Sweet Shoot

Just a short drive north of DPI’s headquarter office in Gainesville takes you into a rural area of Alachua County where a turn right from the highway opens up into a field full of blackberries and honey bees.

This location is one of many throughout the state that DPI uses to carry out its mission to protect Florida’s plant and apiary industries.  The bee boxes that make up the apiaries there are used for research, and sometimes for other purposes, such as for filming. DPI’s communications staff regularly develops videos related to the division’s programs for the public, scientific and industry audiences. Today’s shoot was arranged to produce a video for DPI’s apiary inspection.

Honey bees not only produce the sweet stuff that gives the insect its name, but also pollinate a third of the foods we eat. Honey bees are a foundational component to a healthy agriculture industry and environment, but must be protected from pests and diseases in order to thrive.

Check out the Flickr album from today’s video shoot, and visit DPI’s website to learn more about the importance of the honey bee.

Pledge an Act of Green: Support Local Beekeepers

Beekeeping in Florida contributes a $3.3 million impact to the state’s economy, and for every dollar of honey produced in the state, $150 is generated in crop pollination services. Beekeepers are not only good for the economy, but also for the environment. Florida is an Africanized honey bee state, which means that the invasive insect is established in the state. It is the state’s policy to support managed bee hives to reduce the spread of Africanized honey bees around the state. Local beekeepers have managed hives and help keep a pulse on the health of the state’s bee population. Lauren Der, an agricultural communication student at the University of Florida, wrote the article below, which gives insight to the importance of beekeeping. You can help support local beekeepers by monitoring for Africanized honey bees and reporting wild bee hives to DPI at 888-397-1517. You can also purchase local honey from beekeepers. In honor of Earth Day, we challenge you to support local beekeepers as you Pledge an Act of Green. For more information about Florida’s apiary industry visit our website or related blog posts. To learn more about Earth Day, visit http://www.earthday.org.

See Lauren’s article here:

The Honey Bee – An Important Part of Florida Agriculture

Honey bees are the creator’s of man’s first sweetener. Primitive beekeepers were actually hunters, raiding beehives for honey. Honey was prized because of its unique taste and unusual sweetness. Today, this important Florida product has an annual worth of $15 to $20 million. Florida’s climate and abundant flowering plants make it a perfect place to keep honey bees, and the beekeeping industry has tremendously grown. Florida is consistently ranked among the nation’s leaders in honey production, with approximately 17 million pounds of honey produced each year. Orange, tupelo, gallberry and palmetto honeys are just a few of the special varieties.

Florida Honey Bee Industry Facts

• Crops pollinated by honey bees have a $3.3 million economic impact in Florida, and produce $192 million in tax revenues.
• For every dollar of honey produced in Florida, approximately $150 is generated in honey bee pollination services.
• Without honey bee pollination, the food we eat could decrease by a third.
• FDACS established an apiary (honey bee) inspection program within DPI in 1923.
• Florida has about 1,000 registered beekeepers and 200,000 managed colonies.

 DPI State Apiary Inspectors…

• Advise Florida beekeepers on the identification and treatment of honey bee pests
• Certify honey bees for shipment to other states for honey production and pollination
• Maintain 500 bait traps around the state and monitor Florida ports, the interstate highway system and other vulnerable areas to identify unusual activity that might indicate the introduction or spread of unwanted honey bee species, like the Africanized honey bee
• Provide education and outreach to the apiary industry and public.

 The Gainesville Sun published an interesting article on GatorSports.com about beekeeping and Colony Collapse Disorder. Check out the article online.

Disney’s “Pollen” premieres in France

As Florida’s regulatory agency for the apiary industry, DPI protects honey bees and their role as a major pollinator in Florida. Bees are just one of the many insects and animals that help pollinate plants around the world, including those used for agricultural purposes.

Dinseynature, the same film label that produced earth, OCEANS and the soon-to-be released African Cats  recently released the film Pollen in France.  The U.S. version of the film will be released under the name Wings of Life. The film examines the delicate relationship between the animal and plant worlds, including the role humans play in the balance of that relationship.

You can view the Pollen trailer posted from YouTube below. It is in French, but the video shows what the film is about.

Registered Beekeeper or Self-Proclaimed Bee Enthusiast, UF/IFAS Offers Training

The University of Florida Bee College is scheduled for March 11-12, 2011, at the UF Whitney Lab in St. Augustine. Registration is now open for the program, and anyone interested in learning more about honey and the apiary industry should check out the website and program guide.

In addition to the Bee College, UF also offers the Master Beekeeper Program, designed for beekeepers registered with our division of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.  This program offers four levels of advancement, including apprentice beekeeper, advanced beekeeper, master beekeeper and master craftsman beekeeper. Check out the 2011 Master Beekeeper Program information, as well as the requirements to participate.