Blake Shook, CEO of Desert Creek, faced a severe shortage of bees for almond pollination due to the worst commercial honeybee collapse in U.S. history, with 62% of colonies lost. Despite the USDA's role in analyzing bee deaths and threats, drastic funding cuts under the Trump administration hindered their operations. Over the last two decades, honeybee populations have been in decline, particularly during winter months. Beekeepers rely on quick responses from the USDA to identify causes of die-offs to implement preventive measures, but current cuts jeopardize their efforts to stabilize bee populations and maintain vital agricultural pollination.
This year, before the researchers could uncover what exactly had killed the bees, the Trump administration's sweeping federal funding cuts scrambled the operation.
Since official recordkeeping started in 2007, approximately 40 percent of honeybee colonies kept by both commercial and hobbyist beekeepers have died off each winter.
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