All–

The CSBA Winter Meeting is just 3 WEEKS AWAY!  It is being held at Roxborough Community Center on Saturday, November 3rd from 9-5.  The meeting will feature Dennis vanEngelsdorp of the Bee Informed Partnership.  I heard Dennis speak at the ABF conference in Las Vegas this year and he was wonderful!  He is not a technical speaker–just an engaging and enlightening one.  Go to the CSBA website, http://www.coloradobeekeepers.org/wintermeeting, and listen to some TED talks by Dennis.

Pre-registration is coming along nicely and I just wanted to put a “buzz” in your ear to remind you that if you have not pre-registered, you should!  You get a 15% discount for pre-registering. Go to the CSBA site, http://www.coloradobeekeepers.org/wintermeeting, to download a pre-registration form or to pay with Paypal.  Of course, lunch will be served and is included in your pre-registration fees.

This year, we are going to try a new event–a Friday night Meet and Greet which will feature some of our local brewers and mead-makers and non-alcoholic beverages from one of our commercial partners, Honeydrop beverages.  We are also going to host a honey dessert bar!  Please be sure to pre-register for this event also so we know how much food to prepare.

Worried about funds?  Volunteer to be a judge for the BIG MONEY HONEY contest.  If you volunteer, and attend training, and judge, the CSBA will cover your registration fees.  This will involve about 3 hours of work including the training.  Please email or call me at the contact information below if you are interested in judging.  Let me know if you would like to attend the Friday night judge training from 5:30 to 6:30 pm or the Saturday morning judge training from 9-10 am.  I only need 3 more judges at this time.

If you are coming in from out-of-town, we have hotel accommodations available at a nice discount.  http://www.coloradobeekeepers.org/wintermeeting has all the information on obtaining those rooms.  Make a weekend out of it!

I hope to see you there!

Beth

CSBA President

970-213-3099

president@coloradobeekeepers.org

All–

The changing colors of the trees and the colder evenings mean that fall is well on its way here in Colorado.  Time for that honey to come off the hives–if you have any to pull.   Many members have had a tough year for honey production and have legitimate concerns about the ability of their hives to overwinter successfully this year.  Please, perform a thorough inspection of your hives now and make sure they have adequate winter stores.  If they do not, then consider feeding or merging them.  For those of you who did get honey for yourselves, congratulations!  I harvested plenty of honey this year–but I had measureable rain in July and that made all the difference in the world!

A reminder that the CSBA has the labels required by the Cottage Industry bill available for purchase at cost.  If you have enough honey that you would like to sell some, please read the CSBA Cottage Industry section to understand your requirements and contact me at president@coloradobeekeepers.org to get the labels mailed to you.  The cost is $30 which includes mailing, if necessary.  I will also have them available for pick up at the Winter Meeting.

CSBA Winter Meeting

The CSBA Winter Meeting will be held at Roxborough Community Center in Roxborough State Park on Saturday, November 3rd, from 9am-5pm.  Featured speaker will be Dennis vanEngelsdorp of the Bee Informed Partnership.  Dennis is a wonderful speaker and we are delighted to have him.  Check out the website for links to TED talks.  The Winter Meeting fee is the same as last year $20 for CSBA members and $25 for-non-members.  Lunch is still included (and because we all were so happy with the caterers from last year, we are using them again!)  Pre-registration for the Winter Meeting is going on right now and, if you pre-register before October 25th, you receive a 15% discount!  You can pay with PayPal on the CSBA site or mail your check directly to Treasurer, John Hartley.  His address is on the pre-registration form.

On Friday evening, we will host a “Meet and Greet” with Dr. vanEngelsdorp from 7-9pm also at the Roxborough Community Center.  This is a new event and I am really looking forward to it.  Everyone just LOVES the Honey Dinner at the Summer Meeting so this will be a Honey Dessert Bar with Colorado meads and beers and beverages from a new partner, Honeydrop beverages.  As we have never done this sort of thing before, I am asking you all to PRE-REGISTER for the event so we know how much food to prepare.  You will also be able to pre-register and submit your entries to the BIG MONEY HONEY CONTEST on Friday evening.

