January 17, 2025, Montpelier, VT – The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets is pleased to announce that Brooke Decker has been elected President of the Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA), a non-profit organization established with a mission to promote sustainable and healthy honey beekeeping conditions in North America. Decker, the Pollinator Health Specialist and State Apiculturist for the state of Vermont, was elected to a one-year term at the AIA 2025 annual meeting in Reno, Nevada last week.
The mission of the AIA is to support the work of apiary inspectors mainly through the detection, mitigation and ultimate suppression of bee pests, parasites and pathogens. Members of the organization consist of state and provincial apiarists or apiary inspectors along with associated collaborators from other regulatory, academic, or research-based institutions. In practice, members of AIA provide support in the form of regulatory guidance and enforcement, inspections, education, research, marketing, and collaboration with the goal of facilitating management focused on ensuring honeybee health, honey production, pollination, and the beekeeping industry.
“In this role I will be working more closely with industry leaders throughout North America and beyond,” said Decker. “I’m looking forward to gaining insight into how Vermont’s role in the beekeeping industry may impact and influence the industry on a national scale, and how I can share those insights and understandings with the Vermont beekeeping community and regulatory partners.”
”Having Brooke leading this national organization is great for Vermont beekeepers and those who want to increase our pollinator habitat,” said Alyson Eastman, VAAFM Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. “This agency has a long history of supporting beekeepers and their important role in Vermont. We are proud of Brook’s commitment to her profession and look forward to hearing more good things from her.”
For more information visit:
Apiary Inspectors of America | https://apiaryinspectors.org/
VAAFM Apiary Program | https://agriculture.vermont.gov/public-health-agricultural-resource-management-division/apiary-program
