Conor here: It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that there is a concerted effort underway to destroy American food production. Now the following happens:
- Iran War sends fertilizer prices through the roof.
- Tech companies are taking over agricultural land for data centers, which will raise electricity prices and reduce water supplies.
- Imports of US farmland increased.
- Dismissals causing problems for farm workers.
- And the mother of all challenges: climate change.
I’m probably forgetting a few other examples, but what conclusions can we draw from this? Is it a war on small farmers to force the few remaining independents to sell to large corporations, investment funds, and institutional investors? (Those kinds of purchases have already been growing for some time.) Or considering hunger in the US already affects 48 million Americans and the administration’s cuts to SNAP, maybe it’s eugenicist policy to starve people?
All of these changes come on top of a system that is already geared towards commodity production. As CNBC noted a few years ago:
The US prioritizes growing commodities – such as corn, soybeans, wheat and sugar. Corn and soybeans are important because they are used mainly for animal feed and ethanol. The country is also very strong in meat production, and global consumption continues to grow.
Although goods are needed in the US economy, they do not feed the people. And that’s a big sticking point for many small and medium-sized fruit and vegetable farmers.
As consumer integration and the cost of land, labor, and inputs continue to rise, it is increasingly difficult for small and medium farmers to stay afloat. And the government doesn’t seem to care:
Now to the bees.
By Jennie L. Durant, Research Associate in Human Ecology, University of California, Davis. Originally published on The Conversation.
Bees and American beekeepers are losing a valuable friend just when they need its help the most.
The US Department of Agriculture plans to soon close the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, a 6,500-acre agricultural research station in Maryland that is home to the Beltsville Bee Research Lab.
The closure comes at a critical time for bees. In the winter of 2025, many beekeepers lost more than half of their operations as insecticide-resistant larvae spread, bringing with them deadly viruses. The loss has led to lower bee production, and rising fuel costs have made it more expensive to transport bees across the country for agricultural pollination, further stressing the industry.
During my 14 years of researching bees and beekeepers, and writing my new book, “Bitter Honey: The Giant Bee Threat to Bees and the Fight to Save the Bees,” I’ve seen beekeepers often turn to USDA bee labs for support during crises like these. Because honeybees contribute an estimated US$15 billion to US crop production — native and managed bees pollinate more than 130 crops — these labs help sustain the nation’s food system.
Today, that scientific support system is in jeopardy, just as beekeepers face their biggest challenges and native bee populations continue to dwindle.
Why Beltsville Bee Lab Matters
USDA bee researchers have served beekeepers for more than 130 years, including nearly 90 years at the Beltsville station. One of Beltsville Bee Lab’s outstanding services is its bee disease diagnostic service, where beekeepers can send samples for free analysis.
Since the early 2000s, Beltsville researchers have helped beekeepers respond to varroa larvae – the main driver of high colony losses each year. Now, the lab is helping them prepare for the deadly poison that attacks honey bees in Asia, Tropilaelaps mercedesae, or “tropi” larvae – by developing detection and response procedures that beekeepers can use to protect their colonies.
Varroa mites are a major source of stress in honey bees, affecting half of entire colonies at times. Other major stresses affect large numbers of colonies as well. Farm Doc Daily/University of Illinois
While the Beltsville Bee Lab supports beekeepers across the country, it is located at the heart of beekeeping. Its closure will leave a critical research gap in the Northeast, where beekeepers help tame cranberries, squash, blueberries and other crops.
Its location also allowed researchers to conduct extensive studies on winter colony loss, research that would be difficult to replicate in the USDA’s remaining bee labs, which are located primarily in cooler climates.
Hidden Costs of Bee Lab Closures
The USDA says it will decommission the entire Beltsville Agricultural Research Center because maintenance and repair of the building will cost an estimated $500 million. But closing the lab could cost beekeepers, farmers and consumers dearly.
For example, in the winter of 2025, beekeepers experienced their highest losses in US history. Many opened their colonies in January of that year and found that more than 60% of their colonies had died – about 1.7 million colonies nationwide. Beekeepers contacted Beltsville, and researchers quickly went out to examine affected colonies for pesticide residues, disease and varroa larvae, data that could help guide beekeepers’ treatment responses.
A few weeks later, as lab scientists were working on the problem, the Trump administration fired test researchers and bee lab workers, along with thousands of other workers across the USDA. The Beltsville team was fired, and the remaining workers were prohibited from communicating with beekeepers.
Because of the communications blackout, it took nearly six months for the researchers to deliver their findings. At that time, the season was over and the beekeepers were forced to face this problem alone.
The loss of bee colonies ultimately costs beekeepers an estimated $600 million in lost bee production, pollination revenue and colony restoration costs — far more than the estimated one-time cost of modernizing the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center.
This loss can also affect the pocketbooks of consumers.
When beekeepers lose nearly half of their jobs, they often need to charge farmers more for pollination to stay afloat. Those extra costs can feed into the food system and affect what everyone pays for fruits, vegetables and nuts that depend on pollinators.
Note: The width of the arrows is proportional to the number of colonies moved; the curvature of the line is indicative of non-linear paths. Source: USDA, Economic Research Service statistics using USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Colony loss survey (USDA-NASS, 2018). Beekeepers often move their bees across the country to meet pollination needs and produce honey at different times of the year. The map shows the movement of bees from California to other states in the summer and fall. Jennifer K. Bond, et al., USDA Economic Research Service, 2021
More Cuts Planned for US Pollinator Research
The closing of the Beltsville Bee Lab is not an isolated situation. Administrators have proposed eliminating the US Geological Survey’s Ecosystems Mission Area, a move that would defund the USGS Bee Lab, a key resource for research on native bees.
It also plans to close 16 USGS research centers across the country, including the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center in North Dakota, the nation’s top honey producing state. For decades, beekeepers have been bringing colonies to feed on grasslands in the region. Researchers have been tracking how the transition from grasslands to vegetation has affected honey bee health and bee income.
The US Forest Service is also facing widespread cuts, including the planned closure of 57 of its 77 research stations across the United States. Since the Forest Service manages more than 193 million acres of land that support native plants and pollinators, such closures could affect important pollinator habitat.
This shutdown risks brain exhaustion.
When the first Trump administration moved the USDA Economic Research Service from Washington to Kansas City, Missouri, in 2019, the agency lost more than 75% of its experienced staff. A recent survey suggests that history may be repeating itself. If the restructuring continues, farmers and beekeepers will lose professionals with decades of institutional knowledge and expertise.
The Beltsville Bee Lab is an important part of the organization’s often underappreciated research infrastructure that supports the health of pollinators and the nation’s food supply.
If the USDA and USGS move forward with their plans to close bee labs and research facilities, the result could be slower responses to bee threats, weaker monitoring of native bees and reduced bee pollinator habitat – all of which raise costs and risks for beekeepers, farmers and everyone who depends on the food system.
