GOOD NEWS from OSU Bee Lab

The Oregon Master Beekeeper Program is the winner of the 2015 OSU Search for Excellence award! The OSUEA Search for Excellence program recognizes an outstanding Extension education effort, demonstrating innovation and impact. Applications for both team and individual success stores are considered in a wide range and scale of deserving programs from county to multi-state efforts. Award to the Master Beekeeper program was presented at the annual Extension conference. Rich Farrier teaches and mentors WVBA students.

New Bee positon at Oregon State.  A search for PhD level, 100% Extension, tenure-track faculty position focused on pollinator health is underway. It will be a 9-month appointment based on the OSU campus in Corvallis. Two months of summer salary will be provided on a fixed-term, recurring basis for the first three years when the appointee will be expected to provide leadership in implementing Oregon House Bills 3361, 3362 and 2653. Full text of this legislation passed in 2015 may be accessed at: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws . Thereafter, the faculty member will be expected to generate two months of summer salary from grants (this arrangement is increasingly common for Extension professionals).

The new hire is expected to develop a nationally recognized outreach and Extension program related to pollinator health for promoting the adoption of best practices that will have a positive impact on pollinators in ways that support Oregon agriculture and environmental sustainability. The appointee will be expected to conduct scholarly work appropriate to the position’s research and outreach work in pollinator health that will result in publications, websites or programs that have been peer-reviewed and vetted.

Two technician positons funded:  Ramesh Sagili, Assistant Professor at OSU announced at the annual OSBA meeting that as a result of passage of yet another bee-related House Bill 3360, the Honey Bee research program at OSU will receive funding to support two Research Assistant positions to enhance the bee health diagnostic services. Further, the honey bee lab will also receive about $200,000 to purchase additional lab equipment such as RT-PCR to expand the diagnostic services for honey bee viruses and bacterial diseases.

Beekeeper funding of OSU Bee Lab: At the OSBA business meeting, the OSBA Board  pledged $15,000 unrestricted support to the OSU Bee Lab. GloryBee, as part of their Save the Bee Campaign, matched the first $10,000 bid at the auction Saturday evening which will form the basis of next year’s contribution to the honey bee program at OSU.