2007 4-H BEEKEEPING ESSAY CONTEST
ANNOUNCEMENT AND RULES
Sponsored by The Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees, Inc.

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National Awards:
First place: $250.00
Second place: $100.00
Third place: $50.00

State Award:
Each state winner receives an appropriate book about honey bees, beekeeping or honey.

Topic:
For the 2007 essay contest, the essay topic is:

“Pollinator Conservation ”

Insects pollinate more than 95 crops grown in the U.S. These crops are worth more than $19 billion, and they could not be grown without their insect pollinators. Bees in the superfamily Apoidea are by far the most important pollinating insects. Pollinating insect abundance and diversity are both threatened by several trends, including: the development of land for human occupation, the cultivation of large monocultures, the use of herbicides and insecticides, introduced diseases and parasites, and the loss of plant diversity. Pollination is an essential ecological service that can be a limiting factor in the production of many crops. In addition to crops, insects pollinate plants that provide food and shelter to wildlife, plants that reduce soil erosion and plants that increase the fertility and tilth of the soil. Insects also pollinate many plants that add beauty and color to our world, including many of the flowers we use to celebrate happy occasions and to comfort one another in times of grief.

Essayists should explore measures being used - or needed - to protect and conserve pollinating insects, especially honey bees, and to reduce the factors mentioned above that negatively affect pollinating insects.

Sources:
Good leads for your research include your school and public libraries, local beekeepers, your county Extension agent, your local or state beekeepers association and the beekeeping professor at your state's agricultural college. The ABF Web site (www.ABFnet.org) has links to other beekeeping sites. The 2006 winning essays are also on ABFnet, as are those from prior years.

The scope of the research is an essential judging criterion, accounting for 40% of your score. The number of resources consulted, the authority of the sources, and the variety of the sources are all evaluated.

Personal interviews with beekeepers and others familiar with bees and beekeeping activities are valued sources of information and should be documented. Sources which are not cited in the endnotes should be listed in a "Resources" or "Bibliography" list.

Note that "honey bee" is properly spelled as two words, even though many otherwise authoritative references spell it as one word.

Rules:
1. Contest is open to active 4-H club members only. 4-H'ers who have previously placed first, second, or third at the national level are not eligible; other state winners are eligible to re-enter.

3. Essays will be judged on (a) scope of research - 40%, (b) accuracy - 30%, (c) creativity - 10%, (d) conciseness - 10%, and (e) logical development of the topic - 10%.

4. Essayists should not forward essays directly to the American Beekeeping Federation office. Each state 4-H office is responsible for selecting the state's winner and should set its deadline so state judging can be completed in time for the winning essay to be mailed to the ABF office before March 1, 2007. Deadline for Tennessee entries to be received in the state 4-H office is February 1, 2007.

5. Each state may submit only one entry.

6. Final judging and selection of the national winner will be made at the ABF's essay committee, whose decision will be final.

7. The national winner will be announced by May 1, 2007.

8. All national entries become the property of the Foundation and may be published or used as it sees fit. No essay will be returned.