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Honey Bee Forage Field Day
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The venue was Capay Ranch, near Hamilton City, CA, for the PAm Forage Field Day. Over 50 attendees were treated to beautiful weather, blooming fields of flowers and honey bees gathering the diverse pollen resources on the 80 acres of planted forage. Almond grower, beekeeper and PAm board member, Dan Cummings, hosted the afternoon event. Also attending were board members Dr. Gordon Wardell, Zac Browning, John Miller and PAm scientific advisor, Dr. Eric Mussen, UC-Davis. The field day attracted a diverse crowd! Visitors included participants in the 'Seeds for Bees' forage project, as well as, representatives from The Nature Conservancy, Campbell's Soup, AgPollen LLC, CERUS Consulting, CA Dept. of Food and Ag, Heitkam's Honey Bees, USDA-FSA, Bayer CropScience, Monsanto, Partners for Sustainable Pollination, Bee Informed Partnership, Kamprath Seed Co., and Olivarez Honey Bees.
 | | PAm Field Day - Dan Cummings in a honey bee forage stand of mustard |
Photo: Christi Heintz
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Honey Bee Status
'A near perfect almond bloom met with a relatively poor pollination force this year', states Dan Cummings in the bee status update. Cummings continues on to say that 'nevertheless, an excellent almond crop appears to have been set.' To read the entire article click here.
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PAm - Costco Apis Fellowship Applicants
The PAm-Costco fellowship program will fund a PhD level candidate with a 3-year commitment to honey bee research. Costco will provide assistance to support a student who is pursuing a research-based doctoral degree in fields within the PAm mission of enhancing honey bee health while improving crop production. Motivated applicants can receive more information at ProjectApisManager@gmail.com. The 1st-ever, multi-year fellowship will help sustain an agricultural industry which depends on honey bees for pollination.
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Almond Growers Needed in Bee Forage Project
Are you an almond grower in California? If so, PAm has identified low moisture requiring plants that are an excellent source of nectar & pollen for honey bees. You provide the land and we provide you with the seed.
Planting a bee forage cover crop will: improve soil fertility, increase organic material, fix nitrogen, improve water infiltration, suppress noxious weeds, conserve soil moisture, increase beneficial insects, and reduce soil erosion. 'Bee' part of the solution! To enroll in the pollinator forage project contact us at ProjectApis@gmail.com
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Nickels Soil Lab Annual Field Day
Wednesday, May 15th, commencing at 8:30 a.m., will be the annual field day at the Nickels Soil Lab in Arbuckle, CA. Field topics will be 'Bee Health & Availability' by Eric Mussen, UC-Davis and 'Bee Pastures to Improve Honey Bee Health' by Christi Heintz and Meg Ribotto, PAm. To register for the event and lunch click here. Lunch by reservation with proceeds to benefit the Pierce FFA Program.
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PAm Funds Online Training Course
Fresno County Coop Extension farm advisor, Shannon Mueller, has developed an online training course to help standardize how inspectors, growers and beekeepers evaluate hive strength for pollination services. These free interactive modules were made available in part with funding from PAm and the Almond Board of CA. Click here to participate.
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- Requeen
- Maintain genetic quality to meet your objectives.
- Consider making colony increases by shaking bees from your healthiest colonies.
- Check for pests and diseases. Early detection is key.
- Use diagnostic services for objective colony assessment.
- Control swarming by making nucs and/or splits.
- Place bees on locations with abundant and diverse floral resources.
- Provide plentiful and clean water.
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