Links:

Zoom: https://auburn.zoom.us/j/904522838

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LawrenceCountyextension/

Email: ams0137@aces.edu

Tri-County Beekeepers Association Inc.

“Maximizing Your Colonies Potential”

The 45th Annual Spring Beekeeping Workshop in Wooster, Ohio on Friday and Saturday, March 1-2, 2024 is being planned. As in the past, it will be held at Fisher Auditorium and the Shisler Conference Center on Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) campus, located at 1680 Madison Ave. (at State Route 302 east and State Route 83) just south of Wooster. Last year, the workshop participants were not only from Ohio but a number of neighboring states.

Keep an eye out for more information!

Rolla Bee Club Sponsors Three 2024 Beginning Beekeeping Classes

Rolla Bee Club will sponsor three beginning beekeeping classes in 2024. The educational, non-profit club will have two beginning beekeeping classes January 27 and February 24, 2024.

These beginning beekeeping classes will cover the basics beginning beekeeper needs to consider before getting bees as well as beekeeping terminology, hive placement strategies, how to keep bees healthy and pest management, all based on scientifically-based best management practices.

Deadline to register for January 27, 2024 class is January 13.

Deadline to register for February 24, 2024 class is February 10.

A Second Year Beginning Beekeeping Class will be held March 23, 2024. This class will review basic techniques from how to introduce queens, swarm catching and management, splitting and combining colonies and more. Deadline to register is March 10, 2024.

Cost is $100 per student and $180 for a couple. Minimum age for class attendance is 15 years. Fee includes catered lunch, refreshments and class materials.

To register online: http://www.rollabeeclub.com/class-sign-up.html

Send cash or check to
David Draker, 1951 Monterey, Rolla, Missouri to reserve your class spot. First come, first served. Class size is limited.

Gift certificates are also available. Email rollabees@gmail.com for details.

Rolla Bee Club Classes will be held at Doolittle Community Hall, 380 Eisenhower, Rolla, Mo. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST.

Rolla Bee Club 2024 classes are scientifically-based on best management practices and certified by Great Plains Master Beekeeping out of University of Nebraska for credit toward master beekeeper certification.

Rolla Bee Club Inc. is an educational 501©)3 non-profit focused on supporting beginning beekeeping students. The club meets once a month on the 4^th Sunday 1-4 p.m. at Doolittle Community Hall, 380 Eisenhower, Rolla. More information at rollabeeclub.com.

From a Rolla Bee Club spring 2023 class student:

“Marvelous class, thank you, the instructors were inspiring, so enthusiastic and helpful, the day went by fast.” — PA

Make a beeline to Rutgers University for our online beekeeping course! From disease and mite prevention to honey production and harvesting, Bee-ginner Beekeeping will cover everything you need to know to further your hobby or get your business off the ground! Topics include:

• Bee Biology
• Queen Bee Purchasing
• Disease and Mite Prevention
• Hive Assembly and Management
• Honey Extraction
• Rules and Regulations
• And Much More!

Our instructors are Mike Haberland, an Associate Professor and County Environmental Agent with Rutgers Cooperative Extension, and Debbie Haberland, a teacher, marine biologist, and owner of Working Girls Meadows apiary. They will be on hand every step of the way to answer your questions and guide your learning. Complete the 14 hours of online course work at your own pace and attend a live review and Q&A session with our instructors. Certificates will be issued for successful completion of this course. The class opens January 15, 2024.

  Learn more and register online now >>

Indiana Bee School XXII

2024 Bee School will be held on February 24th, 2024 at Horizon Convention Center in Muncie, Indiana. Dr. Judy Wu-Smart and Shelby Kittle will be our Guest Speakers.  We’ll also have a speaker from Dalan Animal Health to share with us the latest on the vaccine for American Foul Brood.

Dr. Judy Wu-Smart leads the Bee Lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  Lab staff and students organize beekeeping workshops and field days, and answer questions about pollinator health and management. Her appointment is 65% extension and 35% research.

Shelby Kittle is a graduate student and research technician at University of Nebraska-Lincoln Bee Lab.  She is mentored by Dr. Judy Wu-Smart.

Our Indiana Honey Queen will be holding a session on making candles and we have sessions on “Catching Swarms”, “Diagnosing Dead-outs”, and “Pests and Diseases”.

