Why He Needed to Spray For Bugs, Simple Efforts to Protect My Bees June 13, 2021

[@mark-wn5ek]

Ian, you are an excellent spokesman for these two veins of agriculture. The farmer has to protect the crop, there's no such thing as bug proof crops. People, tree huggers especially, have this pie in the sky attitude that pesticides are unnecessary. Yet, these chemicals are what has allowed us to produce abundant food that people can afford to consume. I love how how the environmentalists pound they're gums while their mouth is full and a cigarette is between they're fingers. They live in a fantasy world. I hope you'll be able to reflect on your bees living beside the treated fields throughout the season to show that it actually works for all concerned...dead bugs, live bees, successfully canola crop and lots of honey.

[@jkd0114]

This is an old school train of thought, there is ways to harvest abundant crops without pesticides. We just have to get rid of your train of thought…guess what it’s happening like it or not#organics

[@sergeytaranovich2368]

Only one way to go organic is to have one employee per acre so they can pick bugs and other pests by hands and clean weeds and grass by hands just like an old school did in order to do so we have to have large families and small farms, but if a handful of farmers provide for NYC or LA who is never see fields being plowed and cows being milked in their life, farmers have to go by more efficient ways to produce their crops and keep prices affordable

[@mark-wn5ek]

@@jkd0114 would you like to explain that idea in detail to the audience or is it another hallucination you're having of a perfect world?

[@olegtts]

It’s governments fault because they allow all the cheap crops coming from USA and our farmers had to use all they can to squeeze extra crop from exhausted soil to stay in competition. On the other hand we are more and more dependent on artificial ways of controlling the bugs and weeds. Interfering with nature throws things out of balance. We see many different infestations today that going out of control and spraying isn’t solving any problems and never will. It’s all about money let’s admit it and not bs each other

[@mark-wn5ek]

@@olegtts do you really believe that? Maybe you can get a job as a bug catcher, should be plenty of work for all that are interested in keeping things in balance. Catch bugs in one hand, try to find something to eat with the other...and if it doesn't work out, blame the government..or hug a tree, that seems to be the current mantra.

[@kathyhathaway8823]

It is so GREAT that BOTH parties are able and willing to work together to help everyone out . That is what this world is all about .

[@jkd0114]

Lol , I love the Canadian Bee Keepets work ethic! Hence why I follow him, but I’d never consume his honey. Poor thought process. Move your bees.

[@rafiki270]

It was his brother

[@mikes1345]

Interesting approach to the farming problems. My hives are on my property line next to a hayfield. I've noticed the farmer swinging wide from them when applying fertilyzer even though he is down wind or no wind. Looks like I need to set some honey aside for him if I make any. This is my hobby but his livelihood and I do appreciated his thoughfulness.

[@cliveharrison733]

Hi Ian they’re experimenting here in the UK growing other plants that hide the canola and also spraying with liquid manure the idea being if the beetle cannot see it or smell it they cannot infest it, by the time the canola out grows its host crop it’s strong enough to withstand the attack.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

I wonder what they use ?

[@cliveharrison733]

@@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog buckwheat and treated sewage sludge as a fertiliser. Also try a minimum tillage strategy leaving the stubble of the previous crop to hide the young plants. This has all been driven because insecticides containing neonicotinoids are now banned in the UK

[@star1098sr]

Farmer beekeeper a fine line you run Ian well done 👍

[@jamesmcnally2519]

Great video and great message to show how different farmers when working together everyone wins! The bees will be better for the spraying as well with the crop that is to come! Great! Great message!

[@timmullen698]

had the same problem as a bee keeper the farmer like you say needs to spray . So i set him up with some hives now he looks at it with bees in mind at a deeper level .So not only spraying but cover crops over winter now we both win and the bees

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Exactly, opened perspective

[@mariapiary]

Hi Ian, i appreciate your point of view very much. We have many disagreements among beekeepers and farmers in Germany. I don't like that. But also i can say that there is a huge wave towards organic farming around here and it makes beekeeping so much easier and more interesting. They even started to grow canola under organic guidelines. It works... sometimes😀. anyway this year i harvested my first organic canola honey.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

I have no problem with organic

[@lifebehindacow5999]

Thanks for this video. I'm a grain and cattle farmer from eastern Washington and have recently become a bee keeper. Insecticide is seldom sprayed here but it could be a concern at some future point. Nice to know there are ways to keep the bees safe and still get the spraying done.

[@wolf84357]

Ian, I appreciate and admire you balanced attitude to the need of making a livelihood of all parties. In your case it's particularly necessary, that the farmer makes a crop from a flowering plant, otherwise no honey. You are co-dependent. I find, not many of those that criticize the use of agricultural chemicals are able to expand their minds to beyond what the voices in their heads tell them.

