Bee and Butterfly Fund and the US Farm Bill with Becky Masterman and John Miller (S6, E10)

S6, E10 - Bee and Butterfly Fund and the US Farm Bill with Becky Masterman and John Miller

Jennifer Keller: Hello, this is Jennifer Keller at EAS 2023 in Massachusetts, and this is Beekeeping Today Podcast.

Jeff Ott: Welcome to Beekeeping Today Podcast, your source for beekeeping news, information and entertainment presented by Betterbee. I'm Jeff Ott.

Kim Flottum: And I'm Kim Flottum.

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Jeff: Thank you, Sherry. A quick shout out to all of our sponsors who support allows us to bring you this podcast each week without resorting to a fee-based subscription. We don't want that and we know you don't either. Be sure to check out all of our content on our website. There you can read up on all our guests, read our blog on the various aspects and observations about beekeeping, search for, download, and listen to over 200 past episodes, read episode transcripts, leave comments and feedback on each show, and check on podcast specials from our sponsors. You can find it all at www.beekeepingtodaypodcast.com.

Hey, everybody, welcome to the show. Thank you, Jennifer Keller, for that opening. Jennifer stopped at the Betterbee booth during EAS and left us that greeting. You know, you too can record an opening for an upcoming episode. Simply record one on your phone and send it to us at the podcasts. It's simple as that. We do have an important show coming up for you today. We talk with Becky Masterman of the Minnesota Honey Producers Association and commercial beekeeper and good friend of the podcast, John Miller, to talk about the Bee and Butterfly Fund, and the upcoming renewal of the USDA Farm Bill legislation that will definitely impact beekeepers. Just a heads up, John was on his mobile sitting at the Golden Gate State Park, so some of this conversation is not clear. We apologize for this in advance.

Kim is interviewed on a different podcast that just released the conversation. After reading a couple of bee-related novels, Pamela Lamp, host of the podcast, Who I Met Today at www.whoimettoday.com, wanted to learn more about these intelligent little creatures and their importance to our planet, and therefore called up Kim. Pamela isn't a beekeeper, but she asked some interesting and intelligent questions. Tune in on this on any major podcast platform or from her webpage. Also, you can look for a link to that episode in our show notes, in our transcript, or simply Google Who I Met Today Podcast.

You know, the world of beekeeping, once perceived as a tranquil hobby, has transformed into a pivotal industry due to its crucial role in pollination and honey production. Hobby beekeepers, although traditionally viewed as enthusiasts with small-scale impact, possess immense potential to drive change in regional and national legislative discussions. I believe it's important to know why hobby beekeepers should actively engage in debates on topics such as the USDA ARS Honeybee Research Directions, the influence of foreign honey on our industry, and the legal definition of honey.

By advocating for our interests and contributing our unique insights, hobby beekeepers can shape policies that will determine the future of beekeeping and its significance in our ecosystem. The United States Department of Agricultural Research Service, USDA ARS, plays a pivotal role in advancing honeybee research, which directly impacts the well-being of bee colonies and the sustainability of the beekeeping industry. Hobby beekeepers, despite our smaller operations, have first-hand experience dealing with the challenges faced by bee colonies.

By becoming involved in regional and national legislative discussions, we can provide valuable insights that researchers might otherwise overlook. For instance, hobbyists can report observations about bee behavior, hive health, and emerging threats, which can be instrumental in shaping research agendas and directing resources effectively. Our involvement ensures that research is rooted in practical experiences leading to solutions that benefit all beekeepers, from hobbyists to commercial operators.

The global honey market is marred by the presence of adulterated and counterfeited products often originating from foreign countries with lax quality standards. These products not only undermine the hard work of local beekeepers, but also pose significant risks to consumer health. Hobby beekeepers, while producing on a smaller scale, contribute to the overall quality and authenticity of local honey products. By participating in legislative discussions on honey import regulations and standards, we can advocate for stringent measures that safeguard the industry's integrity and the health of consumers. Hobbyists' dedication to producing pure and unadulterated honey gives us a stake in ensuring that the market remains free of fraudulent products.

