The big picture is almonds require 2 hives per acre for pollination. and the trees bloom well before any other crops will bloom. Their are very few crops that can support 2 hives per acre, so trying to keep bees in the almond growing area is unsustainable for the hives of bees. The pesticides and fungicides and other chemicals that are sprayed will severely harm the hives and native pollinators during the course of the year if left in the area. It is nice to think that diversified farming could supply forage to the bees all year long, which it could on a small scale. By small scale I mean 10 different crops with a varied pollination timetable all planted with in the flight range of the bees. This would mean going from 800,000 acres of almonds down to 80,000 acres. so the other 720,000 acres can be planted to support the bees for the remainder of the year. Now the dilemma, there are limited places that can support the growing of almonds. Although apples, blueberrys, cherries, canola, and many other crops could be grown in California for diversified farming, Almonds can't be grown In Washington, Main, The Dakota's, Nebraska, Or most of the other states, and all of Canada, Great Britten Most of Europe, most of the other places of the world. So without specialized intense farming of crops that are limited in the regions that they will grow in, the supply of this commodity would be greatly reduced. It would be like sticking to the 100 mile diet. Open up your pantry and start removing all the foods that can not be grown Locally and this is what a true diversified farming diet would look like. My diet would be different than yours, and all the items trucked into the supermarket each week would become limited quantity specialty items that most couldn't afford to buy. I don't know about the rest of you, but I am not ready to give up almonds in my chocolate bar, on my salad, or in my stuffing at Thanks Giving and Christmas.
