Saugahatchee Beekeepers’ Association Receives RC&D Grant

by Anne Miller, District Administrative Coordinator, SWCD/NRCS, Opelika, AL

Alabama State Representative Mike Hubbard presented a Mid-South RC&D grant to the Saugahatchee Beekeepers’ Association in Lee County. This grant was matched with member donations, a donation from the Pilot Club of Lee County, and member volunteer time.

The grant was used to purchase a teaching hive to educate students in Lee County Schools about the importance of the honeybee and also to help monitor the honeybees in Lee County.

More than 2.4 million of the nation’s honeybee colonies have been lost, according to the Apiary Inspectors of America. This is the loss of tens of billions of bees. It is what scientists have termed "colony collapse disorder (CCD) and so far it has affected as many as 27 states across the country.

European countries, Brazil and Guatemala have also experienced similar losses in there honeybee populations.

Alabama has managed to stay off the list of affected areas so far. It is a situation local entomologist and beekeepers say they are monitoring closely. The Mid-South RC&D Grand has assisted in this monitoring.

Auburn University Assistant Professor Xing Ping Hu and bee researchers are working tirelessly to find an answer to explain this disappearing bee syndrome "colony collapse disorder."

Honeybees are most important in the human food chain, the principal pollinators in agriculture and contribute about $15 billion annually through improved crop yields and produce quality.

Local beekeeper Ben McGehee said "If this (CCD) isn’t stopped soon, we are going to be in a world of hurt in terms of food production that honeybees are responsible for". Ben McGehee manages 40 honeybee colonies – more than any other beekeeper in Lee County.

The Saugahatchee Beekeepers’ Association meets at the Lee County Agricultural Building, 600 S. 7th Street, Opelika, AL at 6:30pm on the first Tuesday of even months. For additional information please contact Dani Carroll at (334) 749-3353 or carrodl@aces.edu.

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