Technology Adaptation Specialist Position
The SBA is seeking a motivated individual to lead its new Techology Adaptation Team.
Employment Type: The position is a 3 year contract
Location: Prince Albert SK.
Salary: Negotiable and commensurate with experience and qualifications
Job Description: The successful candidate will be responsible for running research and extension program within the mandate of the granted funding with a team of up to 2 summer staff.
Duties will include but not limited to:

• Efficacy testing of various mite treatments
• Writing and presenting extension materials
• Report writing
• Cooperating and communicating with other research programs
• Reporting to SBA steering committee

The candidate must possess a valid Canadian driver's licence.
The ideal candidate will have good communication skills, a post graduate degree involving honey bee health (a B.Sc. with work equivalence will be considered), strong knowledge of honey bees, and beekeeping, and knowledge of efficacy testing for mite control agents. Knowledge of beekeeping in the prairies and ability to adapt new information to improve the project would be beneficial.

Application deadline: August 5th, 2010.
Send applications to:
Saskatchewan Beekeepers Association
Box 55
RR 3
Yorkton SK S3N 2K5
email: whowland@accesscomm.ca





Day of the Honey Bee"


The City of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada has the pride of being the first municipal government in the world to sign a proclamation to declare May 29, 2010 as the first annual Day of the Honey Bee.   Since then 56 municipalities have declared May 29th the Day of the Honey Bee. Beekeepers and the public celebrated the "Day of the Honey Bee" by attending a Film Jubilee at the Roxy Theater at 320 20 Street West, Saskatoon with guest speakers, a film documentary and the "Bee Movie". Contact Clinton Shane Ekdahl for more information.

Multi-year Funding Received for SBATechnology Adaptation

 

The Saskatchewan Beekeeper’s Association has obtained approval for a $½ million, three year project through the Agriculture Council of Saskatchewan’s (ACS) Canadian Agriculture Adaptation Program (CAAP).  This project is a proactive approach to addressing resistant Varroa mites, high winter mortality, and the questionable efficacy of alternative disease control treatments and techniques in Saskatchewan’s climate. 

 

The project is a combination of applied research and extension.  The applied research will assist in determining the best application methods, timings and combinations of treatment methods to manage Varroa mites in Saskatchewan’s short treatment windows.  In addition another component will work on assessing better wintering techniques.  Recommendations will be developed from the results and delivered to beekeepers through the large extension component of the project.   

 

The project started April 1 2010.

Bear Damage Compensation

 The Wildlife Damage Compensation Program provides:

• 100 per cent compensation on damage caused by white-tailed deer, mule deer, antelope, elk, bear, moose, bison, ducks, geese and sandhill cranes that have not been held in captivity.

All Saskatchewan producers are eligible to receive compensation for these crop losses through the Wildlife Damage Compensation Program; you do not have to be a Crop Insurance customer to receive compensation.

Eligible crops include:

• Market gardens, tree nurseries, sod farms, honey and leaf cutter bees, including their structures

Producers must implement prevention measures offered by Saskatchewan Environment using all reasonable options to control and limit wildlife damage. These measures include:

• Working with local conservation officers to protect stacked feed, silage, sod farms, market gardens, bee structures and hay from big game animals

What to do in the event of damage:

Honey and Healing
A Saskatchewan high school science project shows honey controls mastitis infection
 

Farewell to John Gruszka from SBA

After 32 years of service to the Government of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan beekeepers, John Gruszka will be retiring this winter. During his time as the Provincial Apiculturist there were many trials and successes in the beekeeping industry. John has helped to navigate the Saskatchewan beekeeping industry through many troubles. His work has helped improve over-wintering of bees in Saskatchewan, and delayed the invasion of tracheal mites, Varroa mites and drug- and acaracide-resistant pests in the province. All of this helped to mitigate the negative effects of these pests and diseases on the province’s beekeepers.

 

John also played an important part in planning Apimondia ’99 in Vancouver and helped to make it such a great success. He was an active contributor to the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA), including a period as president from 1980 to 1985, where he represented Saskatchewan on the national stage. John’s career included receiving such prestigious awards as the Fred Rathje Memorial Award in 2000 from the Canadian Honey Council, the Distinguished Agrologist Award in 2005 from the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrologists and the CAPA Outstanding Service Award in 2008.

Thanks, John!