A biography of Dennis, pre-registration forms, an agenda, directions and information on Roxborough State Park and a map to the facility can all be found on one handy spot on the CSBA website:  www.coloradobeekeepers.org/wintermeeting.  Alternatively, click on the Calendar tab and select Winter Meeting.

Coming from out of town?  Discounted hotel accommodations are available for single suites and double suites at Marriott TownPlace which is the closest hotel to the park.  Simply use the links available on the second page of the pre-registration form for your reservation with the CSBA rates or click here.

And don’t forget about the BIG MONEY HONEY CONTEST–back again this year.  Last year’s honey contest was a highly competitive event and I expect this year’s competition to be just as tough.  We have more members this year so I anticipate more entries.  The first, second and third place winners in each category will receive rosettes.  The first place winners in each category will be entered into the final competition for “Best of Show”.  Third place will receive $100, 2nd place $200 and 1st place $300.  In addition, our first prize winner will receive a beautiful plaque to display at their honey house or booth and take home the newly refurbished traveling trophy.  Thanks to Doyen Mitchell, last year’s 1st prize “Best of Show” winner, for taking the initiative to spiff it up!  For the BIG MONEY HONEY CONTEST entry forms and the rules, go to the handy spot on the CSBA website:  www.coloradobeekeepers.org/wintermeeting.  Alternatively, click on the Calendar tab and select Winter Meeting.

Speaking of BIG MONEY HONEY CONTESTS, reminds me of honey judges.  We need honey judges!  John Hartley will be providing honey judge training on both Friday evening before the Meet and Greet, from 5:45 to 6:45pm.  He will also provide an additional training on Saturday morning from 9 to 10am.  If you are interested in being a honey judge, we would love to have you–and we will pay your registration fee (including lunch) to do so.  Please email me at president@coloradobeekeepers.org and let me know which session you would like to attend.  First come, first served.

One more thing…

I have updated the State website with respect to Dr. Dennison and it now includes the PowerPoint presentations he made at both Castle Rock and Berthoud.  I have added a “Honeybees and Health” section and place the Dr. Dennison lecture under it as a sub-header.  If you come across any information which you feel would be appropriate for this section of the website, please forward it to me and I will update the site to reflect your input.  The CSBA videotaped Dr. Dennison delivering the Berthoud presentation and the video is available for check-out from the CSBA.  The charge is $5 for CSBA members and $10 for non-members.  If you would like to show the DVD, simply email me and I will get it in the mail to you.

As always, please feel free to email/call me with any suggestions or concerns you may have.  Thank you for being a member.

Beth

All–

Honey harvest time is here and September is National Honey Month!  Please read below for more information.

This production year was yet another interesting year.  Lots of beekeepers are reporting below average or nonexistent honey flows in their areas due to the ongoing drought.  Some beekeepers are reporting average to above average years.  One thing is certain, the number with lower honey production is greater than the number with higher than average production because honey prices are up–way up!  This is good and welcome news.  If you have not analyzed your pricing structure recently, perhaps now is the time to consider doing so.

A reminder that the CSBA has the labels required by the Cottage Industry bill available for purchase at cost.  If you have enough honey that you would like to sell some, please read the CSBA Cottage Industry section to understand your requirements and contact me at president@coloradobeekeepers.org to get the labels mailed to you.  The cost is $30 which includes mailing, if necessary.

September is National Honey Month!

The National Honey Board is offering free press kits to industry members to distribute to their local media for honey promotion throughout the month. They include honey recipes and brochures.  Want some?  Call the National Honey Board at 800-553-7162 or email Andrea@nhb.org.

Winter Meeting Friday evening November 2nd and Saturday, November 3rd!

