Cory and I visited a natural beekeeper in Nebraska about a month ago. During our conversation the wife told me how hard it was to keep their bees alive because of all the spraying. They both said they had once lost $50,000 in one day because an aerial sprayer sprayed insecticide on a bean field that was in bloom and killed all their bees. I was so thankful to be sitting down, because that came as a big shock to me. My heart still aches for them every time I think of that family. With the spraying picking up in our area again, I’m praying and thinking of them even more often.

I asked these natural beekeepers if they received compensation for the loss and the wife explained in a kind, gentle voice (way more kind than I could have been) that they had visited an attorney who was also a beekeeper and he told them there wasn’t much they could do. There was an investigation through a government program, and because it was so slow, by the time the testing was complete to determine if the bees had died from chemicals, it came back negative. They were scared to do anything more because they feared that somehow, they could lose more bees. These were some of the kindest, most generous, hospitable people I have ever met, and I’m sharing this story to bring more light to this issue. I am praying for a blessing upon this humble family and for protection of their bees, because it’s so hard for justice to be served when our government is so corrupt.

We have 3 bee hives on our farm (incredibly small compared to this) and I am more determined than ever to be more watchful. I will be watching for all illegal spraying in our area. I will be taking videos, documenting wind speeds, watching to see if plants are in bloom when they are being sprayed, etc. These are some of the things I will be watching for and reporting.

1. Spraying when the wind speeds are higher than what the recommended label states.
2. If the direction of the wind is headed to our beyond organic farm (It is illegal to get chemical on someone else’s farm).
3.  Spraying when something is in bloom (this is illegal and pollinators will be in there and they will be killed).

I am being more watchful, because I care more about people and seeing justice served than I do about what people think about me. I am watching because I care about my family and our customers that trust us to provide clean, organically raised foods. Praise the Lord for the strength to write about this injustice, because my flesh wants to sit back and do nothing. I’m often reminding myself of this Bible verse when I make decisions, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” I believe in freedom, and that people should be allowed to do what they want with their own property as long as it doesn’t hurt their neighbor. I also believe that it’s the governments’ God given responsibility to step in and protect its people.

Please remember we don’t need more rules and regulations, they don’t work. There’s simply too much evil in our government right now. All we have to do is support local organic/regenerative farmers and the market will drive a change in a mighty way! Local because there is a lot of fraud in this industry, you can visit the farm to be sure they are doing what they say they are doing, and buying local will decrease the chemicals in your environment. I believe a lot of farmers would switch to organic farming if they could be profitable and knew they had your support. Farmers are watching their other farmer friends and neighbors get cancer health concerns and starting to question, “Is it worth it?” Thank you so much to all of the sprayers that follow the rules and watch out for your neighbor! Thank you so much to all the organic farmer out there. Organic farming is so much work, but it is SO rewarding and a culture is only as healthy as its soil.

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV).