Healthy Hives 2020 Announces 2017 Request For Proposals

PASO ROBLES, Calif., Nov. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Project Apis m. today announced it has issued the 2017 request for proposals (RFP) for Healthy Hives 2020, continuing a $1 million collaborative research effort to find tangible ways to improve the health of honey bee colonies in the United States by the year 2020. 

Administered by Project Apis m. and funded by Bayer, the Healthy Hives 2020 RFP is seeking projects to address critical research needed to improve bee health and is focused on four priority areas:

• Conducting an economic assessment of the "true" cost of commercial beekeeping operations to help beekeepers maximize efficiency and production;
• Creating a set of "Best Management Practices" for commercial beekeeping based on definitive colony health performance data;
• Evaluating the use of "smart hive" technology to monitor honey bee colony health during commercial migratory operations; and,
• Assessing honey bee genetics for traits relevant to colony resistance to pests and diseases, as well as pollination efficiency and honey production in the United States.

"Honey bees play a critical role in sustainable agriculture, pollinating many of the crops that are vital to the global food supply," said Project Apis m. Executive Director Danielle Downey. "Colony losses are at a rate that challenges beekeepers' ability to maintain necessary hive levels, and our nation's beekeepers are working harder than ever to maintain a healthy hive. Our goal is to find innovative research projects that will have an immediate impact in solving some of the significant issues affecting honey bee health."

Proposals should address one or more of the key focus areas, but other projects may be considered. The proposals should outline how the objectives will contribute to improving honey bee health by 2020, as well as include timelines, deliverables, budget, at least one letter of support and a description of the qualifications of the researchers. Proposals should be submitted by email to both [email protected] and [email protected] by 5 p.m. PST, Friday, Dec. 9, 2016. The full RFP can be accessed here.

The 2017 RFP follows an announcement this summer of the first seven research projects selected to participate in Healthy Hives 2020 initiative. The lead researchers for those projects are:

• Arathi Seshadri, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, Colorado State University
• Brandon Hopkins, Ph.D., – CEO, Advanced Beekeeping Solutions
• Jody Johnson, Ph.D. – Cullaborate, LLC
• Joseph Cazier, Ph.D. – Center for Analytics Research and Education, Appalachian State University
• Quinn McFrederick, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, University of California, Riverside
• Stephen Martin, Ph.D. – Professor, School of Environmental & Life Sciences, University of Salford
• Steve Sheppard, Ph.D. – Washington State University

The Healthy Hives 2020 initiative was launched in 2015 with a two-day workshop that brought together some of the nation's leading bee health experts and stakeholders at the Bayer North American Bee Care Center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The 17 summit workshop attendees identified a wide range of bee health concerns which were later reviewed by the Healthy Hives 2020 Steering Committee and prioritized into the most promising areas of research.

Healthy Hives 2020 is one of several activities of Bayer's North American Bee Care Program which has supported and promoted bee health for nearly 30 years. Other Bayer bee health programs include:

• Establishing the North American Bee Care Center as a focal point for education, research and collaboration, hosting nearly 10,000 visitors since opening in 2014;
• Launching Feed a Bee, a major honey bee forage initiative that has engaged more than 500,000 consumers to plant more than 155 million flowers; and,
• Forming more than 115 partnerships with a wide range of organizations to plant thousands of acres of forage for honey bees.

About Project Apis m. 
Project Apis m. (PAm) is the go-to organization at the interface of honey bees and pollinated crops. Since 2006, we've infused over $6 million into honey bee research which aims to provide healthier bees, resulting in better pollination and increased crop yields for the grower, and lower losses and better honey production for the beekeeper. We work closely with commercial beekeepers, growers, and top bee scientists in the USA and Canada to direct strategic efforts focused on practical solutions. PAm funds research studies, purchases equipment for research labs, supports graduate students through scholarships to encourage careers in pursuit of science-based solutions to honey bee challenges, and has expanding efforts to enhance honey bee health and nutrition by putting forage on the landscape where it counts most for bees. We are a non-profit 501 (c) (5) organization governed by a nine-member board. Our board members are beekeepers, pollinators and honey producers representing major national and state industry organizations. PAm also has four scientific advisors who review project proposals with the board.

For more information on Project Apis m., visit website: www.projectapism.org.

SOURCE Project Apis m.

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