William Lewis
Lake View Terrace
1st Vice President
Brad Pankratz
Orland
2nd Vice President
Dion Ashurst
El Centro
Secretary/Treasurer
Carlen Jupe
Salida
Past President
John Miller
Newcastle
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Brent Ashurst
Brawley
Steve Godlin
Visalia
Russell Heitkam
Orland
Bryan Ashurst
Brawley
Larry Lima
Dos Palos
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Mike Harrel
Concord
Orin Johnson
Hughson
Bob Miller
Watsonville
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Public Lands: Mike Harrel
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President
Melinda Nelson
Vice President
Amanda Wooten
Secretary/Treasurer
Ila Hohman
Historian
Nora Slater
Parliamentarian
Sandy Tabako
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Hello Ladies!
Hope you all had a nice summer. I enjoyed the long days which are getting shorter now. Our Ladies Auxilliary Luncheon is coming up on Thursday, November 20th from 12:00pm-2:00pm at the CSBA Convention. It is going to be a great meal together and we have a wond erful speaker, Kaye Kittrell. Kaye has a show called The Late Bloomer and she will speak on organic gardening. Look at some of her videos to see what she does in her yard! She uses small spaces like an easement to grow food, herbs and more. I know you will enjoy listening to her. Please join our Facebook page. We have the menu choices for the luncheon and you can go online to get the sign up form.Yum! I look forward to seeing you Nov. 20!
-Melinda Nelson, President CSBA Ladies Auxilliary
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Marketing Chairman Update
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Reminder:
Everyone please fill out and return the Pollination Surveys. They can be found in the pre-convention information packets mailed out last month.
-Troy Bunch
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Public Lands Committee Update
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Public Lands Committee Chair Mike Harrel would like contract samples to use in creating a Beekeeper's Toolbox.
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Secretary and Treasury Update
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DuPont has submitted over 7,000 reports to EPA of damage or death of trees - primarily Norway spruce and white pine - related to the application of Imprelis. Test data from DuPont confirmed certain coniferous trees, including Norway spruce and balsam fir, as susceptible to being damaged or killed by the application of Imprelis. There is also evidence that non-coniferous trees such as maple, honey locusts, lilacs, sycamores, and alders are susceptible to damage from Imprelis.
Starting in June 2011, EPA began receiving complaints from state pesticide agencies regarding damage to trees related to the use of Imprelis when it was applied to control weeds. Cases of tree damage and death from Imprelis were widespread in the Midwest, especially Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. Indiana investigated more than 400 cases of tree damage related to Imprelis in 2011. In August 2011, EPA ordered DuPont to stop selling and distributing Imprelis without prior approval from EPA. In September 2011, the registration for Imprelis was amended to prohibit the sale, distribution or marketing of Imprelis. The product registration for Imprelis expired on September 8th, 2014, and DuPont is no longer selling the product.
Imprelis was distributed and sold in 1 gallon, 2.5 gallon and 4.5 ounce containers, primarily to pest control professionals servicing the lawn, golf, turf and weed control sectors. Imprelis was registered with EPA in 2010, and was marketed by DuPont for lawn and turf applications on residential and commercial lawns, golf courses, sod farms, schools, parks, and athletic fields. The settlement, a consent agreement and final order, will be filed at EPA's regional office in Philadelphia, and DuPont must submit payment of the penalty to the U.S. Department of Treasury within 30 days. For more information about this settlement, click here
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California Specialty Crops Council Update
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There is a push for Sulphoxaflor registration, but CDPR is being very cautious about that!
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Dr. Eric Mussen reported that U.C. Davis personnel have surveyed the coastal area from Contra Costa County on south, taking samples for lab analysis to see the extent of Africanized Honey Bee genes.
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A bee publication said that out-of-state beekeepers had better have contracts for almond pollination, as there might otherwise be nowhere for them to go. The Board noted that beekeepers need to be extra careful to provide water for their bees to avoid annoying the public.
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CSBA Sponsors
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Kona Queen Hawaii, Inc |
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CSBA Affiliated Clubs
Santa Maria Valley Beekeepers Association
Shasta Beekeepers Association
Click on a beekeeping club to visit their homepage
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Note: If you are interested in advertising in the Bee Times, please contact Carlen Jupe at
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Bill Lewis, CSBA President
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The President's Word
Fellow Beekeepers,
Your CSBA Convention is fast approaching. If you have not done so already, go to
and select 'Events' to register to attend the convention today. Deadlines to get reduced rates are approaching. Book your room at the Valencia Hyatt and get tickets for the Research Lunch and Banquet Dinner. Your CSBA has invested in research and you will be the first to see results of those efforts. Don't forget to renew your membership on the separate form so you are eligible to vote at the convention.
