The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) announced June 27 that the winter losses of honeybee colonies over the 2017-2018 season were greater than expected and greater than the average of 30 percent per year for the past decade. “The winter losses were 59.5 percent,” said Keith Tignor, State Apiarist. He adds that this is the highest rate since 2000 when the state began monitoring winter losses. There was a decrease in colony losses reported for the summer of 2017 when compared to the 2016 summer season.

When exposed to skin, the sap from a Giant hogweed plant can cause severe skin and eye irritation, painful blistering and permanent scarring. The plant is easily confused with other look alike plants such as elderberry and cow parsnip. People who think they have found Giant hogweed should take a digital photo of the leaf, stem and flower. They can report it to the local office of Virginia Cooperative Extension or file an online report. It can grow upwards of 15 feet tall with leaves as large as five feet across.

Livestock producers and owners should notify VDACS if they notice any unusual ticks that have not been seen before or ticks that occur in large numbers on an individual animal.

Seven students from Prince William County Public Schools earned awards in the Help a Horse contest, sponsored by the Prince William County Animal Shelter as part of its annual “Help a Horse” Day event.

Virginia State University has been awarded $249,800 by the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) to expand its urban agriculture education through distance learning. The Sustainable Urban Agriculture Certificate Program will be changed from its current face-to-face format to a self-paced, online option.

It'll take two days in April to plant a pollinator garden, get a bee hotel built, and install honeybee hives on nearly half an acre at the Prince William County Landfill Complex. Volunteers are needed to help with the work on April 14 and April 21 from 8 a.m. to noon on both days.

Mosquito season is already here in many parts of Virginia and will blanket the entire state soon. That means it’s time to start thinking about vaccinating horses against mosquito-borne illnesses such as West Nile Virus (WNV) and Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE).

Virginia Agriculture Week is March 18-24, and Tuesday, March 20 is National Agriculture Day. I ask you to think about the people who are the heart and soul of American agriculture and those who support agricultural industries.