The CSBA Winter Meeting is right around the corner!  The featured speaker is Dennis vanEnglesdorp of the Bee Informed Partnership.  Dennis is a gifted speaker!  The Winter Meeting will be held at Roxborough State Park.  This year we will have a kickoff/meet the speaker party on Friday evening November 2nd from 7-9.  The kickoff party will feature some of our area mead makers and brewers as well as highlight a new partnership with Honeydrop beverages.  The main meeting will be held on Saturday, November 3rd from 9-5.  The agenda is finalized and FULL!  All information, including pre-registration forms, hotel discounts, agendas, maps, directions and speaker bios, will be posted to the CSBA website by the end of this month.

Driftwatch is LIVE!

Here is the content of the CDA letter:

The Colorado Department of Agriculture is excited to report that the Driftwatch Pesticide Sensitive Viewer program is up and running in the State of Colorado.

Driftwatch was designed in 2008 by staff from the Purdue University Agricultural and Biological Engineering and Agricultural Communications departments with input and support from Purdue University Cooperative Extension Specialists. By 2010, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota had joined Indiana in the Driftwatch Program. This year, with the help of EPA funding, Driftwatch is now available in Colorado.

Driftwatch was developed to help pesticide applicators, specialty crop growers and stewards of at-risk habitats to communicate more effectively to protect pesticide-sensitive areas. Driftwatch is not intended to be a registry for homeowners or sites less than half an acre.

The site features an easy-to-use Google Map interface that clearly shows applicators the locations of registered areas so they can take the appropriate precautions and if need be communicate with a Driftwatch participant before they spray.

Some of the sensitive crop areas, or data layers, that CDA registers in Colorado include beehives, certified organic crops and organic livestock, fruits, grapes, nursery crops, pumpkins, melons, tomatoes and vegetables. The Department will review and consider adding additional sensitive sites upon request by growers or applicators.

Registration is voluntary and simple.  For agricultural producers it involves going to the Colorado Driftwatch site, which is accessible through www.Driftwatch.org or through CDA’s website, where they will be directed how to register their field sites, commodity and contact information.  When commercial applicators register they will designate the area within the state they perform work, which will allow them to see Driftwatch participants located within that area.  Applicators can also receive an e-mail notifying them of newly registered growers in their designated area.

The Department would be happy to speak to your Association members to provide an overview of the Driftwatch program and answer any questions you may have.  You may contact John Scott at 303-239-4179 if you have any questions or to request a formal presentation of Driftwatch.

The Department looks forward to working with you!

I mapped 12 of my yards the other day and it took me approximately an hour.  Now THAT IS EASY TO USE!  Please take a moment to get your yards mapped.

But I don’t qualify for Driftwatch…

When I was president of NCBA, we started a mapping project on Google Earth.  That mapping project moved under the auspices of CSBA when I took the helm here.  It is a Google Earth map that is maintained by a single individual–a saint really– Michele Pelanne, and distributed to aerial applicators and the CDA.  If you live on less than 1/2 acre lot and would like your property to be mapped, please contact Michele at speedrock@oceantrigger.com.  Michele is also available to talk to your bee association and gives an engaging presentation, too!

 Allen Dennison

Thanks to all of you who attended the Allen Dennison presentations in Castle Rock and Berthoud.  Over 150 people attended the events.  The presentation was recorded and the CD’s are available to our member groups.  Please contact me if you would like them sent your way.  In addition, the presentations themselves and the supporting bibliography will be posted to the CSBA website as soon as Dr. Dennison sends them my way.  Hang tight–shouldn’t be too long.  We are both back in town…

As always, please feel free to email/call me with any suggestions or concerns you may have.  Thank you for being a member.

Beth

All–August is upon us and this means three things:  Fair season, honey harvest season and National Honey Bee Day.  This year, various regional associations are participating in lots of fairs:  Adams, Boulder, Denver, El Paso, JeffCo and Larimer to name but a few.  Fairs are a great way to educate the public on bees and I encourage each and every one of you to volunteer to work a shift.  You will have a lot of fun, the time will just fly by, and you will make a positive impact on every person you chat with.  Thanks to ALL of you who volunteer–you are the voice of your bees–and they need our help!