The legal definition of honey varies across jurisdictions and can have far-reaching implications for beekeepers and consumers alike. Hobby beekeepers, just like our commercial counterparts, invest time and effort, and resources into maintaining healthy bee colonies and harvesting quality honey. Engaging in legislative discussions about the legal definition of honey empowers us to shape regulations that accurately reflect the value and characteristics of our products. By advocating for clear and consistent standards, hobby beekeepers can prevent mislabeling and maintain the reputation of honey as a natural and unprocessed product.

Our active involvement ensures that the legal framework aligns with the realities of beekeeping and the expectations of consumers. Hobby beekeepers, often considered the heart and soul of the beekeeping community, possess the potential to be influential voices in regional and national legislative discussions. Our intimate knowledge of beekeeping intricacies, coupled with our passion for the craft, equips us to contribute unique perspectives that can shape policies in crucial areas such as the USDA ARS Honeybee Research, the impact of foreign honey, and even the legal definition of what is honey.

By participating in these discussions, hobbyists can ensure that our concerns are addressed, our expertise is recognized, and our efforts contribute to a thriving and sustainable beekeeping industry. In a world where bees are facing unprecedented challenges, the collective influence of hobby beekeepers can drive positive change and secure the future of beekeeping for generations to come.

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Jeff: While you're at the Strong Microbials site, make sure you click on and subscribe to The Hive, the regular newsletter full of interesting beekeeping facts and product updates. Hey, everybody, welcome back. Sitting around this big virtual table right now, we go from coast to coast, starting with Becky Masterman in Minnesota, John Miller, who's sitting out in Golden Gate State Park in California somewhere, Kim, sitting in Ohio, and I'm up in the Seattle area. Olympia, Washington. Hey, everybody, welcome to the show.

Becky Masterman: Thank you for having us.

Kim: It's good seeing both of you again. I'm glad you could make it.

John Miller: Always a pleasure.

Kim: I know that you guys have been involved in several programs. I'm not sure what to call them. You've got the three-state thing, the North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota meeting that you just had, and you've got the habitat organization that you're working with, getting more habitat, more food out for bees in your part of the world. Becky, give me a one-paragraph background on what you've been up to since you were with us last.

Becky: Absolutely. I think the first time I was with you, I was running the Bee Squad for the Marlis Vivek's University of Minnesota Program for Outreach and Education. Then I moved on to just volunteering for the Minnesota Honey Producers. We are doing some innovative things there that we were able to talk to you about, including our ambassador program, but importantly, our habitat program that we started just a couple of years ago. We're doing some really neat things with it, and that's what finds me here with you again today. We've roped John Miller in, of course, because he's very passionate about habitat. I'll let John introduce himself.

Jeff: Who is John Miller, and why are you here?

John: Okay, thank you. Today, I'll wear my hat as North Dakota Beekeepers president and a member of Project Apis m. We just came off this tri-state meeting, South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota, very well attended. Lots of vendors and a lot of guys excited, because they had to head home, because they're pulling honey today, because they're out of coal. That hasn't happened for a decade in our business. Today, my son texted me saying, "We've got to rip some honey, because we're out of boxes." Boy, that feels good. Boy, that feels good.

Jeff: It's a good problem to have.

John: It is. Of course, I do no work anymore. I sit in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and enjoy the day. Not exactly.

Becky: I think that's why you left North Dakota and went to California, just because you knew those supers were going to be pulled and extracted.

John: After last week, we had some great presentations, and key among them were the Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund. Without letting the cat out of the bag, Becky ran an auction that raised $66,000 in about an hour for Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund. She just killed it.

Jeff: You said that was 66,000?

Becky: I think we ended up with $61,000. Which honestly $61,66, that's a lot of flowers.

John: That's a lot of flowers. Elsa Gallagher, the field specialist for Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund, and they have several programs. If you go to their website, you'll immediately see that this organization is trying to reach 13 states, the Midwest states, prime monarch butterfly migratory routes, and of course, where most of the honey in the United States is produced. They're in the right place at the right time, advocating the right message. I'm thrilled.

Becky: I think the beekeepers also, and honestly the beekeeping industry, because they donated to the auction, and they supported the auction. I think they were really sharing our message, and sharing their concerns, and sharing their enthusiasm for finding a solution for the habitat problem that we have out there. We talked about habitat all weekend long, and it was really exciting to see so many people are buying into the importance of it.

Jeff: What programs are you funding through those donations?

