Notices by Sarah Taber (sarahtaber@mastodon.online), page 2

To kick us off: if you need to find the queen in a honeybee hive, there's usually a ring of bees standing around her in a circle.

Sounds weird but the ring of bees is usually easier to find than looking for the queen herself.

It's time for BEE FACTS

For every donation to this link, I will post one (1) fact about bees!

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/mastodon

These little green bees are sweat bees. They're called that because they love salt & might come get some from you if you're sweaty.

They're solitary, sting but not very hard, and most of them nest in bare patches of dirt next to plants.

Plant flowers & leave some bare spots!

But wild bees are still having a rough time!

So some of these bee facts will be about honeybees. And I'll also post some wild bees that I think you will like.

After a rough time with colony collapse disorder in the early 2000s, US honeybee populations have recovered!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/29/bees-boom-colony-collapse/

We don't know why smoke calms bees down!

We have some theories- maybe it covers up the smell of their alarm pheromones? Maybe they think there's a forest fire so they eat a lot of honey to prep for evacuating & mellow out?

No solid, proven reason why though.

Honeybees are famous for working hard, but if you watch a hive, most of them spend a lot of time just chillin out on the honeycomb.

So when people tell you you gotta "be a good worker bee".... now you know the secret to their work ethic. Secure housing, affordable food, & naps.

As I shared with the Polk County Farm Bureau, I know firsthand that storm recovery can take years. We need leaders who know what it’s like to be hit by storms. And we need leaders who think beyond just recovery. We need leaders who do the work to build back better infrastructure, like flood control of drainage- so the next storm does less damage.

I’m honored to have spent the last couple days working and speaking with folks in west NC about cleanup. I appreciate everyone working for recovery. From utility crews and local contractors, to the National Guard and federal agencies, and countless volunteers, the work they do is so important- as I’ve learned from my own hometown being hit by three hurricanes in just eight years.

Great to spend some time today in my hometown of Fayetteville, talking with military spouses about the importance of NC agriculture. (A certain former president campaigned in Fayetteville today as well.)

Why is NC losing farms faster than any other big agricultural state?

It’s because our farmers aren’t making as much as folks in neighboring states.

And our current Commissioner of Agriculture has as much concern for the farm economy as his friend Mark Robinson has for his comments about others.

It’s time for a change.

#FarmLife #NorthCarolina #TimeForTaber

Hi everyone! It's the last day of the month! We're at the point of the campaign where basic costs (staff! IT maintenance!) are fully covered—whatever you give goes directly into outreach.

Thank you!

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/mastodon

Ok, in honor of Tim Walz speaking tonight, let’s talk about school lunches—and why they matter. 🧵

Individually, these problems were devastating. But together they were a match made in New Deal heaven. The USDA bought excess food from farmers, and served it to students for free. (In case you ever wondered why the school lunch program lives in USDA, that’s why.)

The Depression had two food problems: farms were growing too much of it, driving farm prices down and putting farms out of business. At the same time, lots of non-farmers still couldn’t afford to buy food.

And let’s be clear: Congress didn’t start school lunches in 1946. They just made them permanent. The US made a temporary school lunch program during the Great Depression. Why?

Project 2025 even cites the USDA history I draw on above—as proof that school lunches are merely aid to the poor. But they somehow missed how that report points to national defense, stabilizing agricultural markets, and helping all students succeed.

https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/NSLP-program-history.pdf#page=6

And that’s what right-wing efforts like Project 2025 get wrong. They believe school lunch programs are just aid to the poor. (They also believe helping the poor is bad.)

And with any large program, there are always things to figure out and improve—including the breakdown between state and the USDA funding, equipping school kitchens properly, and the general health and appetizing-ness of the meals themselves.

https://www.ncallianceforhealth.org/usdas-expanded-access-to-school-meals-falls-short/

Wise stewardship of our public resources matters. So does perspective. How much would it cost to make school meals free to all North Carolina children? About $115 million, or less than 1% of our state’s education budget.

https://carolinaforward.org/blog/school-lunch-debt-climbing-again/