vital role in the u.s. agricultural economy, but pollination on this scale doesn't just happen on its own and that's where the commercial beekeeper comes in. a commercial beekeeper works with thousands of bee colonies and contracts with fruit and vegetable growers to provide pollination services by releasing the bees into their fields. i'm outside of portland, oregon, to meet commercial beekeeper, george happenton, and witness the bee crisis firsthand. how many hives do you have out right now that are pollinating crops? >> well, we run 5,000 hives of bees. >> wow. >> and there are 24 in the field right now. >> 24 hives. >> 24 hives right now. everything else is out hopefully creating revenue and make a crop. >> you run bees in washington, oregon, california? >> yes and bees in idaho and north dakota as well right now. >> wow. george is one of the hundreds of commercial beekeepers who truck their migratory bee colonies up to 11,000 miles in a year