"It's gone, there's nothing": Local farms concerned about decreasing honeybee population

You may notice fewer bees buzzing around this spring.

While you may think this is good news for your next outdoor gathering, local beekeepers are sounding the alarm.

The declining population of honeybees could impact fresh fruits and vegetables you usually buy at farmer's markets.

Like other beekeepers in the region, Tate's Honey Farm is lacking the buzzing honeybees that are responsible for pollinating the vegetation around them.

"Now it's gone, there's nothing. It's disheartening," said Jason Tate, son of the owner of Tate's Honey Farm.

A combination of disease, mites and a low pollen count is making it hard for honeybees to survive the winter.

Etymologists at Washington State University predict commercial honeybee colony losses in the U.S. could reach 60-70% in 2025.

"Honeybees are the most commercially important pollinator across the world, not just in the U.S., so a lot of our food crops are reliant on honeybees for their pollination services," said WSU researcher, Dr. Priya Chakrabarti Basu.

Like many beekeepers, farm owner Jerry Tate noticed enormous loss this year. Right now, Tate's Honey Farm in Spokane is down to only one live hive at one location. Local farmers say these losses could impact you.

"You'll notice that you don't have as many pollinators coming into your garden," Jerry said. "So your production of your garden drops, the size of your vegetable drops."

Dr. Chakrabarti Basu said there is still more to learn about how to maintain and increase the bee population, but mindfulness is key.

"The least we could do is probably make sure bees have access to diverse forage habits, plenty of forage in the habitat and also staggered blooms so that something is constantly blooming in the landscape," she said.

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