Bulk Discounts Offered to Benefit Local Beekeeper Groups
Fargo, ND; January 18, 2017 – The National Agricultural Genotyping Center (NAGC) will launch “BeeCare” testing service for honey bee diseases in January 2017. A total of nine viral and two bacterial diseases will be covered in the BeeCare test panel, which includes all currently known major honey bee diseases found in North America.
NAGC is offering a discount to beekeeper clubs and associations for bulk shipments of 90 or more samples. Regular BeeCare pricing is $20 for any one viral or bacterial disease test, and $75 for the panel of all eleven diseases. Bulk shipments of 90 or more samples will cost only $50 each sample for the full disease panel. Beekeeper groups can pass the savings onto its members, or take the difference in pricing to help offset the group’s operating expenses.
The BeeCare disease panel has been validated through test samples from Central North Dakota and Eastern Missouri. It includes testing for:
- Acute Bee Paralysis Virus
- Black Queen Cell Virus
- Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus
- Deformed Wing Virus
- Israeli Acute Bee Paralysis Virus
- Kashmir Bee Virus
- Lake Sinai Virus 1
- Lake Sinai Virus 2
- Slow Bee Paralysis Virus
- American Foulbrood Bacteria
- European Foulbrood Bacteria
Each bulk shipment of 90 samples or more should be sent by the beekeeper group with a submission form, payment and a spreadsheet that identifies the source of each sample: name, address and contact information for the group; and identification of the hive being tested.
About NAGC
NAGC is a not-for-profit corporation that uses state-of-the-art technologies to help farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers find solutions to production challenges. NAGC is headquartered at the Helix Center in suburban St. Louis, with its laboratory facilities in Fargo, ND.
For more information, contact: Megan O’Neil, Laboratory Manager, NAGC, 1605 Albrecht Blvd North, Fargo, ND. Megan.Oneil@genotypingcenter.com, 701-239-1449.
