Episode Details

This week, we invite Geoff Williams and Mikayla Wilson from Bee Informed Partnership to talk with us about their 2022 Loss and Management Survey! It kicks off in April - in just a few days!

The Bee Informed Partnership was started in 2007 by the Apiary Inspectors of America as a non-profit organization with the goal to improve honey bee colony health and survivorship in the United States. The Colony Loss and Management Survey is one of BIPs longest running programs.

BIP defines "Colony Loss" as as a turn-over rate, as high levels of losses do not necessarily result in a decrease in the total number of colonies managed in the United States. This is often misinterpreted that the 'bees are disappearing'. Beekeepers should be able to correct this while talking with non-beekeepers.

Geoff and Mikayla talk about this year's survey and how you can participate, whether you are a commercial, sideliner or hobby beekeeper.

BIP has other programs which Geoff and Mikayla discuss, including the Tech Transfer Program, and the Sentinel Apiary Program (which is still accepting participating beekeepers until April 24th) and how you can support BIP without sending a dime. BIP is part of Amazon Smile where 0.5% of your purchase is donated to a non-profit charity of your choice. Make BIP your charity of choice!

Let us know what you think by leaving comments for this episode above. Start a discussion!

Thank you for listening!

Links and websites mentioned in this podcast:

• Bee Informed Partnership - https://beeinformed.org
• BIP 2020-21 Survey Results by State - https://research.beeinformed.org/loss-map/
• BIP Sentinel Apiary Program details - https://beeinformed.org/citizen-science/sentinel-apiaries/
• Honey Bee Obscura Podcast - https://www.honeybeeobscura.com

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We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of today's episode. Betterbee's mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent customer service, continued education and quality equipment. From their colorful and informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational activities, including this podcast series, Betterbee truly is Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at www.betterbee.com

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This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein suppl