Agribusiness Update for Monday 02/24/14

Agribusiness Update for Monday 02/24/14

This is the Agribusiness Update...I'm Greg Martin...

Wild bumblebee populations around the globe are declining. According to a study a major source of the decline is the spillover of parasites and pathogens and disease from managed honeybee hives. The ailments causing the decline of commercialized honeybees are hurting bumblebees even more. The research doesn't prove the diseases go from honeybees to bumblebees - but the evidence points heavily in that direction. Bumblebees likely pick up the diseases when they go to flowers after infected honeybees or when they invade honeybee hives and steal nectar. The study did not look at colony collapse disorder.

A study released Thursday by Kennedy and COE and Farmers for Tax Fairness shows proposed changes to the tax code restricting the use of cash accounting by agricultural operations would reduce agriculture's access to capital by as much as 12.1-billion dollars over the next four years. According to the study, U.S. ag producers forced to switch from cash-basis to accrual-basis accounting under new laws would have to pay out as much as 4.84-billion dollars in taxes during the next four years.

That's today's Agribusiness Update from the Ag Information Network.

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