From Pacific Nut Producer Magazine  "Cover crops in almonds can help with pollinators... The Almond Board verifies no negative impact on harvest" Click Here to read the full article from Pacific Nut Producer.
0 Comments
 Have you ever thought about planting a cover crop in or around your orchards? Now that fall is here it’s time for action! Apply online with the Seeds for Bees® program and receive up to $2,000 worth of seed.
With this year’s late harvest (growers report 2-3 weeks later than normal) it may seem too soon to start thinking about post-harvest management but the first rains of the year are right around the corner. If cover crop seed is planted in time, the fall precipitation will be enough to germinate the seed without irrigation. However, if California does experience a dry fall then irrigation might be required to ensure bee forage like the PAm Mustard Mix will bloom before almonds. Growers with micro-sprinklers, solid set or flood irrigation options maximize efficiency by timing planting so the obligatory post-harvest tree irrigation germinates the seed.  The California State Beekeepers’ Association (CSBA) is seeking proposals for research conducted in the area of honey bee health and management. Proposals should be designed to cover a single year of highly focused research devoted to finding practical solutions to beekeeping problems.
Please Click Here to view the Press Release and Application Guidelines  The Bee Informed Partnership has been instrumental in the management, loss and field surveillance efforts since 2011 and has teams on the ground working with many commercial beekeepers nationwide.
Karen Rennich, who has done a wonderful job as the helm, will be stepping down as Executive Director at the end of this year. To that end, the BIP transition committee is actively seeking those interested and qualified persons who would like to apply for the position of Executive Director. Please see job description at the BIP website (www.beeinformed.org) or Click Here to download. Applications are due by July 31, with interviews to follow in late summer and early fall.  Congratulations to the 2019 USA PAm-Costco Scholar Fellowship Awardees!The Canada PAm-Costco Scholar Fellowship Application period is open and applications will be accepted through July 8, 2019. Click Here for more information, and to apply
We have a winner (winners)! Congratulations to our 2019 Pollinator Week #nowstedland Photo Contest winners! We received over 40 photo entries and over 800 votes. Scroll through to see the winning photos and learn more about the stories behind them. #NoWastedLand is one of Project Apis m.'s tag-lines. As the landscape changes, it is becoming more important to create and preserve habitat for the honey bees and other pollinators that are so important! Our Seeds for Bees® program and The Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund are working to put more pollinator habitat and forage on the landscape where it is needed most! Thank you to all of our participants. 1st Place Grand Prize Winner:Morgan Hay, Mellifex Farm, Bastrop Texas
A native megachile bee! In my pollinator field theres an abundance of native pollinators. My favorites are leafcutter bees and green sweat bees. There's also wasps, beetles, and bats (that pollinate the prickly pear)
Without honey bees, there would be no almonds. Some would argue the reverse, as well. All agree that commercial beekeepers and almond growers are important partners. Every February in California, almond blossoms open and the greatest facilitated pollination event in the world takes place. Over 2 million honey bee colonies are placed in almond orchards, some of which are moved to the region on semi-trucks from as far as New England and Florida. Beekeeping and Almonds are closely linked US industries, and as almond acreage continues to grow, the almond industry is increasingly driving changes in the beekeeping industry. It is estimated that over 80% of the commercial honey bee colonies in the USA are contracted for pollination in California almond orchards each year (estimated based on 2 honey bee colonies per bearing acres of almonds, and number of honey bees in operations with 5 or more colonies in the US. Sources: USDA-NASS 2018 California Almond Acreage Report, and USDA-NASS 2018 Honey Bee Colonies Report)
Left: Honey bees and almonds dominate the landscape in central California during the almond bloom. Almond acreage in California has increased 50% in the past 10 years. Right: Young non-bearing orchards offer ideal opportunities to plant cover crops that improve soil health and provide supplemental forage for bees. Stepping into the E. L. Niño Bee Lab at UC Davis feels like you are stepping through a portal into the past and the future of honey bee research at the same time. Glass cases reverently display some of the first honey bee insemination tools ever made by scientists like Dr. Lloyd Watson, and UC Davis’ own Dr. Harry Laidlaw; a bottle of un-crystalized 150 year old honey, and beautiful natural combs drawn by honey bees decades ago. The history is undeniable and can leave you with a somber sense of awe as you imagine the earlier days of honey bee research. The days before Varroa, before 1.3 million acres of almonds, and before millions of honey bee colonies were trucked around the country each year to pollinate crops.
Photos: Early examples and prototypes of queen insemination tools. The oldest date back to the 1920’s, and gave scientists the ability to control honey bee breeding and bloodlines for the first time, changing the future of beekeeping. Modern queen insemination tools are based on these early inventions. 
U.S. Beekeepers Lost Over 40% of Colonies During the Last Year, With Annual Survey Showing Winter Losses as the Highest Ever Recorded Results point to a need for increased research, Extension, and Best Management Practices  Seeds for Bees Enrollment
Opens June 15, 2019! Seeds for Bees® encourages the use of cover crops to increase the density, diversity, and duration of bee forage in California orchards, farms and vineyards, while improving soil health and supporting good land stewardship. The seed mixes available through Seeds for Bees are designed to bloom at critical times of the year when natural forage is scarce but managed and native bees are active, with a variety of options to address soil needs of the orchard. Seeds for Bees serves the needs of bees, beekeepers, and growers, increasing sustainability of pollination and agriculture. Honey bee nutrition and health can be strengthened by increasing floral diversity. Providing better habitat for honey bees helps them mitigate a multitude of stressors, including parasites, pathogens, and pesticides. Stronger bees means better pollination. Adding Seeds for Bees® bee forage to your crop, utilizing the best in seed mixes and planting regimes, can increase honey bee health and sustainability, securing crop pollination into the future. Orchardists, growers, and farmers in California can apply to participate in the Seeds for Bees® program. Enrollees receive free or subsidized cover crop seeds designed by Project Apis m. to provide high-quality sources of nutrition for honey bees and native pollinators, along with technical support. This incentive gives growers the opportunity to try out cover crops for themselves at a reduced cost so that they can experience the benefits first hand. If you are a grower and are interested in participating, please visit: www.projectapism.org/seeds-for-bees where you can find online and printable applications, technical support, and more information about Seeds for Bees® Additional information links: Benefits of Cover Crops, Guidelines and Enrollment, PAm Seed Mixes, Apply to Enroll |
Categories
All
News Archives
November 2019
|
RSS Feed