[@hootervillehoneybees8664]

Great spot for late season food plot. Help feed 200 late start nucs with all them surplus bees.

[@flyingpigpreserve8562]

So glad you and your brother can come to agreement on fulfilling both needs. A Sunflower Patch would be perfect there. Peace from WV USA

[@oneshoo]

Outstanding video Ian! The rest of the world should watch this video and use it as a way to come to an agreement as to a problem in which both parties found a solution. Phacelia or Sunflower for your patch? I guess it depends on which ever seed you have an abundance of?? 👍

[@GEEZBEEZ]

Responsibility by both parties is great idea that seems to work well as portrayed here. I hope more cooperative efforts between beekeeper and farmer can become the norm rather than the exception. Good example.

[@ETsBees]

Hello Ian, have you guys thought about bringing Good bugs back in after spraying. Or even trying to get good bugs in before the bad ones take over. Luckily we haven’t had to spray our alfalfa in over 15 years for aphids. Our predictor bugs have always had enough population to keep the aphids in control. Years ago spraying for aphids was super common but it seems like for now we have reached a balance.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Oh ya we count beneficials , I wish a bug ate flea beetles lol

[@lydiafife8716]

When I saw that empty swath of land I thought sunflowers 🌻 and bees 🐝 and then cattle 🐄 Learning a lot!!! When it makes sense it sticks with you. Great videos As usual Thank you 🙏

[@capebee4839]

I would advise to only place the bees on canola from about 5% bloom. In our area there is lots of aerial spraying Massive bee losses if you place bees on canola to early But this also allows the farmer to effectively manage and protect his crop

[@billchriswell2925]

Good luck! A follow up showing the effects of spraying on the field crop would be interesting👍

[@andrewmallard2301]

Fred Dunn #103 mentioned studies into biological controls - primarily for Varoa, but other uses was mentioned. Perhaps worth considering some of the measures/organisations mentioned.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Definitely opportunity for the industry to capitalize on but until RandD catch it up to industrial scale we focus on product available here and now. Especially when the bug pressures are so high like this year

[@andrewmallard2301]

@@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog Fully behind your statement, both here and on the KZbin, clip, Ian.

[@benjamindejonge3624]

Brother Adam is legend for your bees

[@beetender9009]

Maybe not as feasible as a once-and-done insecticide spray to curb the beatles, but if those fields could be sprayed with moisture regularly, while we struggle for rain, then the plants would outgrow the bite?

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Prescription, rain

[@olegtts]

The nature has a way of balancing itself out but we don’t give it a chance. If there is too many bugs of one kind this year then next year there is going to be more of the other kind who feed on them and so on with any jumps in the nature. That’s why it is important to give the land a rest to balance itself out. But who is willing to do that ? It’s a frenzy now, instead of adopting to nature ways we became so greedy and proud and trying to tailor nature to our wants. This world is coming to an end soon. That’s why I’m going to a new heaven and new earth !!! You can follow me by the way!

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

With a mouth full of food

[@olegtts]

@@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog sadly all our farmers producing mostly is: soya, corn, tobacco, canola and cannabis now. Seeing beekeepers defending pesticides spraying is contradictory. I didn’t really like hearing from one of the best beekeeper defending spraying pesticides. Delete that video Ian before too many beekeepers see it. That’s my friendly suggestion. And pinning faltering comment to the top isn’t cool either. Sorry bro but it’s the truth.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

I own the sprayer

[@olegtts]

@@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog I guess that nice farmer you talked about was you and the field is probably yours lol. Well unfortunately for most of the beekeepers farmers don’t plant canola every year and don’t give a crap about us when they spray. You are one lucky beekeeper having such good neighbouring farmer.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

As I said, my brother

[@jeffdopp4470]

Very interesting. So although it's good that the bug spray is working and the bees are safe. Wondering if I take a different look at things. Since the bugs are survival of the fittest and the bugs have to eat. Only the fit ones survive so now inadvertently we have superbug. So plants without spray on them are completely wiped out. Wonder what will happen if the bugs are able to overcome the spray can we expect at some point in the future the whole crop will look like the patch that wasn't sprayed? Do we keep inventing stronger and stronger pesticide? And eventually we create stronger and stronger bugs this does not seem like a good thing. Will the Super bugs turn and affect natural untreated wildlife like maybe trees or something to survive

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Only if you term the bugs as super bugs. They are not super on any other way than simply overcoming that specific pesticide application. Same old bug doing the same old thing bugs do, eat farmers fields. I know what you are say though. This is where science will provide answers otherwise we starve ;)

[@trevordavies2829]

Great presentation Thanks

[@troygalbreath1787]

Keep bridging the gap Ian. Very well explained!

