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A 'Bee in My Bonnet' Blog

PAm's take-back-to-the-hive message can be read here from the the USDA Honey Bee Nutrition and Forage Summit. Article submitted and published by Bee Culture's Catch the Buzz.

Honey Bee Forage and

Nutrition Summit

PAm was invited to participate in a national-level conference seeking input on the relationship between nutrition, forage and honey bee health. The 2-day summit was held Oct. 20-21 in Alexandria, VA.

Day 1, speakers were limited to 15 minute plenary sessions. Christi Heintz outlined the
Challenges, Solutions and Creating a Successful Regional Model on Building Honey Bee Forage Habitat.

Day 2, work group sessions ran concurrently with 4 areas identified by the Summit Steering Committee:

I. Nutrition Research and

Implementation

II. Forage Research and
Implementation

III. USDA Conservation
Programs

IV. Providing Access to Honey
Bees on Right-of-Way, Land
Trusts and Federally
Managed Lands.

Seeds for Bees

Over 2,350 Acres of Forage for Honey Bees

With 3 Weeks Still to Go!

Last month we reported 1,400 acres already committed to bee pasture. Now we are over 2,350 acres! Seed mixes are being shipped to almond growers throughout the Central Valley to provide bees with the necessary food resources prior to and after almond bloom. Beekeepers, it's not too late to tell your almond grower. PAm will be distributing seeds up to Thanksgiving to sow while the soil is still warm and before the first germinating rains in December..

Email Meg at Meg@ProjectApism.org.

Pollination Contract

Do you have a contract in place for 2015? A signed contract protects both the grower and the beekeeper. A template can be accessed on the PAm website here. Don't delay!

Honey Bee Forage Plant Sweet White Clover

(Melilotus alba)

These aromatic plants are members of the legume family. Sweet clover is cultivated as a forage crop, soil builder and nectar source for honey bees. Blooms May - October.

PAm Supporters!

Thank you to Stephen Bailey (San Diego, CA) and Albert Katz (Napa, CA) who have made a donation to PAm. We couldn't help the honey bee without your support!

Make your donation to Project Apis m. securely with PayPal or mail to:

Project Apis m.

6775 Chardonnay Road

Paso Robles, CA 93446

BEE on Our Supporters' Page!

With your donation, your name will be placed on our Supporters' Page.

Make your donation today!

Help Us Help the Honey Bee!

November 2014

Beekeepers: The Delivery Service

"Beekeepers are the delivery service and beekeepers are disappearing just as fast as honey bees", stated Zac Browning at the USDA Honey Bee Forage and Nutrition Summit. Honey bees require significant amounts of forage to sustain them throughout the season. However, honey bee habitat is dwindling and Browning describes the landscape as an agricultural desert. Commercially managed honey bees pollinate an estimated $15B worth of crops, including 130 fruits and vegetables we eat. We can't afford to lose our "delivery service".

As we gather with family and friends this Thanksgiving, share the story of how our food is pollinated by honey bees and how important the keepers of the colonies are.

Meg Ribotto, Editor

USDA: $4M for Honey Bee Habitat

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Oct. 29th that more than $4 million in technical and financial assistance will be provided to help farmers and ranchers in the Midwest improve the health of honey bees. This effort contributes to the June 2014 Presidential Memorandum "Creating a Federal Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators" which directs USDA to expand the acreage and forage value in its conservation programs. It also results from the recent USDA Summit meeting in which PAm participated in (see sidebar).

Funding will be provided to producers through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Applications are due Friday, November 21st.

In addition to the Midwest, several NRCS state offices are setting aside additional funds for similar efforts, including California - where more than half of all managed honey bees in the U.S. help pollinate almond orchards and other agricultural lands - as well as Ohio and Florida. Read the full news release here.

PAm-Costco Scholar Recognized

Laura Brutscher, PAm-Costco Scholar,
with Meg Ribotto, Dr. Gordon Wardell & Christi Heintz

The Yogo Inn in Lewistown, MT boasts their establishment is located dead-center of the state and a plaque marks the spot in the banquet hall. The Montana State Beekeepers Association held their annual meeting Oct. 16-17 in Lewiston. Christi Heintz and Meg Ribotto presented on 'How PAm is Helping Honey Bees'. While there, PAm presented Ms. Laura Brutscher with a plaque of her own! Laura is the 1st PAm-Costco recipient of a PhD scholarship with a focus on host-pathogen interactions affecting honey bee health.

Laura's advisor, Dr. Michelle Flenniken, MSU-Bozeman, also attended and co-presented with Laura on their ongoing research findings on honey bee pathogens and colony health at the PAm-funded Flenniken Lab. Dr. Gordon Wardell, PAm Board Chairman, spoke on the nutritional needs of honey bees and the impact of pesticides.

Celebrating 125 Years of CA Beekeeping!

November 18-20 in Valencia, CA. PAm will have a booth in the exhibit area - please stop by and visit us! Christi Heintz, John Miller, Dr. Gordon Wardell, Randy Oliver and Dr. Eric Mussen are featured PAm speakers along with a wide range of people from the bee industry.

Here are all the links you need:

Speaker List, Convention Program, Pre-registration by Nov. 6th, 2015 Annual Membership Form, Hyatt Regency Hotel and fun-filled activities to do in the Valencia/Santa Clarita Valley. Hope to see you there!

Planting a Cover Crop - For the Bees!

Grower Gino Favagrossa discusses advantages of planting forage for honey bees. 2:51 min.

BMPs for Growers & Pesticide Applicators

With input from Project Apis m., the Almond Board of CA has released a set of Honey Bee Best Management Practices (BMPs) for the almond industry. In addition to PAm's help in developing these, other sources included beekeepers, researchers, California and U.S. regulators and chemical registrants. The BMPs represent the Board's most extensive educational documents to date to ensure that almond orchards are and remain a safe and healthy place for honey bees. These are practical steps that almond growers can take together with beekeepers and other pollination stakeholders to protect and promote bee health. The full set of BMPs can be accessed by clicking on the above logo, while a quick guide can be viewed here. For BMPs for pesticide applicators and drivers, click here.

WANTED in 2015: 1.7 Million Colonies

The Almond Board of California provides a pollination directory - a searchable database of beekeepers that almond growers can use to source pollinators. To maintain the accuracy of the pollination directory for almond growers, there is an annual review of the beekeeper entries. Visit their website to review, update, and resubmit your information every year, or your entry and contact information may be removed.

Click here to see if your pollination service is listed. Click here to update your info or submit a new entry.

Corporate Sponsorship Opportunities

Do you like what PAm is doing? 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.

Project Apis m | | christih@cox.net | http://www.ProjectApism.org
6775 Chardonnay Road

Paso Robles, CA 93446