“Don’t put your hive tool down. That’s your only free one, and you’ll lose it doing that. The next one comes out of your paycheck.”
This was the first lesson in commercial beekeeping I learned. It was the first day of my summer job working for a commercial beekeeper, and I had just laid down my hive tool to pick up a frame. Having managed colonies of my own for about seven years as a hobby beekeeper at that point, I thought I knew what I was doing as a beekeeper. I quickly learned that when it comes to commercial beekeeping versus hobby, it’s a different sport, and one that I loved.
I got my start in beekeeping as a Kansas Honey Producers Association (KHPA) Youth Scholarship recipient. After being mesmerized by an observation hive at my local county fair, I told my mom I wanted to become a beekeeper. Thinking this was just a typical 11-year-old’s short-term dream, she bought me the book Beekeeping for Dummies, claiming that if I read it cover to cover she would know I was serious. Assuming that was the end of it, she was quite surprised when I came back a couple weeks later having finished the book and ready to start my beekeeping journey. That following spring, my sister and I applied and were awarded two colonies through the KHPA scholarship program. I have been a beekeeper ever since.
A honey bee research and extension position at NDSU has always been a dream of mine. My mom grew up in Barnesville, MN, a town of about 2,750 people 30 minutes east of Fargo on I-94. My dad is from Saint Anthony, ND, a town about 20 minutes south of Mandan that makes Barnesville look like a metropolis. They both attended NDSU, and I still have a lot of family in this area. Long after beekeepers had made their yearly move out of the state in the winter, preparing colonies for almond pollination in California, my family would make their annual migration up to ND and MN for Christmas to see family. It was on trips like these, as well as spending two summers during my undergrad working in Jamestown and the proximity to the commercial bee industry, that helped cement North Dakota as somewhere I wanted to live.
Since my summer working commercially, I have been drawn to applied honey bee research aimed at alleviating commercial beekeepers’ issues through solutions that help limit colony losses. During my time at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln pursuing my M.S. degree, I worked on determining the impact that a highly contaminated pesticide environment, due to improper disposal of pesticide-treated seed, had on normal colony functions. Later, I transitioned to my Ph.D. at Auburn University, where I worked on developing sustainable parasitic mite management strategies.
My research had two focuses. The first was determining alternative treatments to amitraz for beekeepers with amitraz-resistant Varroa populations. My second focus was on filling knowledge gaps regarding Tropilaelaps mercedesae, a potential emerging parasitic mite threat. For this, I worked on determining Tropilaelaps routes of dispersal, methods of detection, current whereabouts, and management strategies. While Tropilaelaps is not yet in the U.S. (and hopefully never will be), I performed work on the forefront of the issue to understand control measures in the event it is introduced in the future. I hope to take these applied research experiences and employ them to help North Dakota beekeepers.
One of my primary visions for this program involves serving as a testing site for honey bee research, Varroa mite treatments in particular. A large majority of Varroa research in the U.S. is performed by universities and USDA groups in the Southeast. While research findings are interesting, they may not be as applicable to the climate and colony conditions found in North Dakota. I hope to bridge these gaps by working with beekeepers to determine effective, cost-efficient Varroa mite treatment strategies that are suitable for the North Dakota honey bee season.
I am very excited to work with North Dakota beekeepers. I see tremendous opportunities as the first honey bee research and extension specialist at NDSU. I intend to work closely with commercial beekeepers, performing research relevant to them to assist in reducing colony losses and increasing beekeeper profits. For those attending the NDBA annual meeting, I look forward to connecting with you and sharing additional visions for my program. If we do not connect at the meeting, please feel free to reach out with any beekeeping issues you are facing and are interested in seeing researched.
Go Bison!
Rogan Tokach
Rogan.tokach@ndsu.edu
My first time extracting honey. I started with a 2 – frame hand-crank tangential extractor. I hope to never go back to that in the future.
Post-Bison win in the national championship game in Frisco, TX with Carson Wentz. Now a current quarterback for the Vikings, my favorite team.
Colony inspection in Thailand. Rain or shine (or flood), I performed research to determine control impacts on Tropilaelaps.