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See our work in action with new Bee Integrated video

Have you seen the Coalition’s new video about the Bee Integrated Demonstration Project? The five-minute overview was shot in North Dakota this summer and features interviews with 11 project organizers, participants, and others who have made Bee Integrated possible.

https://youtu.be/bTG7FawJ7Lw

Read on for more about the Coalition’s 2018 achievements listed below and how you can help support honey bee health:

North Dakota field tour
Second annual Mite-A-Thon
Crop Pest Advisor Education Module
Soybean BMPs
Engaging federal leaders on bee forage
Including bee health in supply chain sustainability
Partner Spotlight: Help support the Bee Informed Partnership

North Dakota Field Tour
This August, the Coalition visited North Dakota with the Entomological Society of America’s Plant-Insect Ecosystem section.

The field tour highlighted the Bee Integrated Demonstration Project, which launched in 2017 to show best practices in real-world settings. The project helps beekeepers and farmers partner to plant pollinator forage with the Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund, implement best practices from the North Dakota Pollinator Plan, and use practices in the Tools for Varroa Management Guide with support from the Bee Informed Partnership. In 2019, the Coalition will consider ways to expand the project to reach more beekeeper-farmer pairs.

Click here to learn more about the field tour, including key takeaways from participants.

Mite-A-Thon
In September, the Coalition again teamed up with Pollinator Partnership and nine other organizations to promote Mite-A-Thon. This year, we extended the effort to collect Varroa mite infestation data to two weeks because of a hurricane. Check out the snapshot of infestations and other results here.

Crop Pest Advisor Education Module
The Coalition worked with the National Pesticide Safety Education Center to develop, pilot, and refine an education module for pesticide applicators, advisors, and crop consultants. The hour-long module provides them with a free training on how they can positively impact honey bees and the agricultural landscapes they rely on.

Soybean Best Management Practices
Soybean fields are often surrounded by plants pollinators rely upon, and soybeans can sometimes be an attractive food source for bees. Earlier this year, the Coalition unveiled new best management practices for soybean growers to ensure they and honey bees can continue working together to support healthy ecosystems and the crop production. Please help us continue to promote these important voluntary practices.

Engaging Federal Leadership on Honey Bee Forage
Throughout 2018, the Coalition promoted opportunities to improve pollinator forage through private land conservation programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Members of the Coalition and the Keystone-facilitated Monarch Collaborative met with USDA Under Secretary Bill Northey to discuss their recommendations. Many individual Coalition members also joined efforts to provide input on the Farm Bill and honey bees on public lands.

Encouraging Supply Chain Members to Include Bee Health
The Coalition works year-round to engage with beekeepers, farmers, and supply chain members across food and agriculture.

This year, we developed resources for supply chain sustainability outreach, and we went to the Sustainable Brands conference in Vancouver and the Sustainable Agriculture Summit in Denver to talk about the critical role of bees in ourfood system and how consumer-facing brands can help.

Partner Spotlight: Bee Informed PartnershipThe Bee Informed Partnership provides technical support to beekeepers as well as innovative research projects and high-quality information for everyone making decisions and concerned about bee health. Donate today to help the nonprofit reach its fundraising goal of $15,000 by this Friday, December 7.

Looking Ahead
In January, look for us at the annual beekeeper meetings: American Beekeeping Federation in South Carolina and American Honey Producers Association in Arizona.

The Coalition is committed and excited to support honey bee health. Help us spread the word about our tools, resources, and initiatives — and stay tuned for more to come.