Becky: They're minimum two-acre projects. For a lot of those funds, $46,000 at least of the dollars raised, they will be used in projects done in either Minnesota, North Dakota or South Dakota. They will be Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund projects. They have a seed mix that's great for honeybees and it's been proven to be extremely productive. Then they have another seed mix that is supportive of butterflies, and so those two acres at least will go into these projects.

One of my favorite things that I heard right after that auction, the next morning, there was a line in the trade show to talk to the Bee & Butterfly Habitat people. People were excited to raise the funds, then they were excited to figure out what kind of projects are going to happen or find out more about the program. It was very heartening. Especially since, I don't know, we've spent how long talking about varroa and now we can talk about flowers. Get them in the ground, and we're able to get bees fed.

Kim: You'll bringing up a good question, and as I'm listening to you talk here about a minimum of two acres, and just because I don't have a good background in your program. Say I've lived in somewhere in Minnesota, and I've got 10 acres that I've been sitting on for a while. Maybe I'm going to sell it for a development or I'm going to turn it into a Kmart or something. Suddenly, your program comes along. I don't have a clue of how to plant 10 acres of habitat. Does your program support that in letting me go out and find a farmer who can do what needs to be done and pay him using your funds?

John: That's a whale of a good question, yes. The prep for an installation begins actually two years in advance. The ideal soil prep is to put down a crop of soybeans, then capture the nitrogen that the soybeans fixed during the course of the season. Then not a way of sterilizing the field. Sometimes they do burn, but you don't have enough debris left on the field to burn. Soil prep, either chemical cleanup or a burn cleanup. Then the next year, put the seeds in the ground the following spring. We have a drill, we have the seed recommendations. The stocking rates per acre. That all comes with, and we're not limited to two acres.

I know they have some 45-acre installations, but you can go up to a significant piece of land, if you're so motivated. If you have a piece of ground that's not super productive on your farm, or if you have a natural erosion control area that you want to take advantage of. It doesn't have to be prime farm land to qualify for the installation. The seeds are free up to X amount of acres that I can't put my finger on right now. Beyond that, it's a 50/50 cost share.

What isn't in this program, and I think that's important is, there's not a cash payment over the life of the installation. It's not a government program. You're not harvesting a program. There's altruism in a decision to make one of these installations and properly done that will last four years. Very much unlike, for example, CP42 on the CRP program. Which on the third year, and you've seen it, Kim, it's a thatch of mid and high bromices, and not a whole lot else.

These installations support a much broader representation of fauna, the upland game, ducks birds and geese galore, pheasants as well. I would put it very competitive with anything that Audubon, anything that Pheasants Forever and anything that Ducks Unlimited has in their programs.

Kim: I'll go back to my original question, then. I could set this up. Instead of paying a farmer to do it, I could let him rent my land for free. Harvest the crop, and that would be his payment. I could do one of these and not even get my hands dirty, it sounds like. At least for a few years.

John: Once these installs that are done right are just bursting with long season successional bloom. It just checks off all the boxes for ecology and environment, and just being a good human.

Jeff: These seed mixes are formulated for, I'd say the upper Midwest, the Minnesota, Dakotas.

John: Correct. Nebraska, Kansas. We're in the 13 Midwestern states, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and the other countries to the east. Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa.

Becky: Indiana, this year.

John: Indiana's there. I think Ohio, if not now, soon.

Becky: Yes, Ohio too.

John: Pennsylvania is on their sites. We looked at a beautiful installation by Jill Clark from Dutch Gold, who did it on her own. Took five acres of soybeans and put her own installation in behind their house in Pennsylvania. It's stunning. It's beautiful.

Becky: May I back up, though, because I think we lost a few people on this podcast when John said CRP CP42.

Jeff: I thought that was a Star Wars character.

Becky: Actually, that's part of the Farm Bill problem. The CRP is the Conservation Reserve Program, which was started in 1985 as a desperate attempt for our country to take marginal farmland out of production and incentivize it and support the environment. Although they wanted 45 million acres, the max I think was in about 2007, with about 37 million acres enrolled. Important for RBS was the introduction of CP42, which is a seed mix that is meant to be for pollinators. That was in about 2008.

