IT'S a Tech Podcast Firewall Chat: Beekeeper Program, featuring Michele Jones, DCT

Summer is on the horizon, warm weather has finally arrived, and our listeners have probably already seen a bee or two in their gardens. Honeybees are crucial not only to the environment but also to the New York State economy. 

On this episode, Michele Jones, Deputy Commissioner for Technology, talks about the launch of the Honeybee Program and Beekeeper Registration for the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. She’ll share why it’s crucial for protecting bees and apiaries, as well as keeping bee colonies healthy and thriving.

Thank you for listening to the IT’S a Tech Podcast. For more information about ITS, visit our website at its.ny.gov. Follow us on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Transcript

 0:00
 You're listening to a Firewall Chat, part of a miniseries of the IT'S a Tech Podcast spotlighting the talented professionals that make the mission and vision of ITS possible.

 0:12
 Welcome to the latest IT'S a Tech Podcast Firewall Chat.

 0:16
 Summer is on the horizon, warm weather has finally arrived, and our listeners have probably already seen a bee or two in their gardens.

 0:24
 Honey bees are crucial not only to the environment, but also to the New York State economy.

 0:30
 On today's episode, Michele Jones, Deputy Commissioner for Technology, talks about the launch of the Beekeeper project for the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

 0:40
 She'll share why it's crucial for protecting bees and apiaries, as well as keeping bee colonies healthy and thriving.

 0:49
 Ag and Markets is required by statute to register and conduct inspections of all New York State beekeepers.

 0:55
 And so this project is designed to enhance that existing system to include advanced functionality for beekeeper registrations, renewals and inspection activities.

 1:05
 This also includes a public facing web form, a portal for beekeepers to manage their own apiary data.

 1:12
 And for those of you that don't know what apiary means, it's a place where bees are kept or it's a collection of honey bees or beehives.

 1:23
 So this is an administrative portal for manual account creation.

 1:27
 And it this application also improves processes for managing inspections, including quarantine and disease reporting, and ultimately just aims to modernize what AG and Markets is doing to manage its beekeeper program and internal reporting and then moving away from manual processes.

 1:44
 Michele lists the reasons the beekeeper project is crucial for Ag and Markets.

 1:49
 A key responsibility of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets is to inspect bee colonies and monitor their movements because it's crucial for protecting New York State from potential threats to its vital honey bee populations.

 2:02
 The movement of bee colonies across the United States is a critical factor in bee health, and without proper monitoring and inspection by states with apiary programs, there's a potential for disease spread and health issues.

 2:16
 Honey bees are indispensable to New York's agricultural economy.

 2:21
 Annually, thousands of bee colonies pollinate over $300 million worth of agricultural crops, including essential products like apples, grapes and pumpkins.

 2:33
 So, this project helps Ag and Markets meet its legislative mandates, which require ag and markets to register and conduct inspections of all New York State beekeepers.

 2:45
 It improves the program management.

 2:48
 It also enhances bee health because it provides ag and markets and beekeepers with a better tool for registration, monitoring and inspection.

 2:57
 The project directly contributes to maintaining the health of New York's vital honey bee population, which is crucial for agriculture.

 3:05
 Michele gives insight into what the development and launch for this program looked like.

 3:10
 The launch of the Beekeeper registration application phase two happened at midnight on December 31st.

 3:17
 It went well.

 3:18
 But first let me just acknowledge it went well because of one person's efforts.

 3:23
 The product owner Kevin Brennan from the ITS dedicated team stopped ringing in the new year to release the new application on midnight of December 31st.

 3:37
 The project launches have been in phased approaches since then, with production completions achieved for key sprints and then this phased rollout has really allowed for continuous delivery of functionality and ensures that the critical aspects of the system are operational as further enhancements are made.

 3:55
 So, thanks again to Kevin Brennan who stopped his New Year's Eve celebration to launch this new application.

 4:02
 The beekeeper registration application was successfully developed in 2021 and it laid that groundwork for the project that was restarted in November 2024.

 4:12
 The department's Division of Plant Industry that is dedicated to supporting beekeepers in maintaining healthy colonies had to work closely with the ITS dedicated team almost on a daily basis in the development and testing of the enhanced application.

 4:27
 And together, this joint team had to overcome many adversities but persevered really under the leadership of Dedicated ITS employee Business analyst, Sheekha Shah.

 4:40
 And I would just like to take a moment to acknowledge her hard work and the hard work of the Dedicated ITS team as well as the hard work of the Ag and Markets team.

 4:50
 Together, this small team successfully launched the enhancements to both the public and administrative side of the applications this past January.

 5:00
 She highlights a few key aspects of the application.

 5:04
 A few key highlights.

 5:06
 There is a user-centric design.

 5:07
 The application is designed with both beekeepers and administrators in mind and tries to offer an easy-to-use interface for registration and then management of the system.

 5:19
 The application is designed to meet legal compliance requirements and really is future proof.

 5:25
 The project is built with advanced functionalities and a scalable architecture allowing for the future enhancements to be made.

 5:33
 Michele shares additional resources for listeners wanting to learn more.

 5:38
 Well, for more information on the Beekeeper registration application and the Honeybee Program, listeners can visit the New York State Department of Agricultural on Market website and specifically they can look for the Beekeeper Registration section.

 5:52
 The work done by the ITS dedicated team allows Ag & Markets to provide seamless support for the beekeepers that rely on their guidance and resources.

 6:01
 So the next time you had a spoonful of honey to your tea, remember the hard work and dedication of all the professionals that helped make that spoonful possible.