CSBA Newsletter June 2015
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CSBA Officers
President
Brad Pankratz
1st Vice President
Dion Ashurst
2nd Vice President
Steve Godlin
Secretary/Treasurer
Carlen Jupe
Past President
Bill Lewis
Executive Committee
Brent Ashurst
Russell Heitkam
Buzz Landon
Larry Lima
Mike Tolmachoff
ABF Delegates
Bill Lewis
Dion Ashurst
Mike Tolmachoff
Committee Chairs
African Honey Bee
Brock Ashurst 
Awards
Alan Mikolich
Nominations
Bill Lewis
Bee Times
Meg Ribotto
Public Lands
Mike Harrel
Constitution
Bryan Ashurst
Convention
Patti Johnson
Research
Alan Henninger
Legislative
Jackie Park-Burris
Marketing
Troy Bunch
Membership
Mike Tolmachoff
Parliamentarian
Dr. Elina Nino
Resolutions
Roger Everett
Rewards
Bob Miller
Ladies Auxiliary President
Amanda Wooten
Ladies Auxiliary
 
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President

Amanda Wooten

Vice President 

Alissa Wooter
Secretary/Treasurer
Ila Hohman 

Parliamentarian
Sandy Tabako 

Ladies Auxiliary Update
We are busy ordering new shirts to sell at the convention, as well as working on the pottery pieces for the banquet dinner. We hope to see all of you at the CSBA Convention in November and remember to stay in contact with us on Facebook
Have a great Summer!
Public Lands Committee Update
Beekeepers may have additional apiary locations thanks to the efforts of CSBA leaders, John Miller and Mike Harrel. The California Council of Land Trusts(CCLT) is working with CSBA for potential new apiaries on land trust properties. At the May 15th CSBA Board Meeting, it was decided that an email to the membership, which was circulated on May 28th, was the most equitable way to share leads on potential apiary sites. Beekeepers will be expected to follow BMP's stated in the Public Lands and Land Owners document under the 'Beekeepers Toolbox' located on the CSBA Resource page.

Below is the contact information. CSBA suggests that, 1) First search the land trust website to determine where the available land(s) is located and if suitable for your needs, and 2) Mention that you received the reference through the CSBA table at the CA Council of Land Trusts March event in Sacramento.

Granville - Jeffery T. Roberts 
559-436-0900

805-649-6852 Ext 1 or
Tania Parker at Ext 6

650-949-1453

760-445-6851

If you have any questions, please contact Carlen Jupe and be sure to thank John and Mike for all their hard work that benefits all of us!
Southern Oregon Beekeepers Association Update
Southern Oregon Beekeeper's Assoc. (SOBA) is having our Fall bee school on August 1st.  Click here for class information!
USDA ARS Bee Lab at UC Davis
USDA Western Region Announcement
The USDA Agricultural Research Service will establish a new base-funded Pollinator Health Research laboratory at the Western Regional Research Center. This research project is currently funded at $1.3M per year. The bulk of the research will be conducted at the WRRC's worksite, co-located with the University of California's Davis campus, building on the synergy with the Honey and Pollination Center and the Department of Entomology and Nematology at UC-Davis. 

ARS invites input from stakeholders as to specific research topics this project should address in the next 5 years. FY2015 funding will be used for establishing laboratory space for 2 senior research scientists and 3 support staff. We expect to fill these five research positions by March 2016. Please contact Dr. Howard Zhang, Center Director, WRRC, 510-559-5600 or email here for further information or discussion.
Calendar of Events
Heartland Apicultural Society
July 9th - 11th
Albion College, MI

Eastern Apicultural Society
August 10th - 14th
University of Guelph, 
Ontario, Canada

Western Apicultural Society
October 1st - 3rd
Boulder, CO

Bee Culture's "The Four Pillars of Honey Bee Management"
October 24th - 25th
Medina, OH
Download This Application!
Need help finding least-toxic pesticide products to manage household and garden pests? Quickly search for hazard-ranked pesticide products on your iPhone and iPad with the Pest Smart mobile app - a free, new user-friendly tool for LEED professionals, IPM managers, and anyone with an interest in finding information about pesticide products.
CSBA Sponsors








 














Kona Queen Hawaii, Inc
CSBA Affiliated Clubs
 
 
Click on a beekeeping club to visit their homepage

Brad Pankratz
2015 CSBA President
The President's Word
 
Hello My Fellow Beekeepers! 

The summer months are now upon us. Some of you are shipping your bees out-of-state for honey production, which hopefully, will be a bountiful crop. Those of you who are riding out the summer in California, I wish you the best in these difficult drought-stricken times. Here at CSBA, we have been working to diligently serve the industry. 

Orin Johnson was successful in prosecuting an individual that was convicted of stealing his bee hives. CSBA gave a cash reward to the two security guards that apprehended the thief. Hopefully, this will work in our favor to bring awareness of bee theft. 

We are also working with land trust organizations to open up more pasture for bee yard locations. The California Council of Land Trusts (CCLT) will be having a Fall event, which will be attended by myself and other CSBA representatives. These opportunities are sowing the seeds for relationships and contacts that in the future will lead to better pollinator habitat and healthier honey bees. See the Public Lands Update on the sidebar for land trust contact information.

California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) recently held a healthy pollinator meeting in Sacramento.  This meeting was well attended by CDFA members, county ag commissioners, pesticide applicators, UC Davis entomologist and beekeepers. In my opinion, it was successful in outlining plans for pollinator health in the state. Hopefully, these plans will become reality in the future. 

