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NEW UPDATE!
ALMOND STATUS
Dan Cummings
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NEW UPDATE!
HONEY BEE STATUS
Dr. Gordon Wardell
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PAm Performance Audits
PAm had 3 separate performance audits this summer. Our grant managers concur that we are managing our projects very well. Positive feedback from our funders lets you know how we are doing in helping honey bees!
Meeting dates were on:
July 17th - CA Dept of Food & Ag
'Building Forage'
July 31st - CA Dept of Food & Ag
'BMPs'
August 21st - Costco
'WSU Germplasm Repository, Tech Transfer Teams & the PAm-Costco Scholar'
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The Bee Box
The July/August issue of Blue Diamond Growers magazine
'Almond Facts' is out. Read contributing writers Christi Heintz & Meg Ribotto's 'The Bee Box', just click on the pic.
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Beekeeping Events
2014 - 2015
It's time to plan for beekeeping club meetings and conferences. Registration is now open for several events. Visit our 'Events' page for direct links. To date, PAm will be a guest speaker and/or have a booth at:
USDA Honey Bee Forage & Nutrition Summit
October 20 - 21, 2014
Washington, D.C.
California State Beekeepers
125th Annual Association Meeting
November 18th - 20th, 2014
Hyatt Regency
Valencia, CA
Almond Board Conference
December 9 - 11, 2014
Sacramento, CA
North American Beekeeping (ABF) Conference and Tradeshow
January 6 - 10, 2015
Disneyland Hotel
Anaheim, CA
Stop by and visit us!
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Honey Bee Forage Plant
Sainfoin 'Shoshone'
Plant in Spring or Fall. Sainfoin benefits are its nitrogen fixation, forage capabilities, and nutritional value. PAm will be planting demo plots as a honey bee forage habitat in the West and Upper Midwest. A planting/info guide can be found here from NRCS. Photo is courtesy of Bighorn Sainfoin Seed Co.
We will keep you posted on how the bees liked it!
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Buzz Worthy!
Honey Bee Nutrition
by
Dr. Eric Mussen
UCDavis
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Emergency Response Kit
Bee Informed Partnership offers this service to aid beekeepers with crashing hives that require immediate attention. With ERKs, beekeepers gain a better understanding of the factors that contribute to their colony loss and what may be ruled out. To order kits call (301) 405-3799 or
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HELP HONEY BEES
Make your donation to Project Apis m. securely with PayPal or mail to:
Project Apis m.
6775 Chardonnay Road
Paso Robles, CA 93446
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BEE On Our Supporters' Page!
Make your donation today!
Help Us Help the Honey Bee!
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| Autumn: The Start of the Bee Conventions! |
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In the beekeeping world, Autumn is heralded by registrations forms! It is time to mark your calendar for the upcoming annual beekeeping conferences. I judge this 2014-2015 season to be distinctive. Take a look at the agendas. Unique and unprecedented partnerships have formed over the past year with the focus on honey bees and you will be hearing from co-presenters from government, corporate, academic and NGO sectors. At PAm, we have formed alliances with Pheasants Forever, Costco, California State Beekeepers Association, Pollinator Partnership, Bee Informed Partnership, Blue Diamond Growers and others too! We have some other cooperative efforts in the works as well. Are you seeking a meaningful and long-lasting relationship? Consider collaborating with PAm. In this newsletter you can find out how. We can help you plant the seeds for a program that involves honey bees if you will contact us.
Back to the calendar...September - WAS; October - North Dakota, Montana, NAPPC, Bee Culture; November - Oregon, CSBA; December - Idaho, Almond Board; and January - AHPA and ABF. While we can't possibly be at all the state and national beekeeping meetings - I still mark the dates!
Meg Ribotto, Editor
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PAm - Pheasants Forever Partnership
What do honey bees and pheasants have in common? Loss of critical habitat.
Now Project Apis m. (PAm) and Pheasants Forever are proud to announce a unique and innovative collaboration. The mission of the Honey Bee Habitat Partnership (HBHP) is to promote, establish, enhance and protect habitat that is vital to sustaining both species. Together, both non-profit organizations aim to improve the landscape through active conservation practices while educating the public and land managers of the importance of pollinators.
Click here to read about the goals and objectives of the PAm-Pheasants Forever Habitat Partnership and how you can become involved.
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Corporate Sponsorship Opportunities
How can your corporation or business help the honey bee? You can become involved in the vital pursuit of improving honey bee health and productivity for improved crop pollination and in increasing U.S. honey production.
Project Apis m. has the experience in developing partnerships within your corporate environmental stewardship and sustainability program. A sustainable supply of bees equates to a sustainable food supply.
We can help you plant the seeds for a corporate responsibility program that involves honey bees. Contact Christi Heintz. To learn more, click here.