Right now, I think it started initially at about 12,000 acres enrolled. At the end of December 2022, we were at about 517,000 acres enrolled across the United States for NCP42. Then just 23 million acres of CRP enrolled. I added more to all those, but hopefully, that context helps. CP42 is a seed mix and the data show that the Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund, the seed mix is much, much better and cheaper, but the problem-- see the CRP definitely has its issues.

It's confusing, it's expensive, it's competing with the biofuel industry, so two government programs are competing against each other. The problem and what I've talked to John about at length is that, a program like Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund is amazing, and growing, and strong, but the acreage compared to our 517,000 acres of CP42 mix it's just not there yet. If we have this acreage and data show that the CP42 mix does help honeybees, one of the reasons why we're talking today is because we really think that that mix could be improved, and part of that rolls into the negotiation of the US Farm Bill.

Which is super exciting topic, and I'm from the suburb live in the city, and boy, does that Farm Bill get me. It's critically important for beekeepers and for people, but it's one of the most confusing things ever.

John: It's the needless complexity, we've complained about that before, and the proof is in participation in North Dakota. CRP participation acreage peaked at 3 million acres, more than a decade ago, it's now under a million acres. Those contracts are getting old, so the fields just look like trash.

Becky: I think the important thing though we have to remember let's back up. I just want everybody to be on board with the Farm Bill, so if you eat, the Farm Bill is important to you.

Jeff: Give us a little history on the Farm Bill. Is it up now or when is it going to be voted on?

Becky: It's being negotiated right now. Thanks, Jeff. The Farm Bill it's a five-year bill. Last approved was 2018, and so we expect it will be negotiated in 2023, unless something happens, then it should be early 2024. Negotiations are really heating up right now. It's where the national organizations for beekeeping, they actually ask for more money for APHIS, for ARS, which is research, and they ask for money to support the beekeeping industry. It's also where these conservation programs for bees and for wildlife sit.

It's also where school lunches are and it basically covers the food we eat, and it covers conservation practices, and then it supports farmers, and ranches and ranchers. Also, ELAP, the emergency assistance for beekeepers it covers that too. As beekeepers we should know about it.

Jeff: The life of the bill is five years, if they don't pass it in five years does it die, does it expire, or does it automatically renew for a certain period of time?

John: Good question. In the house, the AG appropriations is Austin Scott from North or South Carolina. It is an appropriation bill. It's one of 13 appropriations bills that the Congress has tasked with passing, and you know how well that works lately. They just kick it down the road with a continuing resolution. The hope is this year that between the House and the Senate, the House can come up with a bill that the Senate can prove it's going to be very, very difficult to get new money. To get new money for beekeeping initiatives.

The rainfall insurance program, the ELAP program I think they're in pretty good shape, but new money for APHIS or new money for Customs and Border Patrol, which allegedly is running the monitoring lines around the 32 ports for detection or eradication of swarms that come on shore, that might be housing a bug we don't want. We don't know anything about maintenance, the frequency, the reportage, what happens when they get a positive. As Becky said, it's extremely difficult to understand the plumbing of the Farm Bill and the various agencies.

APHIS has a part in it, they're largely focused on importation of stocks, but Border and Customs Patrol is responsible for protecting our ports from swarms arriving in bait pots surrounding, and we know nothing about that. The reportage is just stunt. There's lots of opportunity to improve, and there's several position papers out there on the Farm Bill. I'm not sure a single one of those position papers has really galvanized with the Representative Scott. I don't know that.

Boy, if there was a time for the beekeeping industry to arouse itself and contact their senators and representatives in support of the Farm Bill, especially if there was an opportunity for additional funds with APHIS, and their detection work in Thailand, and some new potential money for studying it in Korea because Tropilaelaps is in Korea. I'm talking but I need to say this because Tropilaelaps is in a temperate moderate environment of South Korea rather than the tropical climate of Thailand. We don't understand how trope is overwintering in these temperate zones. There's a lot that we need to know, and the clock is ticking on prevention.

Jeff: This is a great opportunity to take a quick break and we'll be right back.

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Kim: Your group is looking for at least recognition, additional money, if possible, but some recognition to support these programs that you just mentioned. APHIS and these other programs that will either protect beekeepers, or support beekeepers, or pay beekeepers directly. Every industry in the world has a representative that knocks on senator's doors every day of the week, and that sounds like what you need. You need some lobbyist out there, right?

