[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 70 (Tuesday, June 6, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H3415-H3416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING NORTH CAROLINA'S BEEKEEPERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the many of the hard 
working beekeepers in North Carolina's fifth congressional district. 
Beekeepers play an extremely important role in our society and often do 
not get the recognition they deserve.
  Back in 1905, an obscure Swiss patent clerk named Albert Einstein 
published three papers that would later result in his receiving the 
Nobel Prize. During that same year, he gave a speech on a subject that 
fascinated him greatly, the marvelous honey bee. He said, ``If the bee 
disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four 
years left to live.''
  Back then, much like it is today, the survival of the honey bee was 
threatened by pests and climate. The honey bee survived the challenges 
of Dr. Einstein's time but new obstacles have also emerged. Despite 
these challenges I am sure that Dr. Einstein would be happy to know 
that the honey bee is alive and well in North Carolina.
  Next year the North Carolina State Bee Keeping Association celebrates 
its 90th year of helping local beekeepers succeed. I am happy to report 
that the association has seen a 58 percent increase in membership in 
just the past 2 years and now has more than 1,900 dues paying members. 
The organization is run entirely by volunteers without a single full 
time paid staff member. It is the largest bee keeping association of 
its kind in the Nation and some folks tell me the best.
  According to Dr. David Tarpy, North Carolina State Agriculturist and 
head of the agricultural program at North Carolina State University, 
there are some 10,000 hobbiest beekeepers in North Carolina. I am proud 
of our North Carolina beekeepers and I want to tell you why. But first 
perhaps we should answer a basic question. Why do so many grown men and 
women fawn over this tiny insect and weighs less than an ounce and is 
so small it can rest on your fingernail? The answer reveals the secret 
of why so many are so passionate about their apiary hobby.
  If you call the office in the North Carolina Department of 
Agriculture that works with beekeepers, you will be greeted by the 
words, ``beneficial insects.'' After all, the honey bee is one of God's 
most beneficial creatures. She makes sweet honey that mankind has 
enjoyed for most of his time on the planet. The 100,000 colonies of 
bees managed by North Carolina beekeepers produce some $10 million 
worth of honey, almost all of which is consumed within the State. Some 
say our honey, especially the wonderful sourwood honey produced in the 
mountains, is just too good to send away.
  The honey bee also pollinates 90 or more important food crops, a 
third of all the food we eat. Without proper pollination, many of these 
crops would not produce fruit. The value of honey bee pollination to 
North Carolina agriculture exceeds $100 million and is growing. 
Cucumbers are ninety percent dependent on honey bee pollination, 
blueberries 80 percent. Apples, melons and many vegetables are also 
dependent on the honey bee.
  There is much more to this little bee than the delicious honey they 
make and even crops they pollinate. Modern medicine is returning to the 
old ways and rediscovering the practical use of many products from the 
hive in preventing and curing disease. Honey was used to treat burns 
and minor wounds by the ancient Greek, Chinese, Roman and Egyptian 
civilizations. The jelly that worker bees use to grow their new baby 
queens is a highly valued and expensive cosmetic. Pure beeswax makes 
wonderful candles and is a reliable industrial grade lubricant. There 
is much anecdotal evidence that bee venom is an effective remedy for 
arthritis and multiple sclerosis. And most recently, sticky, resinous 
propolis from the hive, once considered a nuisance is now the subject 
of a major cancer treatment research project at Wake Forest University.

[[Page H3416]]

  Speaker after speaker at the annual beekeeping conferences tell us 
that North Carolina has the best State wide organization of beekeepers 
in the entire Nation. Many people in many organizations deserve credit 
for this success.
  In 1975 Dr. John Ambrose came to work for North Carolina State 
University as an extension bee keeping specialist. Dr. Ambrose led an 
important era of growth for beekeeping in North Carolina, expanding the 
position to a major teaching and research position that is now held by 
Dr. Tarpy. This position is one of the best of its kind in the entire 
Nation.
  The U.S. Department of Agriculture bee labs also play an important 
role in finding and developing new ways to protect of the honey bee.
  J.D. Foust has been president of the North Carolina association of 
Beekeepers for the past 3 years and has led the organization through 
its fastest growth ever. Brady Mullinax of Forsyth County, has been a 
stalwart in the organization for more than half a century. Steve and 
Sandy Forrest, proprietor of Brushy Mountain Bee Farm in Wilkesboro, 
have build a thriving business out of supplying beekeepers with 
equipment and supplies and are now the third largest beekeeping 
supplier in the entire Nation.
  The typical beekeeper in North Carolina not unlike the solitary 
yeoman farmer who, with an ax and hoe, carved North Carolina's vast 
agri-business economy from the wilderness that once swept from the 
Atlantic and Mississippi River. He takes his chances and usually at the 
end of another season, there is sufficient honey for him to sell at his 
roadside stand and leave enough for the bees to survive another winter.
  For many beekeepers in my district the honey they produce is their 
Christmas money and an important part of their annual disposable 
income. I am proud of our beekeepers, for they are the residual spirit 
of the early pioneers who built this country on little more than strong 
backs and a desire to be free.
  If Albert Einstein was correct in his fear that the survival of 
mankind depends in large part on the survival of the honey bee, I am 
confident that the honey bee is in safe hands among so many North 
Carolina passionate beekeepers.

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