The CSBA has publications, honey sticks and kids stickers, bookmarks and activity sheets available for your use in your outreach efforts.  Please use these items–they are a benefit of your membership.  Call me 970-213-3099 or email me president@coloradobeekeepers.org and I will get them to you one way or another.

Personally, I started out July with 3.5 inches of rain.  Yep, INCHES! And it was a game changer for honey production.  The plants and the girls took immediate advantage of the moisture and proceeded to pack on the honey.  I expect an average production year this year.  Production in some areas is going to be down, way down, due to the drought.  If you are in a drought-stricken area of the state, my thoughts are with you and I encourage you to provide your bees with the water and food they need to get through.

National Honey Bee Day is August 18th.  There are 3 missions to National Honey Bee Day:

1.  Promotion and advancement of beekeeping.

2.  Educate the public to honey bees and beekeeping.

3.  Make the public aware of environmental concerns affecting honey bees.

Take advantage of this year’s National Honey Bee day and share your love of bees with your community.  Colorado has a National Honey Bee Day director.  His name is Gary McCallister and he is an officer and a member of Western Colorado Beekeepers Association.  He is interested in expanding promotion for National Honey Bee Day next year.  If you are interested in volunteering for this effort, please email him at:  gmccallister@bresnan.net.

Allen Dennison

Allen Dennison is a medical doctor who is also a big fan of local honey for wound treatment.  He gets rave reviews whenever he speaks and he will be our guest speaker in August.  Each talk will be a two part talk.  The first, “Healing Wounds with Honey: History and Science”; the second, “Practical Laboratory: Making Ointments with Honey and Applying them as Dressings”.  Dr. Allen Dennison, M.D. is an Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI. and Medical Director at Evergreen House Health Center, Lifecare Centers of America.

The dates for his talks are:  Thursday, August 16^th, 7-9 pm, at Lowell Ranch on Plum Creek in Castle Rock (where the 2011 Winter meeting was held) and Saturday, August 18^th, 9-11 am at Berthoud High School.  Please mark your calendars now to attend this interesting seminar.

Please go to http://coloradobeekeepers.org/allen-dennison-event to download maps, directions, marketing material (flyers and post cards) for your office, gym, store, etc.  I hope you will join me for what is sure to be an enlightening talk.

P.S.  We would like to video this event.  Can you help?  Can one of your kids help?  If so, please contact me at 970-213-3099 or president@coloradobeekeepers.org.

Website Updates

In addition to the Allen Dennison section, I have set up a whole new section on the website with additional information and clarification regarding the Cottage Industry Bill:   http://coloradobeekeepers.org/cottage-industry-bill.

Our webmaster, Tim Hardy and I have also edited the headers and added a new section called “Help the Honeybee”.  I am slowly populating this section but 3 out of the 4 are in pretty good shape:  Urban Beekeeping, Insecticides, and Alternative Pollinators.  I have a section on bears under Urban Beekeeping that you may want to check out as bear season is fast approaching.

Tim has also redesigned the CSBA Business Directory to be more user-friendly, too.  Initially, this section was set up alphabetically.  However, most users are not using it that way.  They want to know where to find, shocking but true, HONEY!  So–it is now set up to be sorted and used by product offerings.  Please take a moment to update your information and verify its accuracy.  If you have a logo or a website or you do not have a listing and would like one, please submit your information using the “Submit a Listing” button.  This is another FREE SERVICE for members!

Politics

There are a lot of items, besides the Cottage Industry Bill http://coloradobeekeepers.org/cottage-industry-bill, that are in need of members to voice their opinion.  Many of these are just getting finalized as I write this.  Thus, I will consolidate all of the opportunities to make a difference here in Colorado with respect to local regulations and national policy, in another newsletter addendum or, perhaps, another section on the website, some time this month.