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Beekeeper Loses Forage Site After 20 Years
 Archie "The Beekeeper" Mitchell has placed bees on remote land at Vandenberg Air Force Base for over twenty years. He recently received a letter letting him know his bees were no longer welcome on Department of Defense lands. Unfortunately, this is a step backward from the President's White House Initiatives he announced during Pollinator Week.
Project Apis m. is working to resolve this issue. But we need your help. Contact Dr. Michael Stebbins and Doug McKalip, White House Rural Affairs, that the Department of Defense needs to understand how vital honey bees are to our food supply. Click here to email their office. Letters can also be sent to:
John M. Larson, Colonel, USAF
Chief, Congressional Inquiries
SAF/LL
1160 Air Force Pentagon
Washington, DC 20330-1160
and the
Inspector General
AFSPC/IGQ
250 So Peterson Blvd
Peterson, AFB, CO 80914
Please send a copy of your letter to Jean@projectapism.org in case we have other destinations for the letter. In our view, bees and beekeepers are endangered too!
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Elina Lastro Nino - NEW Extension Apiculturist at UCDavis
Starting in September, Elina Lastro Nino will be the new extension apiculturist at UCDavis. Nino currently works with Dr. Christina Grozinger at PSU. Elina is known for her expertise on honey bee queen biology, chemical ecology, and genomics. "She will devote 70% of her appointment to conducting practical, problem-solving research projects and interact with the beekeepers and industry concerns", according to the UC News. Click here to read the full article. Nino replaces Dr. Eric Mussen who retired on June 30th after 38 years in the position but "has agreed to remain active in an emeritus capacity and will be advising Dr. Nino on both her extension program and research activities."
Photo and article quotes courtesy of UC Entomology & Nematology News.
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PAm Funding Research
Last month, PAm put out a call-for-proposals. We received numerous research proposals! Thank you to our research community that is dedicated to solving honey bee problems. These new proposals will:
- Provide practical solutions for almond growers and for managed honey bee colonies
- Yield results that can be transferred into field practice
- Provide an excellent rate-of-return for beekeepers and growers.
Blue Diamond Growers (BDG) has entrusted PAm with the funding and with the award process. The research proposals, that met the initial criteria, have been given to the PAm Scientific Advisors team for review and scoring. Award recipients will be notified in the coming weeks.
While the deadline has passed for the above BDG funding, PAm continually accepts proposals and awards grant funding. Click here.
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PAm Guest Speaker at ITCA
The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA), established in 1952, consists of 21 of the federally recognized Tribes in Arizona and is a non-profit that administers over twenty federal, state and private grants and contracts in a variety of areas including health, research, and environmental quality. Project Apis m. was invited to speak and have an educational outreach table at the 2-day event held in Chandler, AZ on August 27th. Topics PAm covered included honey bee biology, pesticide effects, BMP's and agriculture pollination needs.
The training workshop attendees awareness of honey bees was greatly piqued and a partnership between PAm and the Tribal Council may be pending. Tribal lands in Arizona are vast, include water rights, and may hold possibilities as forage, rest and rehab stops for migratory honey bees.
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Economist & Beekeeper: Dr. Gary Shilling
 | | 3:53 Minutes |
Economic consultant A. Gary Shilling, President of
A. Gary Shilling & Co., Inc. speaks about his after-hours passion for beekeeping.
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Now Enrolling CA Almond Growers in Honey Bee Forage Project
PAm is once again providing free seed to almond growers in California. The 'Seeds for Bees' honey bee forage project is now enrolling cooperators. Working with land managers and owners, PAm has established acreage, seed mixes, seed suppliers, and planting regimes.
By educating growers about the value of providing honey bee forage, many acres of potential honey bee habitat can be made available to sustain nutrition-starved honey bees. Mustard for pre-almond bloom and clover/vetch for post-almond. If you are an almond grower, contact Meg@ProjectApism.org. Visit our forage page to learn more on cover cropping. |
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September Bee Husbandry
- NUTRITION - Fall is a critical time to maintain bee strength and build bees for pollination services starting Feb. 1st in almonds
- Forage can be limited in early Fall, supplemental feeding is critical, especially protein, to target strong 8+ frame colonies
- Water is as important as food. Keep bees well-hydrated
- REQUEEN - Over-wintering colonies fare better if young. Requeen if necessary.
- INSPECT & MONITOR - Continue to inspect colonies and apply treatments as necessary to control pests and diseases.
- Project Apis m. has e-learning modules and YouTube videos on Varroa, Nosema and Nutrition - Just click on the word!
Project Apis m. has developed Best Management Practices (BMPs) for beekeepers and almond growers, including hive, colony and business management. All can be accessed here.
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