John: We do, and we've got-- the federation and the honey producers are working together, but that's two voices in like you say the 22,000 Ag groups that are trotting up the hill with their cause. I think we're catching some traction with Ann LeBron in APHIS about the urgency of this issue, that if he thought Barole was bad, this is five times worse. I think this is a legitimate threat to beekeeping in North America, globally.

Kim: There's no good weapons out there to deal with this other than taking up plumbing for a living. Perhaps you've got this group of people and what you're looking for is, if I understand you right, you're looking to define exactly what it is you're looking for, and what it should cost, because you know your costs and putting things together. Getting support from the industry, going to the senators and congressmen so that when your representatives knock on that senator's door, he says, "Yes I heard from you, I got a letter last week."

Becky: That's a really good point, Kim. John and I started talking about this because Farm Bill negotiations, really, we should start them the minute after the last Farm Bill was passed. I think that with AAA Labs coming up, none of us want another varroa where it really took us so long to figure out what to do. This is a big one for me. I spent a decade working with beekeepers, and trying to get the message out that Varroa was killing their bees.

One of the big things that John and I have talked about, and one of the reasons why we've been talking about a working group for the Farm Bill, was just because we need to figure out how to bring all these beekeepers together, because we have over 100,000 beekeepers in the United States, but it's very difficult to reach all of them with messaging. Also when I give a talk and I ask people how many people have been keeping bees for more than five years, I don't have a lot of hands raised. That means my audience doesn't know that in 1987, our honey production was doubled.

The US honey production was doubled compared to where it is right now, and that we've lost over 100 million pounds of honey due to both habitat and due to our bees suffering from varroa. What we're trying to do, and Kim, you asked a great question, is that we're trying to figure out how to work together, and how to connect with if somebody has one colony in their backyard, or if they're managing 40,000, we need to be recruiting them in order to help us advocate for different Farm Bill initiatives or different research in general initiatives in order to make sure our bees are protected.

Kim: It sounds like what you need to do is get five bullet points that everybody agrees on, the program, the money, how it's distributed. It'll be those five bullet points that everybody talks about when they go to their senator or congressman. Everybody's in Washington's getting the same message. They're not getting 400 messages, they're not getting east versus west, north versus south, they're getting one message with these five bullet points. Have you guys identified those bullet points yet?

Becky: At our tri-state meeting, we had pests, petals, and policy. I'm really big on those flowers, and John's really big on Tropilaelaps. Two of them for us would be the habitat changing the CRP program so we can maybe get a different seed mix and make it easier to enroll less complicated more incentives. John is 100% focused on Tropilaelaps, which he should be, and he's already drumming up, I think, a lot of support. Then you have the national organizations who already have lobbyists, who already have interests in making sure that our funding for these different research programs is maintained.

John: The commercial beekeepers are really interested in the ELAP program, Emergency Livestock Assistance Program, and we're interested in the rainfall insurance, which is an important risk mitigation that we can employ as we go into the unknown of each year. Yes, CRP, some new funding in APHIS would be nice, but Congress is in no mood to appropriate new money. They've suddenly found fiscal responsibility, I don't know. Politics is difficult. We just get our message out but, yes, Kim, five bullet points, five things that we really must have and everything else.

Becky: That's a good point, John. I think that my goal in this is that we're bringing together people for this conversation right now. We're going to try to continue this conversation, and so that when the next Farm Bill comes along after this 2023 is voted on, that we will have almost every beekeeper in America on the same page, hopefully, supporting the initiatives that make the most sense to keeping the whole industry healthy and keeping everybody's bees well fed and healthy.

Jeff: I agree with Kim that you need five bullet points, but I really think you need five bullet points for two different audiences to take to their senators and representatives. One five messages for your, the majority of the beekeepers in the United States, the hobbyist, and the men and women who have 2, 3, 4, 5, 10 hives in their backyard. That's a large part of that population of a100,000 beekeepers. You need a message that they can take forward and understand, and communicate. Then you have your big producers who is a beekeeper, when you hear farm build, they say, "Well, I'm too small, I just have five hives that doesn't apply to me." We need to communicate why it does apply to the five-hive beekeeper.