CSBA Convention planning is ongoing and challenging, but CSBA's leadership will be up to the task and we look forward to seeing you in November in Sacramento!  As always, I urge you to be proactive in your businesses, and forge ahead to a successful season!

Best Regards,

Brad Pankratz, CSBA President

National Strategy To Promote The Health Of Honey Bees And Other Pollinators

On Tuesday, May 19, 2015, the Obama administration released the first National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators. It focuses on both immediate and long-term changes that can be initiated to improve the health of pollinator populations, including honey bees, monarch butterflies and other pollinators. The Strategy outlines a comprehensive approach on reducing the impact of multiple stressors on pollinator health, including pests and pathogens, reduced habitat, lack of nutritional resources and exposure to pesticides.

The Federal government is the largest land manager in the Nation and through its programs can also coordinate with private sectors. In response to the Presidential Memorandum, land management agencies are identifying lands to manage for new and better pollinator habitats: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working to balance the unintended consequences of chemical exposure with the need for pest control; the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is looking to expand pollinator habitats, particularly summer foraging areas, under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP); and habitat opportunities are being found in new and creative places, such as on rights-of-way and other easements.

The 53-page Strategy outlines three overarching goals for action by Federal departments and agencies in collaboration with public and private partners:
  1. Reduce honey bee colony losses during winter to no more than 15% within 10 years. 
  2. Increase the Eastern population of the monarch butterfly to 225 million butterflies occupying an area of approximately 15 acres in the overwintering grounds in Mexico, through domestic/international actions and public-private partnerships, by 2020.
  3. Restore or enhance 7 million acres of land for pollinators over the next 5 years through Federal actions and public-private partnerships.
Apprehenders of Bee Thief Rewarded!


 

At the  5/15/15 CSBA board meeting, the Board of Directors presented $1,000 rewards to Dre Castano and Vincent Perez, employees of Rank Investigations - Protection, for their efforts which led to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator of an attempted theft of Orin Johnson's bee colonies. 

 

Mr. Castano, who was off duty at the time, noted irregular activity on the road near the golf course protected by his company, investigated this activity and caught the thief red-handed. Having called for backup, Mr. Castano was joined by Mr. Perez. Together with Orin, they restored the colonies to their proper location and detained the thief until police arrived and arrested him. They went above and beyond the call of duty to their company, which had no obligation to protect Orin's property.

 


 

This is one of the very few instances in which a bee thief has been not only caught but convicted! We are all very thankful to Mr. Castano and Mr. Perez and hope that would-be bee colony thieves will take notice.

California State Beekeepers Association Convention
November 17-19, 2015 



Visit  the CSBA   Events page for the 2015 Annual Membership Renewal Form and the 2015 Convention Pre-Registration form. 
Don't delay - register today!

The California State Fair


The California State Fair is pleased to announce that our award-winning culinary program "Save Mart Supermarkets California's Kitchen" continues to grow and expand on its mission to showcase California's agriculture and the bounty our great state produces. As part of the expansion on last year's program, this year's "California's Kitchen Theatre" will offer our fair guests traditional food judging events, cooking demonstrations, and chef challenges while we showcase the "Farm to Fork" philosophy. Save Mart Supermarkets California's Kitchen is centrally located in California Building 'B'.


We are especially excited to be working again with Sacramento Area Beekeepers Association's volunteers. This year we are expanding our program to include the importance of bees. The California State Beekeepers Association booth has been instrumental in helping us to educate the public about bees and beekeeping and in staffing the wonderful volunteers that come out to help every year. To all of you we say thank-you and we look forward to seeing you at the 2015 California State Fair.

CONTACT: Debbie Hardesty at #916-274-5881 or DSHardesty@calexpo.com

Project Apis m. Update  

PAm is pleased to announce the hiring of Billy Synk as Director of Pollination Programs for Project Apis m.  Billy comes to PAm with a wealth of experience as UC Davis' beekeeper and facility manager for the Harry H. Laidlaw Bee Research Facility.  In his new job with PAm, his responsibilities will include the 'Seeds for Bees' project, the Pheasants Forever Honey Bee and Monarch Butterfly Habitat Partnership, and helping PAm maintain a presence at state, regional and national beekeeper as well as grower meetings.  Billy not only knows bees and the beekeeping industry, he also has experience with seed companies.  Funding is in place to provide almond growers with seed again this fall, so have your grower contact Billy:  Billy@projectapism.org

                

The Federal Strategy for Pollinators has been released.  PAm was part of the process since the initial meeting in Washington D.C. and was mentioned twice in the final document.  PAm is poised to take full advantage of the multi-agency focus on pollinators and will work hard to use funding and focus to improve honey bee health through the opportunities that arise from the Federal Strategy.  

                

PAm recently approved six new studies on Varroa control.  Evidence suggests that there are several innovative compounds that warrant attention - including some spider venoms, extract from the seeds of a particular Asian flower, and oil from the seeds of an evergreen tree found in India that is already being used as a biopesticide in farming.  One study will look at cost-effective mass production of natural mite predators.  Another will identify the DNA markers associated with reducing mite loads via hygienic behaviors.  Finally, we will try to prove whether Varroa actually does feed on the hemolymph in bees, a long-time assumption that has never been adequately proven.  Look for updates on these studies and PAm's complete research program by visiting the Research Tab on www.projectapism.org.

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