[@walterhiegel3020]

Hey Ian...could you take a sheet of plastic and cover the hives in the evening and then spray and remove the plastic after the spray has settled?

[@barrykasdorf5633]

The co-extruded silage poly would be cooler than clear poly. I used it for daylength control on spruce - monitor the temp carefully

[@gerryrozema8338]

For the farm as a whole, I'm curious now about a detail. What would be a better revenue producer at end of the year. The canola that comes off the 120 foot strip that's now desert, or, the honey from the hives beside that field? The old adage of 'rob peter to pay paul' comes to mind, but in this case it is more like 'rob adam to pay Ian'. So the bottom line question at the end of the day, just at a glance it looked like that strip was a couple acres or so, how does the canola crop from that strip compare to the honey crop from that yard when you do year end financials ?

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

The crop, 1/2 acre, 30 bushels priced at $15. 40 colonies yielding 195 lbs honey priced at $2,5

[@jimallen1176]

Wow! Almost 200 lbs per colony is killing it! In S.C. we average about 50 lbs , but no canola. Wildflower, soybeans & cotton.

[@daniels5780]

The buffer zone could be a different crop that doesn't require pesticides.

[@anabelaramos8399]

Of course

[@rajbeekie7124]

What crop would that be? Also, planting a crop depends on a variety of variables. Machinery, time and other resources, price of the product, etc. Planting, "a different crop that doesn't require pesticides," is often easier said than done.

[@daniels5780]

@@rajbeekie7124 Do you have a better solution? Or, are you going to just complain?

[@anabelaramos8399]

@@rajbeekie7124 just different plants would be enough, those monocultures are hell to nature, pests, soil water. Dead end, no way out. We have to start regenerative farming, animals and plants.

[@imkereistappert3183]

Great video! Thats how it is👌

[@Jack-es9xq]

could you cover the hives at sunset and have him spray the field when the covers are on? win-win

[@danielbailey201]

It is so rare to find any moderate viewpoints or parties willing to consider both sides. Not just in beekeeping but on any topic. Everything is viewed as a zero sum game, where there is one winner and one loser. This isn’t how the world or business truly functions. Generates a lot of conflict and no solutions. There is an awesome speaker named Simon Sinek - talks a lot about finite vs. infinite games. You should check him out there are some good podcasts available.

[@jaksmith6465]

No crops no food, People living in cities are so privileged that they have no Idea what it actually takes to produce LARGE amount of food to feed a society. They see some hippie spend 80hrs a week to grow 4 tomatoes naturally and think that is how large farms should operate.

[@vwbusguy]

I reckon there would a novel solution for mites and viruses with a "sheep dip drenching " of bees. Just putting it out there

[@munibungbeeking1719]

Ian do you know out west from where I live in NSW Australia the canola is at about the same stage and we are in the middle of winter is that weird. Because you are in summer

[@grizzz6884]

great vid , but the problem is that chemicals have tricked farmers into paying to much for the land , much to the bankers benifit . we have take a step back to the past , but how to pay for the trip back in time

[@jeffsea6490]

*Best Wishes Ian* 👍

[@mattsara2802]

Well said.

[@AndrewPepper]

Wise words!

[@helenscott8202]

That canola field sure demonstrates why ‘organic’, whatever that really means, just can’t always work. I feel like you all have been under the 7 plages this year. Cold, heat, drought, insects, wind, surely there was too much rain in there somewhere. Not an easy year to manage. It is also obvious you all are used to handling things fairly smoothly. I ‘ll just sit here with my popcorn in awe. With your long growing season (sarcasm), I have no concept of how you have built your bees so well. It has been very instructional just seeing how careful you are to make sure they have as much food through everything, as most people do with farm animals. I don’t think this is the worry in Texas.

[@anabelaramos8399]

"Whatever that really means" You don't know what it means, should you talk about it? This is monoculture, of course it will get bugs.

[@centexprepper3993]

@@anabelaramos8399 you totally don’t understand her point. She’s not saying that she doesn’t understand what organic means. She’s saying that “organic” is a bullshit term, defined in half a dozen ways, that is often not workable and not just in a monoculture environment.

[@helenscott8202]

@@centexprepper3993 Thank you for explaining something I thought (obviously erroneously) was clear. Insects invade, whether monoculture or not. Our friend above hit the word organic and lost all thought. Sigh!

