Honeybee keepers will receive more than half of $40 million earmarked for the Emergency Assistance to Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP), said USDA. “Beekeepers, most of whom suffered honeybee colony losses, represent more than half of ELAP recipients,” said USDA. The aid will cover losses during fiscal years 2012 and 2013. Congress allotted $20 million for each year. USDA said it would pro-rate payments to nearly 2,500 applicants because claims exceeded the funding available.
The payments are compensation for losses from Oct 1, 2011-Sept 30, 2013, due to heat, winds, floods, blizzards, lightning and volcanoes, besides honeybee colony collapse.
USDA also released a Watersheds report, based on data gathered during the 2012 Census of Agriculture, that lists agricultural activities in each of 20 hydrologic regions and subdivided into more than 200 subregions and further divided into basins. The report is available here.