Agribusiness
GRAPHIC: Facing challenges, honeybees’ production has dropped in the U.S.
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Honeybee colonies' average yearly production has dropped 30 percent since 1995.
Investigate Midwest (https://investigatemidwest.org/tag/honeybees/)
Honeybee colonies' average yearly production has dropped 30 percent since 1995.
For decades, farmers have been engaged in an epic battle of David vs. Goliath, farmer vs. meatpacker. Just a handful of companies—including Tyson, JBS, and Cargill—control over 80 percent of the meat market. These companies set the price farmers and ranchers receive for their animals, and often work together to ensure that they stay low.
Amid reports of anti-Zika efforts killing millions of bees throughout the southeast, a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey shows that the increasing demand for biofuels could be taking away habitat best suited for honey bees in some of the nation's top honey-producing states.