APIS Volume 3, Number 1, January 1985
In this issue
- Leroy Putnal-Florida’s Chief Inspector Dies
- Honey Bee Tracheal Mite Quarantine Lifted
- Financial Forecasting in 1985
LEROY PUTNAL-FLORIDA’S CHIEF INSPECTOR DIES
December was a month of generally bad news for the Florida beekeeping Industry. Most shocking was the unexpected death of Leroy Putnal, Chief Apiary Inspector in the Division of Plant Industry. Leroy was a third-generation beekeeper and worked as a bee inspector for over twenty-five years, serving as assistant to the Chief Inspector, before becoming himself Chief Inspector, with the retirement of Jim Herndon. The industry will miss Leroy's enthusiasm and expertise, especially now while the tracheal mite crisis continues to unfold. He is survived by his wife, Thelma and two children.
The retirement of Mr. Herndon, although he is still coordinator of Florida's Honey Bee Tracheal Mite Project, and death of Mr. Putnal has left vacant the Chief Apiary Inspector's job. The duties have temporarily been taken over by Mr. Ralph Brown at the Department of Plant Industry.
HONEY BEE TRACHEAL MITE QUARANTINE LIFTED
On December 20, Commissioner of Agriculture Doyle Conner released all tracheal bee mite quarantines within the state of Florida. This was in response to a meeting three days before of the Florida Mite Advisory Committee, which also voted to lift intrastate quarantines. The result of the Commissioner's action is that beekeepers are now free to move within the state of Florida, whether or not they have colonies diagnosed as infested with honey bee tracheal mites.
At the time of the announcement, some fifty-seven spot areas were identified to be infested with mites in Brevard, Broward, Columbia, Dade, Glades, Hardee, Highlands, Indian River, Lake, Manatee, Marion, Okeechobee, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Polk, St. Lucie and Volusia counties. According to regulatory officials, this was enough to declare the state "generally infested." The action is not unprecented, but is rare, and puts pressure on the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to designate the quarantine status of Florida and prescribe conditions under which bees can move out of the state. APHIS is expected to come to some decision soon after the National Mite Advisory Committee meets in Biloxi, Mississippi, the second week in January. The Commisioner's action most likely will result in a full quarantine on the state of Florida, which means no movement of bees will be allowed out of the state.
Meanwhile the Florida Division of Plant Industry will continue to survey bees for mites in the state, concentrating on the Panhandle, west of the Suwannee River. Since July 6, when it was first discovered in Texas, the mite has now been found in Louisiana, North Dakota, South Dakota, New York, Nebraska, Florida and North Carolina.
FINANCIAL FORECASTING IN 1985
[Editor's note: October 18, 1997. This information is old. it is included here for historical purposes only.] Forecasting the future is fraught with error. Some have said it doesn't pay to forecast, given volatile times like these. Dr. P.J. Van Blokland, in the January issue of the Florida Cooperative Extension Farm Finance Newsletter, takes a more positive view. He urges putting energies into managing the future as well as is possible, given the "gloomy news," in his latest newsletter:
1. The federal deficit is too high and aid to U.S. agriculture is expected to be one of the main spending items that will be cut from the Federal budget. Senator Jesse Helms R-NC, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry said that the 1985 Farm Bill must be market oriented, and that 1985 is the most crucial year for agriculture since 1862. Corroborating this, Dr. Robert Thompson, senior staff economist for the President, in a recent press release said farm aid programs designed to help agricultural producers may hurt them in the long run. He specifically mentioned the $90 million honey price support system.
2. From 1980 to 1983 farm income return was lower at any time since 1950, when statistics started; real capital gains were negative each year (only seven negative years out of thirty-four have been recorded). From 1981 to 1983, return to assets was also negative (only two previous negative years have been recorded, 1952 and 1953), as was return to equity (only 1952 and 1953 previously showed negative returns).
3. Solvency ratios (debts/assets) are also high (almost half U.S. farms have $.40 cents worth of debt per dollar of assets). With a solvency ratio of 0.40, and return on assets of two percent, borrowing at 11% will reduce assets or equity by four percent annually. Those with high debt loads and an average income return of two percent lose equity regardless of interest rate. Profiles of well managed farms (averages of twenty five farms) show the following:
Average number of years farming 24
Average real growth of assets 1979-1984 $2.3 million
Forward pricing of sales yes 55%
Forward pricing of inputs yes 40%
Use computers yes 84%
Average assets $5.2 million
1983 debt/asset ratio 0.26
Gross sales per $1.00 cash expense $2.064. Commercial banks in Florida that loan money to agriculture have about 8.2% of their loans past due, highest figure in the nation after California. Ten of twenty seven U.S. banks that failed between June and September, 1984 were agricultural in nature. Because of its past problematical financing, The Farmer's Home Administration has introduced new policies to bolster farm financing, including debt set aside, loan guarantees, management assistance contracts and loan servicing aid.
Dr. Van Blokland sums up his 1985 prognostications by saying,
"we know we are facing hard financial times...knowing what we face is half the battle. The other half is getting down and fighting it with the proper weapons. The most efficient farm tool today is the pencil. If it is wielded sensibly then we will not only win the battle, but the whole bloody war."
The situation above is just as true for apiculture as for agriculture in general. In 1985, beekeepers, like producers of other commodities, face similar marketing (a great percentage of the U.S. honey crop being subsidized by the Federal government) and financial problems. They also can expect unique new challenges: the honey hee tracheal mite, already here, and the expected arrival of Africanized honey bees and Varroa mites. If anything, their pencil must be a whole lot sharper! See other articles referring to financial management and establishing credit in the 1984 issues of this newsletter.
Malcolm T. Sanford
Bldg 970, Box 110620
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-0620
Phone (352) 392-1801, Ext. 143 FAX: (352)-392-0190
http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~entweb/apis/apis.htm
INTERNET Address: MTS@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU
©1985 M.T. Sanford "All Rights Reserved