Denver Honey Festival

Member James Bertini of Denver Urban Homesteading is hosting a Honey Festival.  It will take place at Denver Urban Homesteading at 200 Santa Fe Drive on Saturday, September 22nd from 11-4.  It is a free event but James could use some vendors and some volunteers.  Please call  or email him at 303-572-3122 or james@denverurbanhomesteading.com .

CSBA Winter Meeting is right around the corner!  This year it will be bigger and better than ever!  Mark your calendars now for November 2nd and 3rd.

As always, please feel free to email/call me with any suggestions or concerns you may have.  Thank you for being a member.

Beth

Happy Independence Day!

The fires throughout the State are the big news from June.  Although I have not heard of any beekeepers that lost their homes and hives, I am certain there are some and my thoughts go out to them.

Things are dry.  I do not need to tell you that.  But what does this mean for your bees?  Some are thirsty—make sure there is adequate water available for your girls.  Some are hungry—make sure your bees have food.  Look inside and verify the presence of nectar and pollen.  Some are both hungry and thirsty and, of course, some are fine.  Whatever the situation with yours, make sure you are on top of it.

I spoke with the Under Sheriff of Larimer County about whether smokers were allowed under the current fire restrictions.  They are NOT allowed.  Please double-check your ability to use your smoker in your area and comply with the current bans and restrictions.  Thanks to Jim Douglas of NCBA for the heads up on the potential problem.

Allen Dennison

Allen Dennison is a medical doctor who is also a big fan of local honey for wound treatment.  He gets rave reviews whenever he speaks and he will be our guest speaker in August.  Each talk will be a two part talk.  The first, “Healing Wounds with Honey: History and Science”; the second, “Practical Laboratory: Making Ointments with Honey and Applying them as Dressings”.  Dr. Allen Dennison, M.D. is an Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI. and Medical Director at Evergreen House Health Center, Lifecare Centers of America.

The dates for his talks are:  Thursday, August 16^th, 7-9 pm, at the CALF facility in Castle Rock (where the 2011 Winter meeting was held) and Saturday, August 18^th, 9-11 am at a to-be-determined location in the northern part of the state.  Please mark your calendars now to attend this interesting seminar.

If you are in the medical or veterinary field, we are interested in getting the message out to your co-workers.  A poster will be available as soon as the northern venue is secured and I will post it for you to download and print.  If you have any further suggestions as to how to best publicize this to these target audiences, please call or email me.

Cottage Industry Bill

The Cottage Industry Bill is undergoing implementation and there are lots of questions and concerns about it.

The Cooperative Extension Service will be holding a FREE webinar on the bill on Wednesday, July 11^th from 6 to 7:15 pm. Follow the instructions here to log in  (Lots of other neat offerings on that site, too.)  Please understand that the section on food service training requirements is still being contested by CSBA as being unnecessary for honey production and we are still pursuing approval of the Food Handlers Safety Class.  The Cooperative Extension Service has also put out a handy publication that you may read here.

I have taken the liberty of ordering 15,000 of the allergy labels so that we can get the discounted pricing for members.  As soon as I see them, I will let you know and you will be able to order them directly from the State in rolls of 1000.

Summer Meeting Recap

The Summer Meeting was a big success!  Paul and Nanci Limbach, once again, provided a beautiful backdrop to a day of perfect weather and a meeting chock full of information.  We had members attending from Lamar, Durango, Steamboat Springs, Walsenberg and all points in between!

Kudos to all of our guest speakers and seminar volunteers:  Tom Haefeli, Lyle Johnston, John Scott, the CO Division of Wildlife, Kristina Williams and Gregg McMahon.  For all of those who attended the Beekeepers Ball, the food and conversation were top shelf and our thanks goes out to the patient and knowledgeable staff at The Pullman in Glenwood Springs for another wonderful meal.

Miscellaneous

Ralph Klee with WishGarden is looking for propolis, LOTS of propolis—as in pounds.  If you have any to sell, please contact him directly at 303-516-1803 extension 4101.

As always, please feel free to email/call me with any suggestions or concerns you may have.  Thank you for being a member.

Beth