Beekeeping Curriculum and Training for Texas Agricultural Extension Agents and 4-H Youth Leaders

View the project final report

Commodities

• Animals: bees

Practices

• Animal Production: animal protection and health
• Crop Production: pollinator habitat, pollinator health
• Education and Training: extension, farmer to farmer, youth education

Honeybees are critical to the ag economy and play a major role in sustainability and food production as well as pollinating plant communities. Texas is currently ranked 6^th in the U.S. in honey production and there continues to be an increased interest in beekeeping statewide, both in urban and rural areas. This project sought to transfer the wealth of knowledge and wisdom that currently exists within the beekeeping community itself, into a basic understanding and education of apiculture to the agricultural extension personnel who serve the 254 counties in Texas as well as establish a youth-friendly resource that can be used to mentor and guide the next generation of beekeepers through local 4-H clubs and Youth Beekeeping Clubs. AgriLogic Consulting, in cooperation with Texas Beekeepers Association (TBA), the Texas Apiary Inspection Services (TAIS), Texas AgriLife Extension Service (TAES) and a group of mentor beekeepers, sought to resolve this issue by developing a relevant, streamlined electronic curriculum via a dedicated website that is now available free of charge, intended to serve these targeted audiences and ultimately ensure the sustainability of apiculture in Texas. Project activities included the development of the curriculum itself, website design, marketing of said curriculum via several conferences, trade shows, and press releases directed to the targeted audiences. Results will be measured long term through analytics, increased knowledge throughout the target audience, and feedback from the community utilizing said resources.

AgriLogic attended three conferences including the Texas Agricultural Extension Agents Annual Meeting in San Antonio in July 2021 and shared the website with those visiting the booth.  AgriLogic also attended the Texas 4-H Leaders Annual Meeting in Decatur, TX in August 2021 and shared the website and project objectives with those visiting the booth.  Finally, several team members staffed a booth at the Texas Beekeepers Association Annual meeting in Galveston in November 2021 and shared the website and project objectives with those visiting the booth.    

The objective of this funding request was to ensure that a streamlined curriculum developed by Texas beekeeping experts was made available electronically, and free of charge, to better equip those in a position to teach, train and mentor new and youth beekeepers. The curriculum will continue to be hosted by AgriLogic Consulting, with links on the Texas Beekeepers Association website as well as Texas Agrilife Extension sites for each county. The long-term objective involves strengthening the apiculture industry in Texas, which in turn strengthens the ag industry as a whole since managed honey bees are the most valuable pollinators in terms of agricultural economics; in fact according to USDA, one honey bee colony is worth 100 times more to the community than to the beekeeper.

The target audience for this project were (1) agricultural extension agents serving the 254 Texas counties; (2) 4-H extension agents and other youth leaders wishing to offer beekeeping contests, clinics or competition options to their 4-h youth; and (3) existing beekeepers wishing to serve as mentors to youth and new beekeepers.  

While much information exists regarding beekeeping in general, the information does not regularly apply to Texas (climate, threats, best practices); there are vast differences of opinion within the beekeeping community which can leave a new beekeeper confused; and format of such information is not always streamlined, organized, electronically available, nor free of charge.  Currently, when questions are received at the local extension office regarding beekeeping, callers are directed to the Entomology department at Texas A&M or referred to one of two IPM agents in the state who work to provide apiculture and related education. Local extension agents also routinely refer inquisitors back to the local beekeeping community because they have not been trained/equipped to answer these questions. Specifically, the project seeks to cut down the number of calls being transferred to the Entomology department and the two IPM agents located in San Antonio and Austin by 50% over a three-year period. This would also mean that there would be a 50% increase in the number of questions being answered at the county agent level with the project website acting as a backup resource for both agents as well as the individuals asking the questions.

This curriculum will also allow 4-H leaders as well as local club volunteers to offer a beginning beekeeping opportunity for interested youth ages 3rd -12th grade and allow them to compete in local as well as potentially district and state contests in the future. Specifically, for 4-H, the goal is to have at least 25 (10%) of the counties in Texas charter a beekeeping club or contest by the end of year 3. According to the Texas 4-H State office, there is currently a Beekeeping Essay contest held annually as well as one youth club in Brazos County which is not officially chartered as a 4-H Club. Outside of that, they are not aware of any other specific youth beekeeping clubs or activities in the state, as part of the 4-H program. An investigation of the existing 4-H curriculum and bookstore found two resources available free of charge through the 4-H website, neither of which were intended for our target audience and which were not comprehensive in content.  We were unable to find any other bee-specific resources from the following 4-H curriculum website at this time, further justifying the need for a streamlined, free of charge curriculum.   As part of this grant, a 4-H Explore Guide for Beekeeping was drafted and submitted to the state 4-H office in an attempt to initiate work on a published guide which can be edited and approved by the Texas 4-H leadership and included with other existing Explore Guides on the main 4-H website.

Finally, the website curriculum can be used in local beekeeping clubs to guide mentors wishing to start a youth beekeeping club (not part of 4-H), of which there has been increased interest and requests per the Texas Beekeepers Association in recent years.  A press release was drafted and shared with project collaborators and others which can be shared throughout the various targeted audience communities.