> I am puzzled by the disclaimer at the end of Randy Oliver's article, "The Varroa Problem Part 17c:  Being Part of the Solution". I would think that any article expresses the views of the author and may not agree with the views of the editorial staff.

Thank you for your inquiry. The reason the disclaimer was added was because with all authors I can have a discussion about article edits and changes and we can come to an agreement. In all magazines the editorial board has the last say in what gets printed. However, when I assumed the editorship Randy Oliver required that all changes be cleared with him. He frequently disagreed with the edits and refused to accept many of my suggested editorial changes. The prior editor Joe Graham had no scientific background and published his submissions as is. 

Randy writes under the title scientific beekeeping, but none of the articles are peer reviewed and when I have pointed out what I feel is a misinterpretation of a scientific paper, he often disagrees. Thus to continue publishing his articles, we decided the disclaimer was appropriate, as none of his articles are peer reviewed. As a scientist, I at times disagree with some of his statements and during a typical peer review process would flag them requesting revision. As ABJ is not a peer reviewed journal and we do not have the staff to fact-check his articles, nor will he allow edits, this was the compromise reached. Please note that Randy agreed to the disclaimer and expanded upon it, as he welcomes comments from scientists.

The disclaimer is simply there so no misinterpretation is made regarding the review process. This should not be taken as an attack on Randy, and what he has done for the industry. He has been a catalyst in translating much scientific research into terms for a lay audience and we appreciate his contributions.  

Sincerely,
Kirsten S. Traynor
Editor
American Bee Journal

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