fingers at anyone" Commissioner Miller said.
He added there’s a bigger conversation right now — the bee industry not just in Texas but also across the country — he said it's "kinda in turmoil” and there’s not a real explanation as to what is killing off our country's bees.
"What we do know is there’s a nationwide problem of over sixty-percent and no ones identified that. So I’m a little bit skeptical that we’ll identify anything but we’re gonna do our very best to try.”
Commissioner Miller said a bee’s life usually lasts three years adding we typically lose a third of our bees every year due to their natural life-cycle but something abnormal is happening around the country right now.
“It’s not just a Texas problem but we don’t know if it’s a mite infection or some kind of disease going through the bee hives. We don’t really suspect that it’s insecticides or pesticides because nothing's changed. It’s still been kind of business as usual with no anomaly that would make that number go up." he said.
We also spoke with Melinda about the response she has received following the original story that aired last week.
She said she is “working together" with Commissioner Miller and added "just a lot of people in the community (have reached out). They just don’t want the herbicide sprayed. They’re worried about their hives. They’re worried about their trees. They’re worried about their pets and their family.”
Melinda continues to talk with Texas A&M, the Texas Department of Agriculture, and research the chemicals used in what’s being sprayed.
She said she’ll continue to express her knowledge, findings and concerns to Navasota Valley Electric Cooperative leaders.
"Do you feel like some kind of agreement can and will be reached at some point with Navasota Valley Electric Cooperative, there’s optimism there?”
Melinda said yes.
"The more people that this has reached, the more people that can help — that's aware of it, the better.”
Melinda encourages concerned residents to reach out to Navasota Valley Electric Cooperative officials, attend their meetings and reach out to our local and state leaders who could make a difference.
Keep in mind, that those co-op meetings — which I’m told the next one will be April 17 — are only open to co-op members. Media was not allowed to attend at last week's meeting but was allowed to stand in the entrance vestibule.
For last week's original story, click here.