In addition to the educational sessions, we’ll have our raffle, live auction and silent auction again.  Many vendors will be on-hand with a variety of products and supplies for both show and to purchase.

The cost to attend is the same as it’s been for several years now: $50 for members, $60 for non-members and all registrations include a buffet lunch.  Our goal is to make it affordable for our beekeepers to attend.

We will again have an all-day Beginner Class.  It will be held at the same time as the conference.  The cost for the Beginner Class is $55 for members and $65 for non-members and includes the buffet lunch.

Pre-registration is required for either school.  The dead line to per-register is February 10^th 2024.

For information about location, speakers, topics, vendors, hotels and how to register, go to our website at: at: https://indianabeekeeper.com/events/indiana_bee_school_xxii

Rachel Gabel  

Blue and gold jackets are wall to wall in Indianapolis, Ind., during the National FFA Convention. The posted results are not complete and simply competing at the national level is an accomplishment, I want to highlight a few.

Kyelynn Coombe, winner of the Beef Production – Entrepreneurship contest, is a member of the Joliet FFA Chapter in Montana. She started her project in 2006 when her parents gave her one polled Hereford cow. Since then, she has increased her herd to include 131 females and three bulls. She has 38 yearling heifers in her parents’ feedlot. Her project goal is to have 140 cows, make more money than it costs to raise them, sell 20 bred heifers, sell 20 bulls in a genetics bull sale, and produce the best registered Simmental and Angus cattle. Coombe is supported by her parents, Kelli and Chris, and her FFA adviser, Chad Massar.

William Paxton, who won the Specialty Animal Production – Entrepreneurship/Placement contest, is a member of the Stuart FFA Chapter in Nebraska, established his own beekeeping business after shadowing a professional. Keeping them on his uncle’s ranch, he started with two hives. His primary responsibility as a beekeeper, he said, was to keep honey bees healthy enough to survive and produce a substantial amount of honey each year. Paxton is supported by his parents, Sara and Darby, and his FFA advisers Katie Nolles and Patty Hanzlik.

SoRoCo FFA is well represented in Indy this year. Kayla Rossi is making her way through the national officer selection process, Emily Rossi earned second place in the Creed Speaking LDE, and Carmen Anarella is representing the chapter in the National FFA Convention Choir. Olivia Rossi finished in the Silver Category for Public Speaking.

Big Timber (Montana) FFA and Torrington-Lingle, Wyo., livestock evaluation teams finished second and fifth, respectively with South Dakota’s Brookings FFA in sixth.

Caleb Most of Ogallala FFA won the Extemporaneous Public Speaking contest, bringing that national championship back to Nebraska.

Our region was well represented in the Farm and Agribusiness Management CDE with Wheatland (Wyoming) FFA in third, Carrington (North Dakota) FFA in fourth, and Pender (Nebraska) in seventh.

I spoke to the Frontier FFA (Wyoming) chapter ag Issues team as they prepared for the Sweet 16 round of the contest. Coached by Sarah Falen Tate and Karen Budd-Falen, the team spoke eloquently about their topic, whether the Monarch butterfly ought to be listed under the Endangered Species Act and whether the listing ought to be incentivized. While they didn’t reach the final four round, we can all be incredibly proud of them and all of the thousands of FFA students from the region who competed in national competitions. That’s nothing to scoff at, I assure you.

A few weeks ago, I spoke to a room full of high school aged girls about agriculture and writing their own ticket in the industry, as it were. I failed to mention the keynote speaker in my article, though she is another young woman who excelled in the FFA program. Emma Mortensen of Brush, Colo., is a past state FFA president and continues to be a mentor and a leader and a great person past the corduroy jacket.

In my article this week about the Custer County FFA chapter, I quoted Dean Riggs, who owns the Riggs Ranch which is operated by the chapter. The Riggs family is generous with the property and provide incredible learning opportunities to the members. Dean said: “I’m a realist to know that just because they’re in FFA and wear the blue corduroy jacket, doesn’t mean they’ll end up employed in agriculture, but they’re all going to vote — I hope they vote,” he said. “I hope they get something out of it that will leave them when, for instance, animal rights-type folks take a run at something, they can lean back on that experience somehow and think and make the right decision on the ballot.”

