Sen. Chuck Schumer on Sunday blasted the US Department of Agriculture for suspending data collection of the decline of honeybees — saying the recent decision will sting beekeepers and cost New Yorkers billions.
USDA officials blamed cost cuts this month when they announced they’d be scrapping the annual Honey Bee Colonies survey that since 2015, has gathered data on the number of bees per state, including those lost due to symptoms of colony-collapse disorder.
“Our beehives throughout the New York and throughout the country are dying off, and we aren’t sure why,” Schumer (D-NY) said at a press conference in Bryant Park, where he stood in front of two beehives.
“One of the most important things we can do is collect data to find out which hives are dying and why,” he added. “It’s vital.”
Agriculture in New York State is a $1.2 billion industry, with 250 million on Long Island alone, that is largely dependent on bees, Schumer said.
In Manhattan, more than 100 rooftop beehives help pollinate Big Apple plant life.
“From farmers’ markets at Union Square, to farm-to-table restaurants that act as an economic boost, to farming that solidifies our area as an agricultural hub, we have a lot to tout—and it is because of bees,” Schumer said.
Schumer said the survey was a “critical tool” in helping researchers understand why the been population is dwindling.
The number of active honey bee colonies plummeted from 6 million in the 1940s to roughly 2.5 million in 2017, according to USDA data.
The sour senator demanded that the federal government change course and threatened to use an upcoming budget bill to fund the “essential” survey, if the agency doesn’t reverse their decision.
“We are demanding that the surveys be put back in place. If they don’t, I will do everything I can in the budget agreement that just had which is being voted on in September, to restore that money,” he said.
Schumer was abuzz with theories about why the USDA decided to do away with the survey.
He suggested that the pesticide industry was responsible for the drastic decline in bee population and had convinced the USDA to quash the research. He also implied that the Trump administration fears information on bees would peg the waning of hives to climate change.
The USDA didn’t respond to a request for comment.
