While overall agricultural production decreased between 2007 and 2009 in Marin, things have been looking up ever since, and the resurgence of the bee population mirrors this trend. Who’s been leading the bee efforts? Mostly amateur beekeepers, who have been saturating areas of the county with stock that helps repel parasitic mites. That effort, coupled with the county’s sustainability practices, pest and weed management, and the livestock protection program, has made for a winning year. In fact, every sector saw growth except nonorganic dairy. “If we were not in a drought, we believe the value of the [entire] organic industry would be much higher,” says county Agriculture Commissioner Stacy Carlsen. Here are the 2014 numbers:
57% DECREASE IN DAIRY PRODUCTION
15% RISE IN HONEY
$10.6 MILLION IN AQUACULTURE PRODUCT
$33.6 MILLION ORGANIC MILK PRODUCTION
19% BOOST IN OVERALL YIELD
$100+ MILLION MARIN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION
Kasia Pawlowska loves words. A native of Poland, Kasia moved to the States when she was seven. The San Francisco State University creative writing graduate went on to write for publications like the San Francisco Bay Guardian and KQED Arts among others prior to joining the Marin Magazine staff. Topics Kasia has covered include travel, trends, mushroom hunting, an award-winning series on social media addiction and loads of other random things. When she’s not busy blogging or researching and writing articles, she’s either at home writing postcards and reading or going to shows. Recently, Kasia has been trying to branch out and diversify, ie: use different emojis. Her quest for the perfect chip is never-ending.
