University of Montana Summer Intermediate Beekeeping Camp, UM and Fort Missoula, July 27-28th. https://www.umt.edu/bee/summer-field-days.php
We are finishing development and delivery of our new, OnLine Introduction to Commercial Beekeeping Courses. In Celebration, we are re-starting our Summer Field Camp, face-to-face beekeeping instruction.
The first of these will be the weekend of July 27-28. This is an Intermediate Beekeeping camp, focused on bee management, pests and diseases, and queen breeding and grafting. Instructors are Dr Scott Debnam (lead), Tamila Morgan, Queen Breeder and Graduate of all of UM’s Beekeeping Courses, and I’ll be present for the afternoon Q&A sessions.
This first class will be held to ~40 participants. There are no required pre-requesites. If we have more than 40 applicants, we will consider a second field camp in August.
At this point in time, we are looking forward to the future. I’m nearing 80. Scott is 52, and he just got his Ph.D. He’s been part of our research team for over 25 years, and he’s been a co-instructor of our courses for over a decade. Our Master Beekeeper program reaches 25 countries, with more than 2500 Certificates of Completion, a Western Regional Excellence in Online Eductuion in 2019, and now, a new set of courses aimed at Commercial Beekeeping, with a specific focus on jobs and businesses for our military veterans.
UM’s Missoula College, formerly a Vocational Education School, offers CDL licensing, Fork Lift Certification, Equipment and Engine repair, welding, etc. We want to grow this aspect of training and education focused on jobs, careers, and businesses related to commercial beekeeping. The Missoula College also offers business and culinary courses, and UM has its own Business School.
We also want to set up Internships with Commercial Beekeepers. SAVE/VALOR/Golden Prairie Honey in Manhattan, KS offer hands-on education, and they are well positioned to server the eastern and Heartland areas. Montana is central to the largest beekeeping operations in the US, wit Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewhan on our Northern Borders; the Dakotas, Wyoming, Idaho, and Washington on our eastern, southern, and western borders. That accounts for about 40% of all of the US commercial beekeeping operations, and 60% of the Canadian ones, based on colony counts.
We offer free access to any of our programs to officers of our national beekeeping associations and Project Apis m. We want your input.
We plan on completely Phase 1 of developement, testing, and launch of our USDA-NIFA sponsored Introduction to Commercial Beekeeping series. The initial response has been quick, with backlisted students, and requests for additional courses. Now that we have something to show, review, and discuss, we at UM want to set up a zoom meeting to begin to plan for the future.
To do so, we need input from our Commercial Beekeepers and their representative associations and research supporters. I realize everyone is always very busy. Like all aspects of agriculture, the animals and crops dictate schedules. However, I am asking each of you to participate in discussions that will both meet your needs and help us consolidate and establish a long-term, stable, training program.
I and retired Colonel Gary LaGrange plan on sticking around as long as we are able and useful. Scott is the obvious transition person for the program, with over 25 years on our UM research teams, 11 years as a UM Online and the Amherst Beekeeping Instructor, and his completion last May of his Ph.D.. Our graduates such as Tamila are setting up their own businesses, and they have been trained in best practices, with an emphasis on critical thinking and innovation.
In other words, I’m asking you to help us. We’ve started the process, now we need to put missing pieces in place. This country needs to train more of our own citizens to be successful beekeepers. Your industry needs people who want these jobs, and our veterans are one source of people who want and are willing to work in your industry.
I will ask Holly Kulish, who administers our USDA-NIFA subcontract and coordinates our course development, design, and offerings to send out a survey to identify possible Zoom meeting dates and times.
Best to All
Jerry
J.J. Bromenshenk, Ph.D.
Online Instructor, UM
CEO/Co-Founder, Bee Alert Technology
406-544-9007\beereseach@aol.com