As an industry, we’re building and raising good kids and those good kids will lead the industry in the coming years, so this is no mission for the weak hearted. I believe in the future of agriculture and I know you do, too.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Area FFA members shine in Indy | TheFencePost.com

Links:

Zoom: https://auburn.zoom.us/j/904522838

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LawrenceCountyextension/

Email: ams0137@aces.edu

European foulbrood office hours webinar

October 12, 2023 7:00PM – 8:30PM

This free webinar will be hosted on zoom. Register in advance. https://www.canr.msu.edu/events/european-foulbrood-office-hours-webinar

In this free evening webinar for beekeepers, Michigan State University honey bee disease experts will cover information on the honey bee disease European foulbrood (EFB). Dr. Meghan Milbrath and Dr. Peter Fowler will give a brief overview on how to recognize signs of this disease, perform diagnostic tests, and provide recommendations on what to do if you find it in your bee yard. We will highlight some recent research and give plenty of time for examples and questions.

https://www.canr.msu.edu/events/european-foulbrood-office-hours-webinar

The webinar will be recorded and posted on Michigan State University Beekeeping You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD7AYI-MRu_3mp3oRW1kWVw/videos

When: Oct 12, 2023 19:00 Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: European foulbrood Office Hours
Register in advance for this free webinar

Meghan Milbrath, MPH, PhD

517-884-9518

www.pollinators.msu.edu

Link:

Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/3bwcjj7r

Links:

Zoom: https://auburn.zoom.us/j/904522838

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LawrenceCountyextension/

Email: ams0137@aces.edu

Make a beeline to Rutgers University for our online beekeeping course this fall! From disease and mite prevention to honey production and harvesting, Bee-ginner Beekeeping will cover everything you need to know to further your hobby or get your business off the ground! Topics include:

• Bee Biology
• Queen Bee Purchasing
• Disease and Mite Prevention
• Hive Assembly and Management
• Honey Extraction
• Rules and Regulations
• And Much More!

Our instructors are Mike Haberland, an Associate Professor and County Environmental Agent with Rutgers Cooperative Extension, and Debbie Haberland, a teacher, marine biologist, and owner of Working Girls Meadows apiary. They will be on hand every step of the way to answer your questions and guide your learning. Complete the 14 – 16 hours of online course work at your own pace and attend a live review and Q&A session with our instructors. Certificates will be issued for successful completion of this course.

  Learn more and register online now >>

September 27, 2023 @ 2:00 – 3:00 PM EDT

Drilling Down on EPA Risk Assessment: REGISTER HERE

Since 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken big steps to better estimate pesticide risks to bees. In this session, we will explore EPA’s approach by following a pesticide through its assessment of risks to bees to its appearance in the marketplace. Join us to answer our question – is the EPA effectively protecting bees? Register below to receive the zoom link and a calendar invite. Hosted by the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAAPC) Pesticide Education Task Force, presenter Dr. Andony Melathopoulos, Pollinator Health Extension Specialist, Oregon State University.

Missouri State Beekeepers Association Fall Conference

October 13 – 14, 2023

Darr Agricultural Center in Springfield, MO

https://MOStateBeekeepers.org/conference/

Keynote speakers include Troy Hall and Eugene Makovec along with several of Missouri’s most knowledgeable beekeepers with topics for all levels of beekeeping.

The BIP team takes a break from inspecting colonies. From left to right: Eric Malcolm, Ben Sallmann, Cade Houston, Anne Marie Fauvel. © 2022, Eric Malcolm, beeinformed.org

Looking for something to do Thursday, Sept. 14? Want to support BIP?

Join BIP LIVE for an hour of enjoyable conversation with beekeeping YouTuber David Burns! He, alongside Bee Informed Partnership’s Anne Marie Fauvel and Eric Malcolm, will discuss what BIP is all about and chat about honey bee health.

David is sponsoring this livestream fundraising event as an opportunity to share more about BIP’s work with the community and help raise much-needed funds to support their mission.

Stop by for a visit and stay for the fun by visiting David Burns’ YouTube channel on Thursday, September 14 at 8pm EST / 7pm CST!

YouTube link not working? Copy and paste this link into your browser’s search bar instead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nCvJNSE_JY

Did you know David Burns writes an article in Bee Culture every month? Check out his article from June and then subscribe to never miss one of his article! June article: https://www.beeculture.com/hot-hive-inspections/

Links:

Register Here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZArdemgrzovEtapijKNqDIVQ7WI5Y3GiQyp