Vermont Bee Expert Elected President of Apiary Inspectors of America

Joins other VAAFM officials with national leadership duties

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."

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The Agency also has two other experts leading national groups.

VAAFM Weights & Measures Director Marc Paquette Heads National Council on Weights & Measures (NCWM) - The National Council on Weights and Measures is a professional non-profit association of state and local weights and measures officials, federal agencies, manufacturers, retailers and consumers. NCWM has developed national weights and measures standards since 1905. The organization brings the right interests together to keep pace with innovative advancements in the marketplace. Paquette currently serves as Board Chairman.

In Vermont, Marc has quietly played an important role in the lives of Vermonters. His dedication to the weights and measures program has made a difference to the consumer. Marc works to make sure you are getting what you were promised by inspecting products in commerce, such as scales, gas pumps, heating oil and propane delivery truck meters, scanners used in retail stores and firewood. His work touches every consumer in Vermont and beyond Vermont's borders.

VAAFM Director of Food Safety & Consumer Protection Serves with Two National Organizations - E.B. Flory oversees the Agency of Agriculture's Food Safety programs and Dairy Section. The mission of the VAAFM Food Safety Division is to protect the health and welfare of Vermonters and their livestock. Daily efforts revolve around advancing a safe and secure food supply within a marketplace that provides fair and equal access to consumers and processors while enhancing Vermont's working landscape, rural character, and local economies.

Flory has also been tabbed to serve on two national boards:

• President of the National Association of Dairy Regulatory Officials (NADRO) - Protecting public health and promoting regulatory uniformity and efficiency in the dairy industry. The National Association of Dairy Regulatory Officials is the organization formerly known as the Dairy Division of NASDA. The name was changed in 2008 to recognize that each state's dairy regulatory structure can be unique. Many states have dairy regulatory units that are in the departments of agriculture while others in the state departments of public health. NADRO works diligently to address the concerns of the dairy industry and to make recommendations to relevant federal agencies and national organizations.

• New England Representative on the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) - Flory serves as the New England representative to the NCIMS Executive Board. She is the first member in over 15 years ale to represent Vermont. The conference was established to deliberate proposals submitted by various individuals from state or local regulatory agencies, FDA, USDA, producers, processors, consumers, etc., who have an interest in ensuring that the dairy products we consume are safe.

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