February 22nd, 2017

​By Billy Synk

​At Project Apis m. we do more than fund research and hand out free seed. We package up our knowledge and expertise in a way that is useful to beekeepers and growers. For example, Dr. Reed Johnson’s pesticide research is complicated. Growers and their advisors may have a hard time navigating the results when trying to determine the best way to protect their crops without harming bees. This is why we partnered with the Almond Board to create a list of Best Management Practices. Now growers have an easy-to-read, practical guide for what to do when applying pesticides. My point is, providing raw data and information without applying it to practical solutions isn’t very useful.
Seeds for Bees free seed is only half the program. The technical advice and onsite assistance I provide is how the program truly becomes useful.  A significant amount of 2016/2017 Seeds for Bees enrollees had never grown cover crops in their orchard before. Simply sending them seed isn’t good enough. In an effort to educate, Project Apis m. and Kamprath Seeds have teamed up to host three Bee Forage Cover Crop Field Days in March.  Taking place in three different growing regions of California, these field days will demonstrate how cover crops can improve soil and bee health.  Join us on March 7th, 9th, and 15th to learn more about how cover crops can benefit your operation. This will be an outdoor event where attendees can view cover crops in almond orchards and hear presentations from growers and industry experts. Please RSVP to Billy Synk at Billy@ProjectApism.org or 614-330-6932.