June 2, 2017 CapitalPress.com 11 Survey finds honeybee losses improve from horrible to bad By SETH BORENSTEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON — There’s a glimmer of hope for Ameri- ca’s ailing honeybees as winter losses were the lowest in more than a decade, according to a U.S. survey of beekeepers re- leased on May 25. Beekeepers lost 21 per- cent of their colonies over last winter, the annual Bee Informed Partnership sur- vey found. That’s the low- est winter loss level since the survey started in 2006 and an improvement from nearly 27 percent the winter before. The U.S. government has set a goal of keeping losses under 15 percent in the win- ter. “It’s good news in that the numbers are down, but it’s certainly not a good picture,” said survey director Dennis vanEngelsdorp. “It’s gone from horrible to bad.” Reduction in varroa mites, a lethal parasite, is likely the main cause of the improve- ment, said vanEnglesdorp, a University of Maryland en- tomologist. He credited the reduction in the parasite to a new product to fight the mite and better weather for pesti- cide use. The 10-year average for winter losses is 28.4 percent. “We would of course all love it if the trend continues, but there are so many fac- tors playing a role in colony health,” said bee expert Elina Lastro Nino at the Univer- sity of Californ-Davis, who wasn’t part of the survey. “I am glad to see this, but wouldn’t celebrate too much yet.” For more than a decade, bees and other pollinators have been rapidly declining with scientists blaming a mix of parasites, disease, pesti- cides and poor nutrition. While usually hive losses are worst in the winter, they occur year round. The sur- vey found yearly losses also down, but not quite to record levels. About one-third of the honeybee colonies that were around in April 2016 were dead a year later, the survey found. That’s better than the year before when the annual loss rate was more than 40 percent. The survey, originally started by the U.S. govern- ment and now run by a non- profit, is based on information from nearly 5,000 beekeep- ers who manage more than 360,000 colonies. University of Montana’s Jerry Bromen- shenk said the study gives too much weight to backyard bee- keepers rather than commer- cial beekeepers. Field trip mixes fun with facts for first-graders By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press KIMBERLY, Idaho — About 170 first-graders from Kimberly Elementary School had a ton of fun and learned a little about agriculture at their end-of-the-year field trip to a farm equipment dealer on May 26. It’s the second year Agri-Service has hosted the event, and it’s a lot of fun, said Jeri Ahrens, the compa- ny’s business development manager. “It’s my favorite day of the year,” she said. Starting one interactive session with the youngsters on cows and dairy products, Ahrens asked the children if any of them have cows. One energetic youngster threw up his hand, wiggled in his seat and shouted “We used to, but we ate ’em!” Wiggling, jumping, smil- ing and laughing were the or- der of the day — despite the chilly, overcast weather. Idaho Farm Bureau sent over its Moving Agriculture to the Classroom educational trailer, along with Maggie the cow, who read the “Big Book of Dairy” and led the dancing Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press First-graders from Kimberly Elementary School participate in an agricultural knowledge session with Jeri Ahrens, Agri-Service busi- ness development manager, during their field trip on May 26. Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press First-graders from Kimberly Elementary School wait eagerly for their hay ride to begin. youngsters in shaking small containers of cream to make butter. Ag in the Classroom also pitched in with fun and edu- cational materials for the stu- dents’ goodie bags. But climbing in and out of big farm equipment and be- ing taken for hayrides were the stars of the jam-packed morning that kept kids hop- ping from one activity to the next. Sitting in the cab of a big tractor — where Agri-Ser- vice Safety Coordinator Cody Schnitzius was shar- ing equipment-safety tips — brought roller-coaster-sized smiles. And the children could hardly sit still waiting for the hay ride to get rolling. For some of the students, it was their first time around a tractor and first hayride, and many think only milk comes from cows, Ahrens said. “Agriculture is an amaz- ing industry and one of Ida- ho’s biggest. We literally can’t live without it. So our goal today is to promote excitement and awareness around agriculture and show the kids that ag is really cool,” she said. Agri-Service’s mission statement is “Together we drive agriculture forward,” and “together” not only en- compasses the Agri-Service team, how it works and sup- ports it customers, but also how the team promotes ag in schools, FFA, 4-H, ag-relat- ed groups, tech programs and local communities, she said. “We love opening our fa- cility up to the kids. They’re our future and if we continue to build excitement around agriculture, together we will drive agriculture forward,” she said. Weather for the event could have been a little better, but with all the butter-mak- ing dancing and shaking and climbing up and down on the equipment, everyone stayed warm, she said. “The best part of the day wasn’t just watching ev- eryone laugh and have fun together but also having parents and teachers come up to me and say, ‘Wow. … I never knew that!’ when sharing some fun ag facts,” she said. “All of us at Agri-Ser- vice had as much fun if not more than the kids. Today was a great day to be in agri- culture,” she said. Cattle grazing plan for Idaho monument draws criticism By KEITH RIDLER Associated Press BOISE — Federal officials on May 26 released a cattle grazing plan for central Idaho’s Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve that immediately came under fire from an environmental group. