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TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - With all the sophisticated technology farmers use, little honeybees remain crucial, pollinating billions of dollars of fruit, vegetable and nut crops each year.
But the number of honeybees and managed beehives is down so much that production of pollinated plants has fallen by about a third in the last two years from the usual $15 billion per year.
"I've heard people complaining about bee shortages all over the country," said Kevin Hackett, head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's research program for bees and pollination. Fifteen years ago, "there were twice as many hives as there are now," he said.
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