We received the following update on the Bee Check program from the MN Department of Agriculture and are posting it here for the benefit of our members:

Remember to mark your hives on BeeCheck.

Communication is key to any good relationship, including business. BeeCheck, DriftWatch, and FieldCheck (https://fieldwatch.com/) are free, voluntary online registries that allow beekeepers and specialty crop producers to communicate the location of their pesticides-sensitive sites to pesticide applicators.  Applicators can then take precautions to avoid injury due to spray drift. This is done by indicating the locations of sensitive sites on an online map. The registry is Google Maps™ based and is fairly easy to use. The current DriftWatch map can be viewed at: https://mn.driftwatch.org/map

BeeCheck (https://beecheck.org/) is a version of DriftWatch for beekeepers to mark the locations of their hives. If a beekeeper also has specialty crops, both can be entered through the DriftWatch program. However, if a producer only has beehives, then BeeCheck is simpler and requires less information input. This greatly speeds the posting process for beekeepers with a large number of hives. BeeCheck can be utilized by any size commercial or hobby beekeeper. Beekeepers can choose to have their hives only appear on the map for registered pesticide applicators and not for the general public, if theft or vandalism is a concern. Be aware that registration with BeeCheck is required for beekeepers to be eligible for compensation should a bee kill incident occur due to acute pesticide poisoning.

Annual Renewal. If your hives were registered last year, they must be renewed annually to keep the map up to date. Renewal notices are sent to producers to remind them to renew and update their accounts. When renewing, most information is carried forward and does not need to be reentered if there are no changes. If the hive location has changed, then login, select that hive, and drag the icon its new location. Another option is to select the hive, choose “remove this site”, and then post a new site at the desired location.

For more detailed instructions about using DriftWatch and BeeCheck, see

User Guide: How to Register Your Crops and Beehives in FieldWatch (https://fieldwatch.com/media/User%20Guide_How%20to%20Register%20Crops%20and%20BeeHives%20in%20FieldWatch%202017.pdf)

If further assistance is needed, contact Larry VanLieshout, FieldWatch Data Steward, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, 651-201-6115, larry.vanlieshout@state.mn.us.