Training Educators to Protect Honey Bee Pollinators with Sustainable Pest Management

Training Educators to Protect Honey Bee Pollinators with Sustainable Pest Management

Summary

Training sessions for county agricultural Extension agents are being conducted in Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky on beekeeping, crop pollination and honey bee pest management with the primary goal of increasing the adoption of more sustainable management practices resulting in more and healthier honey bee colonies and improved crop pollination. Three training sessions were held in Tennessee in late summer 2004; 36 Extension agents and 7 beekeepers attended. Post-session testing indicated agents knowledge of lecture materials improved by an average of 32%. Four sessions are to be held in Alabame in May-July 2005. Training sessions in Kentucky began in early April 2005 and should conclude by late May.

Objectives/Performance Targets

The project will increase county Agriculture Extension agents’ awareness of the importance of honey bees as pollinators and the tools and techniques used to establish and maintain healthy, productive honey bee colonies. Specific objectives include:
1) Increase educators’ (extension agents and beekeeper representatives) knowledge about crop
pollination and demonstrate how they, in turn, can train beekeeper-farmers to manage bees to
improve pollination;
2) Increase educators’ knowledge about new honey bee mite management tactics and how to use
them effectively.
3) Improve extension agents’ attitude about a subject that most are unfamiliar with.
4) A long-term, mutually beneficial relationship should be established when trained, confident
educators interact with beekeepers having very diverse lifestyles who request information about
protecting their bees. When beekeepers discover that agents care about their problems and have
the skill to provide solutions, future interactions are more likely to be successful leading to
lasting partnerships that can serve as a framework for more programs.
5) Improved recommendations, skill training and better rapport with educators should increase
adoption of these management tactics by beekeepers throughout Alabama, Kentucky and
Tennessee.

Accomplishments/Milestones

By mid-summer 2004, the manual for distribution to training session attendees (E&PP Info 736
“Beekeeping for Extension Agents: Fundamentals, Crop Pollination and Pest Management”), as
well as the presentation to be made at the sessions, were developed. Tennessee training sessions
were held in Jackson (west TN) on August 24, in Nashville (central TN) on August 25 and in
Knoxville (east TN) on September 2. (Originally 4 sessions, one at each of the Extension District
headquarters were to be held. However, downsizing of the Extension Service in TN resulted in
the creation of three Extension Regions. Sessions were held at each of the three Region
headquarters.) County Agriculture Extension Agents within each Region were notified of the training sessions through their Regional Program Directors. Representatives of regional and local beekeeping associations located near the session sites were invited to attend. Sessions consisted of a 3-hour lecture followed by a 2-hour, hands-on demonstration in honey bee colonies. Pesticide Safety Education Program re-certification points were offered to attendees in seven categories of certification. Attendance for the sessions was: 14 Extension agents and 2 beekeepers (Jackson), 8 agents and 3 beekeepers (Nashville), and 14 agents and 2 beekeepers (Knoxville).
Because of restructuring of the Extension Service in Alabama in 2004, training sessions there were postponed until 2005. (Consequently, a 1-year, no-cost extension was requested and approved for the project.) Scheduled session dates and locations in Alabama are: May 13 in Tuscaloosa, June 3 in Huntsville, June 24 in Dothan, and July 8 in Auburn. Due to personnel changes, training sessions in Kentucky were also delayed until 2005. Training sessions are currently being conducted there: in April, sessions in Bowling Green (west-central KY) and Paducah (far-west KY) were held. At least two more sessions will be held in central and eastern KY.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

To assess attendees’ comprehension and retention of the sessions’ lecture material, and our teaching ability, tests on beekeeping practices, pollination and pest management were completed by attendees before and after lectures. Evaluations of lecturers were also completed. After the lectures, test scores improved by an average of 24%, 16% and 49% at Jackson, Nashville and Knoxville, respectively. Average improvement in test scores pooled across all sessions was 32%. Sixty-one and 33% of attendees gave an excellent or very good rating, respectively, for the workshop. Fifty-five and 45% of attendees rated the materials provided to them at the workshops as excellent or very good, respectively.
Based on post-session test scores, agents attending sessions in Tennessee have substantially increased their knowledge of beekeeping, the importance of bees as crop pollinators, and management of honey bee pests. Hopefully, the training will allow them to make the best and most appropriate recommendations, ultimately resulting in reduced use of traditional chemical pesticides, increased survival of bee colonies and more colonies available for pollination.

Collaborators: