Honey Bees and Market Valuation

[PropertyEconomics]

Is anyone seeing a decline in property values for vegetable or fruit farms because of a drop in production due to the decline of the Honey Bee population in America?

 

[Mztk1]

I'm seeing a drop in farm land value but I cannot call the honey bees the cause, though maybe there's a correlation.

In my markets there has been a slow down in building and so the demand for large tracts of land has diminished. The lower demand results in farms that must sell selling lower than they would have 3 to 5 years ago.

Got something against Zarathustra, PE? :laugh:

 

[PropertyEconomics]

I'm seeing a drop in farm land value but I cannot call the honey bees the cause, though maybe there's a correlation.

In my markets there has been a slow down in building and so the demand for large tracts of land has diminished. The lower demand results in farms that must sell selling lower than they would have 3 to 5 years ago.

I have been reading Jim and the bee population around the world is down about 36%, in the western states of the US its about 60% and on the east coast they are estimating 70%. The drop is alarming given the need of bees to survival of man.
I was also reading and Albert Einstein said if the bees disappear man has four years of life remaining. That is pretty alarming.
I was curious if the effects of the population drop were being seen in commercial agricultural markets.

 

[CGgonnabee]

I prepare income tax returns for a bee keeper...he is struggling to maintain his hives. I can see where this could impact property values. I am going to have to think on this one...how to explain? how to adjust? hhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Tough one.

 

[PropertyEconomics]

I prepare income tax returns for a bee keeper...he is struggling to maintain his hives. I can see where this could impact property values. I am going to have to think on this one...how to explain? how to adjust? hhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Tough one.

If Einstein is right .. in another four years it wont matter. Unfortunately USPAP record keeping is for five years .. Just my luck.

 

[RSW]

I just worried about the spotted owl and the polar bears.

 

[Hamlet]

If Einstein is right .. in another four years it wont matter. Unfortunately USPAP record keeping is for five years .. Just my luck.

Well, the Myan's predicted the end of the world on 12/21/2012, so I guess even USPAP will end on that date. Hmmm, Einstien said 4 years...uh oh...

 

[Mztk1]

I have been reading Jim and the bee population around the world is down about 36%, in the western states of the US its about 60% and on the east coast they are estimating 70%. The drop is alarming given the need of bees to survival of man.
I was also reading and Albert Einstein said if the bees disappear man has four years of life remaining. That is pretty alarming.
I was curious if the effects of the population drop were being seen in commercial agricultural markets.

I know the stats on bees. I know a honey bee keeper myself, and certainly in Florida we have our reduction in hives that are trucked in for the orange groves.

The problem has been linked to the Varroa mite which according to an indepth study at Penn State, it latches to the body of bees like a tick on a human, breaks down the immune system in a bee causing the bee to return to the hive with a build of bacteria which gets into the hive and is then spread around ultimately causing a collapse in 2 weeks.

But pointing out there is a problem is not the same as being able to show how that problem affects land value. I would simply find it very hard to be able to attribute the drop in value to the bee (in my area). There may be a a correlation between the two, but that is not the same as being the cause. There is a correlation, for example, between a 10th planet being discovered (in the middle of 2005) and the decline in Florida property values. Astrologers may find that intriguing. I personally do not think you can isolate the effect of the drop in bee population on the diminishing values of agricultural land in MY market because a lack of demand caused by slow growth is a real major factor and a strong alternative theory. Values on farms were not increasing during the boom because farmers were dying to get into the orange grove and strawberry/tomato farming business; they were increasing here due to the demand of developers to purchase large tracts for residential development. You should have seen the miles and miles of orange groves heaved into huge piles and burned to make way for mega-PUDs. But that demand is gone now. Exit demand, enter supply, values go down. I don't know how to measure the effect of bees when something so glaring (at least in my market) gets in the way.

Interesting topic though. I suupose if you are in an area where there is no growth, and no other factors involved, you could measure the effect. Just speaking from my locale, though, it cannot be isolated.

 

[Mztk1]

Hmmm, Einstien said 4 years...uh oh...

Did he say 4 or 5? Oh, it doesn't matter, because he also said:

If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts.

 

[c w d]

The drop is alarming given the need of bees to survival of man.
I was also reading and Albert Einstein said if the bees disappear man has four years of life remaining. That is pretty alarming.

The Aztec calendar predicts the end in 2012......thats 4 years away!!! How am I going to be able to finish my Pharmacy degree by then??????