Please donate to the 'Right to Farm' Fund. This fund is stretched very thin and is only funded by donations and does not come out of the CSBA general fund. This fund pays for help from our Platinum Advisors lobbyist to keep legislators apprised of beekeeper interests and pays legal fees when necessary. Assemblymember Susan Eggman introduced AB 2185, that CSBA helped to write, and followed it through to signature by Governor Brown. This bill requires public agencies to consider honey bees when developing land use plans as new lands are acquired. This law will hopefully translate to easier access to public lands for apiary locations.
I hope everybody noticed page 92 of the October 2014 'Bee Culture' magazine. Thanks Kim! We are looking forward to your participation at the CSBA convention.
The convention is the CSBA's annual fundraiser. Spend as much as you can afford at auctions and feel good that funds raised from the donated items all go to support the activities of your organization. A majority of funds raised is spent to support honey bee research. Go out of your way to thank our sponsors and buy their products. Take the time to thank the donors of auction items and members that spend lots of money on those items. Check out the convention program schedule on the CSBA website. There will be concurrent sessions and you will be challenged to choose between all the exciting speakers. I am looking forward to hearing from almond growers, Pest Control Advisors, and beekeepers about what steps have been taken to mitigate bee health issues experienced during the 2014 almond pollination for a better upcoming 2015 season that we are all working so hard to support.
I hope that you are satisfied with the work your organization does on your behalf. The Association has a lot more clout than any individual alone, so participate, offer ideas and use your vote. A perfect example was the recent attempt by the CA Farm Service Agency to amend the Federal Farm Service Agency rules for payments to beekeepers using ELAP (Emergency Livestock Assistance Program) authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. This amendment would have penalized CA beekeepers and put them at a disadvantage to beekeepers in other states. Through efforts of your CSBA members, this amendment has been repealed and beekeepers will get payments under ELAP equivalent to payments in other states. If you don't know about this program, visit your local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office and find out if your business qualifies.
This will be my last President's Report before our new President takes the reins. I am looking forward to that day. This past year has been a great experience that I expect will serve me well for years to come. I am most grateful for the support of the CSBA Board of Directors who contribute lots of their time in the interest of bettering their organization and beekeeping in California, nation-wide and beyond.
Sincerely,
Bill Lewis, CSBA President
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Almond Bee-Poisoning Issue
The Almond Board is very concerned about pesticides and working on 2015 prevention of bee losses. They have met 3 times since May and have created new BMPs for growers, suggesting to spray in the late afternoon, don't tank mix, and don't apply during bloom anything for which the effects on bees are unknown. CAPCA is on it and has been showing a video starring Dr. Gordon Wardell to PCAs, growers, and a few beekeepers. Chemtura helped with this. Joe MacIlvaine will speak at the CAPCA conference and will push this, pointing out that Paramount basically does not spray at all during bloom. There will be more meetings. EPA can't get labels changed for 2015, but Larry Lima said that BMPs such as those proposed by the Almond Board are likely to be adopted by the counties. Additionally, some growers are finding warnings online. Bill Lewis noted that there will be a panel on this issue at the CSBA Convention. Dr. Eric Mussen warned that tank-mix-in-a-bottle may be happening!
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Legislative Session Report
Holly Fraumeni noted progress in several areas: 1) AB 2185 which tells State agencies to consider apiculture in land use when public land "ownership" changes. 2) If AB 1871 is signed, honey, pollen, wax, propolis, and royal jelly will be legal to sell as ag products at farmers markets. Candles will need to be bees wax to pass. Personal care products will still not qualify. 3) Fish and Game now has a formal letter authorizing beekeepers to go after bears that are attacking apiaries, nuc yards included. You must take pictures, and still have to get a permit, but bees are now officially recognized as "livestock". This may have ripple effects on, for instance, transportation. Holly said that water issues will get lots of attention in 2015; she also correctly predicted that ground water metering legislation will probably become law, but is likely to be litigated heavily due to overturning 100-year water rights. It was noted in passing that the gas tax hike hits on Jan 1.
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"Celebrating 125 Years of California Beekeeping"
The California State Beekeepers Association kicks off its 2014 CSBA Annual Convention on November 18-20, at the Hyatt Regency in Valencia, California.
Panel discussions "Keeping Bees Safe in Almonds," "Land Trusts Working with Beekeepers," and a session by Dr. Reed Johnson on "The Effects of Bee Safe Insecticides," are among the hot topics being presented.
CSBA President Bill Lewis says, "We will hear about things going on in the world of beekeeping on the local, state, and national levels."
