Background
Apiary Inspection plays a vital role in Florida Agriculture as inspectors work to prevent the introduction and establishment of honey bee pests and diseases. A healthy and secure Florida honey bee industry is valuable to all.
Florida’s honey industry is consistently ranked among the top five in the nation with an annual worth of $27.3million. In addition, the Florida honey bee industry benefits our state’s fruit and vegetable industry by providing an estimated $20 million in increased production numbers created by managed pollination services that are available in no other way. There are over 100 varieties of popular fruits and vegetables that use pollination to ensure fruitful crops.
Florida Apiary Inspectors certify movement of honey bee colonies throughout the state and the nation. These colonies are monitored for diseases, honey bee pests, and unwanted bee species. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) has the most comprehensive state program (e.g., number of inspectors and traps) to prevent the accidental introduction of the unwanted Africanized honey bee
Research Needs
We anticipate supporting proposals of up to $105,000.00 If multiple projects are decided upon, the monies will be awarded accordingly to individual projects. Funds must be used by the conclusion of FY 2015. Projects should be focused on rapid pest detection. Proposals providing valuable extensions of previously funded projects will be considered.
Priority Areas
Apiary Inspection has identified four areas of priority for funding, though other areas will be considered as well.
- Improved system for detection and identification of unwanted honey bee races.
- Rapid response plan for containing infestation of unwanted races of honey bees.
- Detection of new pest and diseases of the European honey bee.
- Honey bee pest management to include Varro mites, Nosema, American foul brood and any other significant pest or disease.
Proposal Requirements
- Proposal title.
- Priority area focus/focuses.
- Project description (3 pages max, Arial 12pt font single spaced with page numbers. References are not included in this page limit). Description should have sufficient background and description of methods as to ascertain the importance and feasibility of the studies.
- Detailed budget.
- Research timeline.
- CV of principal investigator(s).
Submissions
E-mail the proposal packet as a single PDF file to David Westervelt at (david.westervelt@freshfromflorida.com) by Monday June 30th 2014 5pm EST.
Funding Decisions
The proposals will be evaluated by members of the Apiary Inspection Section and the Florida Honey Bee Technical Council. Funding decisions will be made by Friday, August 30th 2014.
** Conditional Funding
Grants are contingent on legislature funding in the amount of $105,000.00. If the legislature reduces or fails to fund, then all grants will be reevaluated.