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Final Environ- mental Impact Statement al- lows cattle grazing on nearly all of the roughly 275,000 acres it administers in the monument. The document stems from a federal lawsuit filed by the Western Watersheds Project cit- ing concerns about sage grouse and a subsequent court ruling requiring the federal agency to come up with a new plan. Lisa Cresswell, the planning and environmental coordinator for the Twin Falls District of the BLM, said the document combined with the BLM’s 2015 Greater Sage Grouse Ap- proved Resource Management Plan Amendment protects sage grouse habitat while allowing grazing in Craters of the Moon. “We were mostly trying to direct livestock grazing toward (seeded areas) and away from native sagebrush,” she said. Craters of the Moon con- Tetona Dunlap/The Times-News via AP In this 2012 file photo, people hike the North Crater Flow Trail at Craters of the Moon National Monument. Federal officials have released a cattle grazing plan for the central Idaho national monument and preserve that immediately came under fire from an environmental group. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Fi- nal Environmental Impact Statement released May 26 allows cattle grazing on nearly all of the roughly 275,000 acres it administers in the monument. tains ancient lava flows of rough and jagged rocks, but some areas not covered by the flows are suitable for cattle grazing. The plan reduces by 300 acres the amount of cattle graz- ing area compared with the previous plan, and it reduces the number of cattle by a small amount. That’s not enough of a change, said Greta Anderson, deputy director for Western Watersheds Project. “Our con- cerns that the BLM’s livestock plans will continue to con- tribute to sage grouse decline within this National Monument are unresolved,” she said in an email to The Associated Press. Anderson also said that the sage grouse Resource Manage- ment Plan Amendments that the BLM cites as providing sage grouse protections in the Environmental Impact State- ment are themselves being challenged in court in a case that hasn’t been resolved. Anderson said BLM’s plan will lead to declines of sage grouse and their possible elim- ination from Craters of the Moon. Sage grouse are ground-dwelling, chick- en-sized birds found in 11 Western states, where as few as 200,000 remain, down from a peak population of about 16 million. The males are known for their strutting courtship rit- ual on breeding grounds called leks, and they produce a bub- ble-type sound from a pair of inflated air sacks on their necks. BLM’s publication of the document opens a 30-day pro- test period available to those who previously took part in the process. Meanwhile, the Trump ad- ministration earlier this month listed all 738,000 acres of fed- eral lands in the monument dating from 1924 as up for pos- sible revocation. Twenty-six other U.S. monuments on the list only go back to lands desig- nated since 1996 in accordance with an executive order signed by Trump. The U.S. Department of the Interior in an email to the AP on May 26 said it was check- ing on the apparent discrepancy but didn’t have an immediate response. John Freemuth, a Boise State University environmen- tal policy professor and public lands expert, said the Interior Department appeared to make a mistake by including the entire monument and preserve. He also noted that 410,000 acres was designated as a preserve by Congress following efforts by U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, in 2002. That moved that land from the BLM to the National Park Service. For it to no longer be a preserve would require another act by Con- gress, Freemuth said. “They can’t touch the part that Simpson got in in 2002,” he said. About 53,000 acres were designated a monument before 1996, most of that occurring in 1924. The remaining federal lands of the monument are the 275,000 acres administered by the BLM and the subject of the Environmental Impact State- ment. Ted Stout, Craters of the Moon spokesman, said monument officials have sought clarification from the Interior Department about whether the entire monu- ment is being reviewed by the Trump administration, but they haven’t yet received a response. Many local communities have pushed to have the ini- tial 53,000 acres designated a national park in the hopes of bringing more tourism dollars to the area. Earlier this year, the Ida- ho Senate passed a resolu- tion seeking that result, but it stalled in the House amid objections from agricultural interests. USDA recalls beef broth made in Washington Product shipped without inspection By DON JENKINS Capital Press A young Bellingham, Wash., company has had to recall about 5,163 pounds of organic beef broth products that were sent to customers without the benefit of federal inspection, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced May 26. Cauldron Broths, which opened about six months ago, sent the products to customers in Washington, the company’s general manager, Steven Cor- son, said. Most of the product was sent in January and Feb- ruary, and no illnesses have been reported, he said. “Overall, we have little concern,” he said. “But we’re following through with the re- call protocol.” The USDA confirmed no illnesses have been reported by people who consumed the company’s products. The products were pack- aged between Dec. 21 and May 22, according to the USDA. Corson said the USDA inspected part of the produc- tion, but not all. At the time, the company believed it was in compliance with inspec- tion requirements, he said. The company is not ap- pealing the recall, he said. “We do not foresee any other issues,” he said. The following products were subject to the recall: • 24-once pouches con- taining Vital Choice Grass- Fed Beef Bone Broth with best by dates Jan. 15, 2018; Jan. 18, 2018; and March 28, 2018. • 24-once pouches con- taining Cauldron Broths Beef Bone Broth with best by dates Jan. 3, 2018, and Feb. 15, 2018. • 24-once pouches contain- ing Cauldron Broths Organic Cauldron’s Cure with best by dates Dec. 21, 2018. • 1 gallon containers of Cauldron Broths Glace De Viande with best by date Jan. 30, 2018. • 8-once containers of Cauldron Broths Glace De Vi- ande with best by date March 4, 2018. The products subject to re- call bear establishment num- ber EST. 45953 inside the USDA mark of inspection. 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