Multiple generations of family owned commercial beekeeping operations, bee hobbyists, and those hoping to start their very first bee hive will gather to learn the latest about beekeeping from world renowned researchers and authorities in the industry.
Topics include components that affect the "Honey Factory:" forage, land management, queen health, genetic diversity, and pests and diseases to treat or not. Dr. Thomas Seeley will speak on "A Survivor Population of European Honey Bees Living in the Wild in New York State" at the research luncheon on Wednesday.
"Urban Beekeeping, Beginner to Advanced" as well as "Mead Making," will be covered. A look at the world's largest managed pollination event, An Almond Odyssey - the photo-documented trek to California's almond farms is a featured presentation. See the complete list of sessions and the bios of industry experts who will be presenting. Registration information is also available at the web site.
Each year funds raised at the CSBA convention go to research. Presentations of the results of these ongoing projects will be made in person by the researchers and scientists on the front lines of the bee health battle.
The exhibit area features a variety of vendors offering products and resources for all beekeepers.
CSBA was formed in 1889 to support and promote commercial beekeepers and pollination services in California's agricultural farm lands. The health of honey bees is a crucial element in our food chain and great interest is being focused on their survival. Learn more at the 2014 CSBA Annual Convention; it's open to everyone and for more information, be sure to look at the advertisement at the bottom of this newsletter.
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Project Apis m has embarked on its fall season of participating in regional meetings. These meetings provide us with the opportunity to not only bring our stakeholders up-to-date on the latest PAm research and programs, but also to listen to the concerns and needs of beekeepers. After visiting the Flenniken Bee Lab at Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, and seeing Laura Brutscher, our PAm-Costco PhD scholar, PAm spoke to the Montana State Beekeepers in Lewistown, MT, about "How PAm is Helping Bees".
From Montana, PAm flew to the Washington DC area to participate in USDA's Honey Bee Forage and Nutrition Summit. In the coming weeks, PAm will be at the Honey Bee Health Coalition meeting (Minneapolis), CSBA, Idaho Honey Producers, and the Almond Board's annual meeting.
PAm's research program was recently expanded thanks to a generous grant from Blue Diamond Growers. Three research studies are now underway, focusing on diagnostics for honey bee health. Those studies include using infra-red technology to assess hive strength, evaluating the Integrated Virus Detection System (IVDS), and developing diagnostic tools for the common Lake Sinai virus family.
Finally, PAm's "Seeds for Bees" project has enrolled over 100 growers and 2,375 acres of honey bee forage in California to date this Fall. Meg@ProjectApism.org is continuing to take seed orders for honey bee forage up through Thanksgiving. Have your almond grower email Meg so that your bees will have some diverse forage in almond grower locations prior to and after almond bloom.
See you at CSBA in Valencia, and come by the PAm table in the trade show area to see us!
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 | | Dr. Michelle Flenniken, MSU, PAm-Costco Award Recipient, Laura Brutscher, MSU, and Dr. Gordon Wardell, PAm Chairman |
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The Department of Pesticide Regulation
Last week, the Department of Pesticide Regulation's Communications Office held a beehive health event in Modesto, bringing together beekeepers, biologists and local county agriculture commissioner staff. The purpose was to help people who investigate incidents of bee colony damage gain a better understanding of how beehives can be affected by diseases, parasitic mites as well as pesticides.
- Laura van der Meer, Media Relations, Department of Pesticide Regulation
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High Speed Photography Captures Honey Bees
Filming for a documentary, Jeremy Dunbar captured various frame rates from 16,000 frames per second to 150,000 frames per second. Honey bees flap their wings up to 250 times a second. He used the Phantom v2511 camera which then creates slow motion upon playback.
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John Gilbert Cox Obituary
John Gilbert Cox, 51, of Stevinson passed away Tuesday, September 23rd at his residence. Mr Cox was born December 31, 1962 in Turlock and was a resident of Stevinson for 51 years. He was a self-employed beekeeper for 34 years, a past president of the Delta Beekeepers Association, a member of the California State Beekeepers Association, the Newman Swamp Rats and a member of the First Baptist Church in Newman. Mr. Cox is survived by his wife, Sharon Cox of Stevinson; sons, Christopher Cox of Atwater, Sean Cox of Castro Valley and Matthew Cox of Stevinson; daughter, Elizabeth Cox of Stevinson; mother, Mary Cox of Hilmar; brother, Kelly Cox of Delhi and sister, Lori Guinard of Antioch. He was preceeded in death by his father, William Cox and brother, Robert Cox.
Read more here: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/modestobee/obituary.aspx?pid=172595777#storyli
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