Author: Mannering, Christy

More information on the University of Delaware’s “Pollinate your Life” seminar series can be found under the “Pollinate your Life” tab on the homepage of the MAAREC website.  Each seminar has a page with a brief description of the event for those who are interested in attending.

Lower Eastern Shore Beekeepers Association

Salisbury, Maryland

The Lower Eastern Shore Beekeepers Association is pleased to announce that Elizabeth (Izzy) Hill with the Center for Urban Bee Research and the Mid-Atlantic Apicultural Research and Education Consortium (MAAREC) will speak to the association at their monthly meeting on June 11, 2014 at 7:00 pm.  Meetings are held at the University of Maryland Extension Office for Wicomico County, 28647 Old Quantico Road, Salisbury, Maryland.

Hill will speak on the use of nematodes to control small hive beetles (“SHB”).  Used appropriately in proper conditions studies have shown that the use of beneficial nematodes can reduce SHB pupae in the soil by over 85% (Ellis et al, 2010).

Attendees will be taught which species of nematodes have been most successful in controlling SHB, how to raise their own nematodes and how to utilize them to control SHB.  They will also be given the opportunity to participate in a research project on the efficacy of utilizing nematodes to combat SHB in the field.

Those that choose to participate will be given the needed research materials including nematodes.  All who participant will receive information on how their results compare to other beekeepers in the study.

The Lower Eastern Shore Beekeepers Association meets on a monthly basis the second Wednesday of every month to educate and mentor its members and the public on beekeeping, to promote the importance of honey bees and responsible, sustainable beekeeping.  All meeting are open to the public and anyone interested in honeybees and beekeeping is invited to attend.

For more information please visit our website at lowershorebeekeepers.org.

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Pricing and Marketing Risk Management Education for Honey Producers

This project has 5 aims: 1) work closely with honey producers to identify the key issues related to managing marketing and pricing risks that are facing small and mid-sized honey producers in the Northeast; 2) examine consumer behavior related to production location, processing, and labeling; 3) disseminate effective marketing and pricing curriculum to honey producers throughout the United States via multi-media extension platforms; 4) improve the economic viability of honey producers in the Northeast through interactive educational modules; and 5) measure the economic impact on honey producers who implement decisions related to their product marketing and pricing as a result of this program.   Through the development of a Honey Producers Working Group (HPWG), representing honey producers across the Mid-Atlantic States, the following risks associated with honey production are now being addressed and prioritized: lack of appropriate marketing information, poor communication between producers and consumers and the lack of global agreement on honey criteria. The HPWG have participated in two workshops throughout the project and have helped develop, implement and evaluate the pricing and marketing curriculum generated from this project. Due to the lack of a central market or pricing mechanism for honey many beekeepers do not know how to price or label correctly in a manner that enhances their economic viability. Research in other countries has shown that improved honey marketing leads to a stronger honey industry, however little research has been done on US consumers.   The experimental economics ‘laboratory’ has become an ideal setting to study consumer preferences for food produced with different methods.  Unlike the traditional market place that has consumers providing dichotomous (yes/no) choices for products at fixed prices, experiments provide a richer dataset on each consumer about the strength of their preferences for the food at different prices and given different attributes.  Researchers at the University of Delaware have used these techniques to study a variety of foods including rBST-free and organic milk, hamburgers given different media messages about mad cow disease, chicken breasts with various safety histories, and eggs before and after the 2010 Iowa recall.   Research results are currently being integrated into pricing and marketing strategies and have been presented to the HPWG during interactive workshops. The best marketing tools are being formatted into educational material and hands-on modules to be used in beekeeping workshops in the Northeast and throughout the US.   This work was funded by the Northeast Center for Risk Management Education and the University of Delaware. For more information on the project and how to get educational material for interested parties please contact Dr. Deborah Delaney at dadelane@udel.edu

Honey Marketing Powerpoint

Honey Marketing Brochure