John: Just this morning at our PAm board meeting, we appropriated some money for some outreach, digital outreach to both audiences, and how this will come together in the next few weeks I'm not sure. I know PAm is acutely aware of outreach to the broad audience of consumers, the narrower audience of the hobbyist community, which are just vital. Then the commercial guys that are grasping for every opportunity to improve their outfits. We know the success stories out there. Can I go sideways for a minute?

Jeff: You are. [laughs]

John: Okay. Thank You. The Bee Informed Project listed the losses, the annual losses, and it makes a splash because it's like, "Oh my God, 43% of the national herd died last year." Embedded in that data that, there's a story to be told in the data of the success stories of the guys that have figured out Varroa and figured out the IPM, and figured out how to keep their losses lower. I'm not sure we're taking advantage of that opportunity with the broader beekeeping audience of these are key success stories and these are the tactics they use to keep their outfits below 12% annual losses.

They're out there, there's some really good commercial outfits out there that are running some really impressive numbers. That's an important message as well.

Becky: I also, I'm going to argue with you, Jeff, so I'm sorry. [laughs] I really want all the beekeepers, no matter of their operations, to have a better big picture of the US beekeeping industry. If the US stock is healthy and supported, then the stock they have in their backyard is going to be healthier and better supported. I think that we are actually all connected, especially because the beekeepers are buying bees from commercial operations, and guess what's been happening? The price has been going up and it's because it costs more to keep bees healthy. It's actually in a backyard beekeeper, a small-scale beekeeper's best interest to be invested in the health of the entire US stock.

Also, I think that especially at the meeting this weekend, you just see the beekeepers invest in the industry, they invested in habitat and most of those beekeepers were the commercial beekeepers who knew that if they spent this money, that they'd be getting a return on investment. Commercial beekeepers really are stepping up for the whole of the industry, and so I just want five bullet points, not 10. [laughter] I absolutely understand what you're saying. I do think that beekeeping is so important and I think that no matter how you manage bees or what size your operation is, connecting to the industry is critical. If we don't do that, it is so hard to be united, it's so hard to fight a pest. It's so hard to get initiatives past that support more habitat.

Jeff: I'll settle with five bullet points, but worded differently depending on the audience. John, I do want to recognize the fact that you did include the consumer, and I think that's critical too, and I missed that. Yes, I think the consumer, the hobbyist, and the commercial or all beekeepers and the consumer,

John: The consumer views the honeybee as sympathetically as they do the elephant, we know that. I mean, the honeybee is a very sympathetic organism in how people perceive the wellbeing of their planet and their food supply. I think the pillar of American beekeeping is healthy hives, whether you're a hobbyist of two or commercial, a whole bunch hive health is just so fundamental, and of course, that's where most of the money that PAm is going over and over. We're going to hive health and virus transmission, and virus identification, and can we create a treatment for viruses that are effective in the honeybee? This is hard work and it's not cheap, but we keep banging away at them.

Jeff: I just want to just state, when you talk about PAm, you're not talking about a person, you're talking about Project Apis m.

John: Thank you for that. Yes, Project Apis m. There's no other organization in America advocating and implementing research as effectively as PAm. Maybe not advocating, that's not the right word, but implementing cutting-edge research on solutions to hive health. There's just no question.

Becky: When you take it back to just our great weekend at the Tri-state Convention, I just want to relive these memories, but it is exciting because you go into the trade show and you see Project Apis m representative, you represented, you see Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund represented, and you see Bee Informed Partnership, the group that is supporting commercial beekeeping. You're seeing a lot of these groups out of necessity and separate from government programs, come up and support our beekeepers, which it's exciting and a lot of hard work went in, and a lot of money went into those organizations.

Kim: What I'm getting from all this is that every beekeeper at every level needs to be involved in this, supporting these actions. Since I have no idea what I need to do next as a beekeeper, I'm going to write to you and you're going to send me a package of information that says, "Do this, do this yourself, do this with your local group and do this with your state group," so that the message gets up to the people that are in Washington fully supported by all of the beekeepers in my state. Is that part of what needs to be done?

Becky: We don't have the money for postage, but what we can do, Kim, [laughs] here's our first step. When Minnesota, the Honey Producers started our Habitat program, we started a webinar series. It was originally just for Minnesota beekeepers called The Habitat Hour, where we engage people who can help beekeepers support habitat. What we've done based around this Farm Bill issue, is we have a Habitat Hour scheduled where we actually want beekeepers of any operation size and from any place in the country to join us. It's called Pest, Petals and Policy on September 11th at 6:30 Central Time.

