Why the Health of Agriculture Depends on Keeping Honey Bees Alive

Agility is a multidisciplinary program at the University of Lethbridge open to all students that fosters an environment of creative discovery, nurtures entrepreneurial thinking and provides the supports needed for students to develop and implement innovative solutions that impact and vitalize society.

University of Lethbridge Agility Program

Join Danny LeRoy as he hosts Dr. Shelley Hoover and Kevin Nixon in our August topic of Pollinators.

U of L Agri-food Series

Each month, the uLethbridge Agri-Food Speaker Series brings producers and researchers together to discuss southern Alberta’s agriculture industry.

While small in size, honey bees are big players on the southern Alberta agriculture scene. Seventy percent of honey bee colonies in Canada are located on the Prairies, with almost one-third of Canada’s honey produced right here in Alberta. In addition to honey and hive products, bees render valuable pollination services to producers of orchard fruits, berries, vegetables, forage, and the production of hybrid canola seed. Despite their importance, the apiculture industry continues to face challenges to the health and number of bee colonies, resulting in cascading consequences both locally and globally. Learn the facts about honey bees in Canada. Join Dr. Danny Le Roy on Tuesday, August 31 at 5:30 p.m. when he talks to uLethbridge researcher Dr. Shelley Hoover and producer Kevin Nixon as part of the latest uLethbridge Agri-Food Summer Series event.On the last Tuesday of every month, the University of Lethbridge will be hosting short timely conversations around Agrifood. Connecting producers, researchers, and the community, the Agrifood Summer Series aims to educate and promote current research in agriculture.Visit us at <a href="https://www.uleth.ca/research/agri-food-summer-series" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.uleth.ca/research/agri-food-summer-series</a> for more info!<h2>About the speakers: </h2>Dr. Danny LeRoy (MC)Dr. Danny Le Roy is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Lethbridge. He received his B.A. (Honours) in Economics in 1992 from Carleton University and his MSc and PhD in Agricultural Economics in (1994 and 2002, respectively) from the University of Guelph. He teaches courses in agricultural systems modeling, commodity marketing, agricultural policy, and micro-economics. The focus of his research is on livestock production, marketing and trade, emerging markets for irrigation water in southern Alberta, and the impact of renewable energy policies on Canadian agriculture. He has been involved in numerous studies involving systems modelling of farms in Canada and assessments of agricultural policy and trade alternatives.Dr. Shelley HooverDr. Shelley Hoover has been keeping bees for over 20 years. She is currently an Apiculture and Pollination Scientist at the University of Lethbridge, in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Her research focuses on honey bee health and management, queen production and breeding, and nutrition, as well as canola pollination. Previously, Shelley was the head of the Apiculture Program for the Province of Alberta and has held Research Associate positions at the Universities of Canterbury (Christchurch, NZ) and British Columbia (Vancouver and Beaverlodge, Canada). She completed her PhD on honey bee worker ovary development, nutrition, and behaviour at Simon Fraser University. Shelley is also the current President of the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists and past president of the Entomological Society of Alberta.Kevin NixonKevin, along with his family, operate <a href="https://nixonhoney.ca/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Nixon Honey Farm</a> in Red Deer County, Alberta. He has been a beekeeper for 25 years taking interest at the age of 16 while working for other beekeepers. Having not grown up in the industry, Kevin decided to get as educated as possible on beekeeping and attended Fairview College's Beekeeper Technician program. The family farm started in 1998 with only a few hundred hives and now operates several thousand hives. Nixon Honey Farm does not only produce honey but also supplies bees for the hybrid canola seed production industry in southern Alberta. In the past Kevin has served as a director and President for the Alberta Beekeepers Commission as well as being the delegate for Alberta to the Canadian Honey Council also serving as Chair of that organization for a few years. Although not currently sitting on any industry boards at this time, Kevin remains active at many levels within the industry.

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