NORTHEY ANNOUNCES HIRING OF NEW STATE APIARIST AND DIRECTOR, MINES AND MINERALS BUREAU

News Date April 02, 2008

       Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey has announced that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has hired Andrew Joseph as the state apiarist for Iowa and Todd Coffelt as the new chief of the Mines and Minerals Bureau. In his position, Joseph will oversee apiary registration and inspection, conduct beekeeper education courses and conduct public outreach on bees and beekeeping. The Mines and Minerals Bureau is responsible for licensing mine operators, registering and bonding mining sites, reclaiming abandoned mines, and permitting, bonding and inspecting coal mines in the state.
       Joseph received his masters in science in entomology from the University of Kentucky (UK) in Lexington. While there, he was an active member of beekeeping organizations on local, state, and multistate levels.
       His research at UK focused on bees as pollinators in monoculture--looking at the role of nectar foraging in relation to overall foraging activity and, ultimately, plant pollination. In addition to the research, Joseph also cared for Kentucky State University and University of Kentucky's bees including managing the annual honey sales.
       The department has three part-time apiary inspectors that examine hives across the state. They serve the beekeepers and growers of Iowa by providing identification and control of bee diseases, pests, and parasites as well as facilitate the interstate movement of bees.
       Funding for a state apiarist was provided by the Iowa Legislature during the 2007 session. The position was suspended in 2001 due to budget constraints faced by the Department.
       Todd Coffelt has been an environmental specialist with the department's Mines and Minerals Bureau for the past seven years. In this role he was responsible for administering multi-million dollar grants to support reclamation projects. He had a number of other responsibilities as well, including overseeing project development and contract completion.
       Previously, Coffelt worked for Seneca Environmental Services. Coffelt received a bachelors of arts from Simpson College and a master of science in agronomy from Iowa State University. (Contact: Dustin Van de Hoef, 515/281-3375)