Transcript
Beekeeping is a challenging time.
The last 10 years have been pretty devastating,
with colony losses about 30% to 70% in some cases.
So what we intend to do with our program
is to educate and train beekeepers
so that the losses are minimal, at least to 10% to 15%,
which are acceptable losses-- not 30% or 50%,
which are not sustainable.
My name is Ramesh Sagili.
I'm an associate professor in the Department of Horticulture.
For the extension program, we have an Oregon Master Beekeeper
Program, which is a very unique program,
with about 1,600 participants at this point of time.
It is unique when compared to other master beekeeper programs
in the country in the sense that we
have a mentor-mentee relationship established here.
So we have mentors that are assigned
to the participants that are registered in the program.
Because beekeeping is not just learning through books.
They need a lot of experience as well.
In Central Oregon, there is about 5,000 acres
of carrot seed production, and they need bees for pollination.
So without bees, you can't have carrot seed production.
It's a hybrid carrot seed.
Central Oregon is a more ag-intense area,
where there is not much forage for bees.
So they have this nutritional stress.
And then, farmers have to spray to protect their crops
from pests, so there is a significant amount
of pesticides that are used as well.
So we recognized this problem in Central Oregon
when we were talking to beekeepers.
And because our program really closely works
with both stakeholders, commercial beekeepers,
and the producers-- so we found that there
was a problem with bee health because of compromised
nutrition and exposure to some insecticides that
were a problem for bees.
So we worked with beekeepers and growers together,
and we found out some best management practices
in terms of nutrition, how to improve bee nutrition
in Central Oregon, and then also how to reduce
pesticide exposure to bees.
And that has really created a huge change.
That has really helped the bee health as well as the yields
that the farmers get for carrot seed.
So that's a good example how an applied research and extension
program can help the stakeholders.
It's a hugely satisfying experience
when you see that your stakeholders are learning
or benefiting from the best management practices
that you suggest.
And even for the larger society, because our outreach program is
not just for the stakeholders.
These are our primary stakeholders, the beekeepers
and the farmers, but then there is citizens
that are interested in bees.
The last 10 years, you have seen this exponential increase
in interest in beekeeping.
I teach, as well, the Honeybee Biology class here on campus.
And students, I get a very diverse audience,
from engineering to English to even music majors.
So they're all very passionate about learning about bees
and how they can sustain bee populations in the future,
and they want to all chip in in whatever way
they can so that they can promote
bee health-- even planting something in their backyards.
So they may not keep bees, but they
are interested in improving habitat for bees.
I think until 1985, the beekeepers
didn't have as many challenges they have today.
So we have multiple stressors that are impacting bees.
So they need more knowledge.
Now, they have new pests and pathogens
that have come across.
Maybe the major one would be the Varroa mite.
It [INAUDIBLE] causes the immune system to be compromised.
In this time and age, I see that there
is a lot of need for current information in terms of best
management practices; how to get those best management
practices in time for the stakeholders
so that they can keep their bees alive
and still we have enough bees for sustaining our pollination
needs in the future.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Dr. Ramesh Sagili, Associate Professor-Apiculture at Oregon State University. He works with stakeholders in the bee industry, the public through Extension, and students to help create a healthy and sustainable environment for bees. He is working to educate and train beekeepers to create healthier bee colonies. Learn more about his honey bee lab.
Want to learn more about this topic? Explore more resources from OSU Extension:
Bees and pollinators
