By Linda Weiford, WSU News
PULLMAN, Wash. – A new law that defines Washington’s commercial beekeepers as farmers will enable the state to better reap the benefits of healthy bee populations while boosting a critical profession, according to a bee expert at Washington State University.
“Beekeepers’ work is similar in concept to managing tiny livestock,” said Steve Sheppard, chair of WSU’s Department of Entomology who works closely with the region’s beekeepers. “More than that, it’s integral to agriculture, not only for the honey that gets produced but for the pollinating of crops.”