And memorable.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) is gearing up for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and facility tour on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at its newly constructed Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, University of California, Davis.
The event is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. The site is located next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility.
“The focus of this new USDA-ARS honey bee research program is to develop technology that improves colony survivorship through long-term studies of multiple stress factors,” a spokesman said. “These new facilities support two recently hired researchers: Drs. Arathi Seshadri and Julia Fine. These new scientists and associated technical staff are members of the Invasive Species and Pollinator Health Research Unit, whose mission is to develop and transfer integrated biologically based approaches for the management of invasive species and the improvement of pollinator health. The research team collaborates with federal, university, non-governmental and industry partners conducting research to improve honey bee survival and beekeeping sustainability in California and nationwide."
Research leader Paul Pratt of the Invasive Species and Pollinator Health Research Lab will give the welcoming address, followed by the presentation of colors by the Travis Air Force Base Honor Guard.
Among the speakers: Robert Matteri, director of the Pacific West Area, USDA-ARS; Anita Oberbauer, associate dean, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; and Kevin Hackett, national program leader, USDA-ARS.
The two new researchers will be introduced, followed by remarks by Darren Cox of Cox Honey of Utah, past president of the American Honey Producers' Association; Jackie Parks-Burris, past president of the California State Beekeepers' Association; and Extension apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. Niño also directs the California Master Beekeeper Program.
The event is open to invited guests. All guests are invited to tour the new facilities following the program. A stakeholder meeting is set from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Laidlaw bee facility classroom. For more information,contact Platt at paul.pratt@usda.gov.
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