[@rochrich1223]

Some crops yield better with pollinators working on it. Soybeans self pollinate but most varieties do better with bees helping. That should be factored in the calculation.

[@judyabraga1883]

I've had a heck of a time with flea beetles this year!

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Little buggers

[@rodneymiddleton9624]

Hope it works out for the best Ian. Thanks!

[@BlanchardsBees]

Very nice

[@larrytornetta9764]

Bees are my bug of choice

[@Vinc-bee]

Ian, what kind of honey are you making of rapeseed honey, because it normally crystallizes very quickly ? Her In Denmark we now only have winter rapeseed this gives us nectar in may. Sommer rapeseed is unfortunately hardley being used any more.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

We produce a beautiful mild tasting canola white honey

[@markspc1]

It will be nice to see the sunflower field.

[@StupidGaming40]

Nice

[@harrisjoubertwithsleepycre1924]

it all has to work together

[@larrytornetta9764]

If you weren’t in a drought condition would you have less of an insect problem?

[@russellkoopman3004]

As he said, with no rain the plants could not outgrow the bug pressure. With all different insect pressures on crops there is a threshold or number of pests per plant or meter that if met it is financially rewarding to spray. Agronomist and farmers are always scouting for disease and insect pressure to see if the numbers reach that certain threshold.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Ya the drought has caused a situation where the plant could not grow out of the bug pressure

[@pmac5621]

I have a similar problem with alfalfa and wheat fields near me. I would love to approach the farmer but not sure how or what to say.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

If it’s about insecticide spraying , you need to reach out and let them know that you are there, and to notify you upon any insecticide application

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Within that conversation you can include information to the grower about types of spray to use or time of day to spray if you get the chance

[@vwbusguy]

Hi ian have you done a test on those hives after a spray and see if there is a die off from bees after the spray?

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

No, just observations

[@vwbusguy]

Thanks for the reply

[@ernstfelker7295]

👍👍👍

[@jogje]

Is there a reason that you cant use water on this patch? (i know that in some places that is not realistic 🙂) you said that drought was a big issue.

[@ishfaqmian5150]

Please update a video on splitting 👍

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Queen checks start today

[@markspc1]

@@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog Great, I am have been waiting.

[@olegtts]

It’s governments fault because they allow all the cheap crops coming from USA and our farmers had to use all they can to squeeze extra crop from exhausted soil to stay in competition. On the other hand we are more and more dependent on artificial ways of controlling the bugs and weeds. Interfering with nature throws things out of balance. We see many different infestations today that going out of control and spraying isn’t solving any problems and never will. It’s all about money let’s admit it and not bs each other.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

…easy criticism from that side of the computer. This is the real deal. Dollars and cents

[@olegtts]

@@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog sorry man didn’t mean to go hard on you. Just lost most of my bees last winter, it’s frustrating with our farmers these days.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Opinion and perspective is important, the point being made is if we are to criticize we need to follow with solutions that are viable. Straight up bitching gets nobody anywhere.

[@dogalarclk1541]

🇹🇷👍👍👍

[@denisgovor3897]

❤❤❤👍

[@jakar1000]

🌹👍

[@anabelaramos8399]

Monoculture=bugs

[@SRW1955]

BT ?

[@SRW1955]

Neonicotinoids ?

[@aidanquick3151]

I dont like flea beetles at all

[@michaelfike7542]

Did you run out of seed on side or the bugs eating it.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Big damage

[@michaelfike7542]

@@aCanadianBeekeepersBlogants or the biggest problem right now with my bees 🐝 the bad fire ants 🐜 and army worms in corn.

[@Imkerei2024]

Why you dont keep birds or animals who eat those bugs ? So no need for spraying

[@sergeytaranovich2368]

Well... one will need lots of birds or animals to eat them bugs and they will be eat young canola plants for their salad after eating all the bugs, just a little humor. We talking about lots lots of acres of canola not a small garden where you can have couple of Guinea fowl to control bugs

[@russellkoopman3004]

​@@sergeytaranovich2368 If weather conditions are right there is all of a sudden millions of those dang bugs. I think heavy rains often drowns a large portion of them limiting their numbers. Next year there are only a few bugs. Hard to predict on some of those bugs. In modern ag it is quite hard to always be natural.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

I don’t know anything that eats flea beetle

[@sergeytaranovich2368]

@@russellkoopman3004 I think is not possible at all to go chemical free in agriculture in modern time when a small group of farmers provide for a hundreds of millions,

[@russellkoopman3004]

@@sergeytaranovich2368 True, but how do you feed 7-8 billion people and their pets?