Objective

To determine the extent of implementation of the two recommendations included in our initial audit report, Protection of Managed Pollinators (Honey Bees) (Report 2021-S-40).

About the Program

Wild and managed pollinators are critically important to the health of New York State’s environment and agricultural economy. The State has more than 7 million acres of agricultural production, and many of the State’s leading crops – such as apples, cabbage, and berries – rely heavily on pollination by insects. These crops’ plants use pollen to produce a fruit or seed and cannot reproduce without pollen carried to them by foraging pollinators. Honey bees are essential to the agricultural industry for the pollination services they provide. However, the pollinator population has declined drastically during the last three decades due to, among other issues, invasive pests and diseases (including American foulbrood – a highly contagious and very destructive bacterial disease), exposure to pesticides and other chemicals, and changing climate.

In 2016, the State developed the New York State Pollinator Protection Plan (Plan) to address the high loss of pollinators in the State. According to the Plan, the loss of managed honey bee colonies in the State exceeded 50% and some commercial migratory pollinators experienced colony losses in excess of 70%. Further, in December 2021, Article 15 of the Agriculture and Markets Law (Law) was amended to include the Cooperative Honey Bee Health Improvement Program, which, among other actions, reinstated the apiary registration requirements that were eliminated in 2010. When registering their apiaries, beekeepers are required to report certain information to Ag&Mkts on the honey bees they manage, including the number of managed colonies they maintain, the county in which each of the colonies is located, current contact information of the individual(s) responsible for the care of the honey bees, and whether they intend to sell nucleus colonies (nucs).

The objective of our initial audit, issued in January 2023, was to determine whether Ag&Mkts was adequately monitoring the health of honey bee pollinators to prevent and mitigate harmful effects to their populations. This audit covered the period from January 2017 through August 2022. The audit found that Ag&Mkts had established sufficient processes to meet its responsibility to certify nucs and queens for sale and to meet the needs of beekeepers requiring certificates to ship honey bees out of State. It was able to conduct all the required inspections requested for the sale of nucs and queens as well as all those requested for transport for the 5-year period ending December 2021. Further, Ag&Mkts had procedures in place for addressing the discovery of American foulbrood during inspections, in support of the Law’s zero-tolerance level, but did not establish tolerance levels for other diseases, insects, or parasites. Additionally, Ag&Mkts did not have support or reasonable assurance that it had identified the full population of active apiaries in the State, which is necessary for thorough monitoring and inspection purposes. Further, Ag&Mkts could strengthen actions to combat disease and parasitic organisms within colonies by including additional tests for certain diseases, and could improve its efforts to ensure honey bees entering the State are healthy and free from disease.

Key Finding

Ag&Mkts has made progress in addressing the issues we identified in the initial audit report. Of the report’s two audit recommendations, both were implemented.