Wednesday, May 7 -  Host and American Family Farmer, Doug Stephan www.eastleighfarm.com shares the news affecting small farmers in America, including a focus on dairy trade challenges, disaster assistance from the USDA, and our relationship with other countries in relation to the tariffs. Then, the focus shifts to preparedness for an ICE encounter on your farm, knowing your rights as a business owner and the rights of your employees. Then, Doug introduces us to Steve Rapasky, owner of Meadow Sweet Apiaries near Pittsburgh, PA. Fun fact: most of Steve’s beehives are actually located at Pittsburgh International Airport. His background goes back to growing up on a farm with livestock in addition to bees, then he got his degree in wildlife science at Penn State University and spent a decade as a wildlife biologist in the state agency before exiting into his own apiary with a certification as an Eastern Apiculture Society (EAS) Master Beekeeper. Many people want to get involved with having bees on their farm or property, and that’s great because we need to continue to support the bees, but many don’t know how to take care of them. We’re also reminded that everything we eat that comes from the ground has a connection to bees, further exasperating the urgency to protect our honeybees and focus on their survival rate. You can learn more from Steve on MeadowSweetBees.com. Lastly, Doug opines the stresses at this time of year to get things in the ground, the lack of making health a priority for most farmers, the importance of rest and regular breaks, and more emphasis on why communities need to support family farmers. 

Website: AmericanFamilyFarmerShow.com
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