New York State Beekeeper Tech Team

In response to raising concerns of honey declines across the state, New York State unveiled a Pollinator Protection Plan in 2016. This plan helped create the NYS Beekeeper Tech Team.

The Beekeeper Tech Team is an interdisciplinary group that works directly with beekeepers to improve honey bee health, reduce colony losses, and increase profitability of the beekeeping industry. The program began in August 2016 and is open to hobbyists, sideliners, and commercial beekeepers who operate a beekeeping business that generates $1000 in revenues each year. The Tech Team meets with participants to provide them with data from their colonies and recommendations that they can implement in their operations.

Learn more about the program

About the program

To learn more about the NYS Beekeeper Tech Team, download the 2022 Tech Team Info Sheet.
For an overview of the Tech Team's services, and to understand the expectations of beekeeper participants, download the 2022 Overview of Services and Expectations document.
Download the 2022 Tech Team's Information Sharing Policy to learn how we share the data we collect.
In accordance with state law, The Tech Team reports all cases of American foulbrood identified while sampling beekeeper's colonies. Download the AFB Reporting Policy document to learn about our protocol.

How can I enroll?

The Tech Team works with 25 - 30 beekeepers each year. The Tech Team enrolls beekeepers who have the following criteria:

Beekeepers must maintain colonies in New York State.
Beekeepers must generate at least $1,000 in annual revenue from beekeeping.
Beekeepers enrolling in 2022 and later must have their hives registered with the Department of Agriculture and Markets.
Beekeepers must agree to abide by the expectations outlined in our "Overview of Services and Expectations" document, linked above.

Priority is giving to the following beekeepers:

Those who manage 300 colonies or more. The Tech Team strives for 1/3 of participants to be commercial beekeepers.
Those who seek help to overcome disease issues in their operation or recurring high losses
Those who are open to adopting the Tech Team's evidence-based recommendations
Those who keep bees in a region of New York State that has been underrepresented in the Tech Team's sampling. In 2022 we are hoping to enroll some beekeepers who are in the Hudson Valley area.

Beekeepers can remain enrolled in the program for three years. Participation in subsequent years is conditional on the beekeeper completing their annual management survey and attending their annual one-on-one meeting.

Interested in applying? Contact Connor Hinsley (cah354 [at] cornell.edu (cah354[at]cornell[dot]edu)) to find out if there is availability.

How can I get more information about colony health and beekeeping if Tech Team enrollment is full?

Video tutorials: The NYS Beekeeper Tech Team continues to add video tutorials to the Cornell Dyce Lab YouTube channel.
General beekeeping information: Cornell University has downloadable guides available on a variety of beekeeping topics.
Beekeeping courses: Cornell University offers beekeeping courses for all experience levels. These courses equips beekeepers with the knowledge and skills to keep colonies healthy and productive.

Who are members of the Tech Team?

Tech Team Reports

We have archived five years of past Tech Team reports and made them available to download below.