John's going to be there, I'm going to be there, and also, we're going to have representatives from the American Beekeeping Federation, as well as the American Honey Producers Association. Kim, we're going to talk about next steps there because the national programs are investing people and resources, and they've been working on the Farm Bill continuously. We're going to let them help us with their advocacy and we're going to just build on that from there, but our first step is our Habitat Hour webinar, September 12th.

John: She said September 11th earlier, but it is in fact--

Becky: I'm sorry.

John: That's fine.

Jeff: [laughs] We'll have the link to that and to the programs in the show notes, and people can sign up to join that program too and watch it.

Becky: Absolutely, yes.

Jeff: I'm already registered. I know the link works--

Becky: It's free [laughs].

Jeff: Cool.

John: Good to know [laughs]

Kim: Well, that takes care of the package then you don't have to pay postage for that.

Becky: Thank you, Kim [laughs]. If I had the money, I'd pay the postage but over 100,000 beekeepers, I'm aiming high but that's a lot of postage. [laughs]

Jeff: Well, is there anything that you want to mention that we haven't talked about or asked you about that you wanted to mention this afternoon?

John: Well, first for me, a big thank you to Beekeeping Today the podcast. I think you fill an important role in the conversation nationally and locally that people that want to engage have a place and can then go to the site and access the websites to national organizations, a multitude of state organizations. Then the advocacy groups behind them. Big thank you to you two.

Becky: I second that. It is so lovely to have a resource where you look forward to hearing the guests speak, and you know that you're going to get the latest and greatest, so.

Jeff: No AI-generated talking here. That's for sure.

[laughter].

Kim: All kind words, folks, thank you.

Jeff: Thank you. Well, we look forward to having you back learning more about this as the bill progresses. I'm really interested in learning more about the Petals, Pests and Policy Conference, and group as well. It's all good, thank you.

Becky: Thank you very much.

Jeff: I'll be honest, I can probably count on one hand, on one finger the number of times that I've written to a senator or a congressperson representative about any specific issue. This is an important one. I think it's something we should really address as beekeepers.

Kim: No doubt, it's important. I'm wondering, I could write my senator, he's never heard of me, has no idea who I am, what I do. If the Ohio State beekeepers went to a senator, that's going to have more weight. There's more people there they have a much larger audience. They could go out and say, "Do you know what that senator's told us when we wanted to ask for more money, and you can give him a pat on the back or if he's good and you can thunk him on the head if he doesn't." If you do that and you tell the people in the state, then he's going to pay attention to it. Contacting your representatives in Washington is always good and it's almost always never realized but sometimes it is.

Jeff: I would warn; don't assume that the big organizations are going to do enough. Everything I've always heard is that our representatives like to hear from the individual. They hear from the lobbyists all the time but to hear from an individual constituent goes a long ways, so send those letters, folks.

Kim: On the webpage, Jeff, there'll be not a contact to your senator but the message you want to send to your senator and representatives. I mentioned earlier, five bullet points but that's what this is, right? "Dear Senator, we beekeepers in Ohio are having trouble here, here, here, and here. This is some things that you can do to help us here, here, here, and here. Please contact me and we can talk more." Those are the bullet points that I mentioned and that's a quarter of a sheet of paper.

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Jeff: We'll put a couple bullet points in the show notes. Folks, if you want to just copy those, cut and paste those into your own email, to your own letter, to your local representative, your state representative and let them know how you feel as a beekeeper.

That about wraps it up for this episode. Before we go, I want to encourage our listeners to rate us five stars on Apple Podcasts or wherever you download and stream the show. Even better, write a review and let other beekeepers looking for a new podcast know what you like. You can get there directly from our website by clicking on the Reviews along the top of any webpage.

We want to thank our regular episode sponsors, Global Patties, Strong Microbials and especially Betterbee for their longtime support of this podcast. Thanks to Northern Bee Books for their generous support. Finally, and most importantly, we want to thank you, the Beekeeping Today Podcast listener for joining us on this show. Feel free to leave us questions or comments at "Leave a Comment" section under each episode on the website. We'd love to hear from you. Thanks a lot, everybody.

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[00:45:43] [END OF AUDIO]