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

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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

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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

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All–

Swarm season is in full swing and I want to take the time to thank all of our swarm catchers and hive removers for all of their efforts, this season and every season!  It is a heck of a lot of work to be on call during swarm season.  This year, as in the past 6 years, I have run the swarm hotline for Northern Colorado Beekeepers Association (NCBA).  I have kept track of all calls received during the swarm season over this period.  I am glad that I have because I can analyze the data and compare it to previous years.  For example, I can see that there are certain areas that are having far less swarms and areas that are seeing more.  I can see there are areas that started a tad earlier and ended earlier, too.  In fact, there is a lot of interpretation that can be made.  The data is fascinating.

It does make me think that, as a statewide entity, we need to be doing a far better job of managing information.  NCBA has data–but do any of the other participating associations or commercial operations?  If you do, I would sure like you to share.  If you do not, I think you should consider beginning the collection process or, better yet, helping the State Association to implement a centralized process that will help us all.  It is very difficult to convince the public, as well as any State and Federal agencies, that you have a potential issue or a problem if you have nothing more than heresay evidence to present.  Data collection on winter losses; package losses; swarm season, honey production, etc. all need to be collected so that appropriate decisions can be made.

At both the Summer meeting and the Winter meeting, the CSBA has a business meeting where one of the topics of discussion is planning future goals.  You can rest assured that data collection will be near the top of my list for funding and priority for next year.  Start thinking now of what you would like to see the CSBA do that would be of the most help to ensure the future success of your business or organization and come to one or both of the meetings and share your thoughts.  Your participation will make a difference and the CSBA welcomes your input.  Can’t make a meeting?  Send me an email or give me a call.

CSBA Summer Meeting–June 16th

The CSBA Summer meeting will take place on Saturday, June 16th at the apiary of Paul Limbach in Silt.  The final agenda for the CSBA Summer Meeting is ready and will feature Colorado beekeeping and beekeeping issues.  Pre-registration will begin at 8:15 am and a full day of speakers will follow.  This year, in light of the economy, the meeting is FREE to CSBA members and a mere $10.00 for non-members.  A fully catered lunch will be available for $15.00.  The Holiday Inn Express in Silt has given us a lodging discount, too.  Last year, we held a “Beekeepers Ball” at the Pullman in Glenwood Springs.  It was a 6 course meal and featured HONEY–of all things.  As it was such a success, we will be repeating it this year.  All information regarding the Summer meeting can be found on the CSBA website under Event Calendar/summermeeting or by clicking here.

Pollinator Week

Pollinator Week follows hot on the heels of the Summer Meeting beginning June 18th and ending June 24th.  This year, the CSBA is running a trial promotion in Larimer and Boulder counties.  We are working with NCBA, BCBA and BBB Seed company and will have booths at 18 area participating nurseries and garden centers which will feature pollinator information.  In addition, the booths will be manned on June 23rd from 10-2 with beekeepers to answer questions from the general public.  Can you help?  If so, we could use a few more beekeeping folk to assist.  Please contact me at president@coloradobeekeepers.org or 970-213-3099.  You do not need to set up or tear down.  You just need to be present for the shift.

The CSBA printed 10,000 copies of 2 of the brochures available from the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC):  “Inviting Bees to Your Property–No Fear of Stings” and “Solving your Pest Problems without Harming Pollinators”.  Follow this link to check them out for yourselves.  Do you need some for your outreach efforts?   Please contact me at president@coloradobeekeepers.org or 970-213-3099 and I will get you some.

 Celibri-bees

The swarm at Coors Field during the Rockies game sure put bees in the media!  Coors Field is to be commended for their handling of the situation.  MSN carried an incendierary headline but the video was good.  I loved it because all the fans just flapped their programs and the game went on.  No one ran screaming through the stands.  My right hand web man, Tim Hardy, has set up another heading on our website for “Bees in the News”.  Go to Resources/Bees in the News to watch some video and read some articles on local bee folk.

As always, please feel free to email/call me with any suggestions or concerns you may have.  Thank you for being a member.  I hope to see you at the Summer Meeting!

Beth

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All–

Thanks to all of you who participated in the newsletter naming contest!  The winner is Brent Edelen of Grampa’s Gourmet Honey with the suggestion of “High Country Bee”.  Brent has generously, but unnecessarily, donated his winnings back to CSBA for beverages for the next meeting. Done!

April went screaming by in a flash with the weather being pretty much magnificent for the entire month.  For the first time in years, I actually feel fairly caught up.  I feel this to be a combination of two factors.  One, I had low winter losses compared to the past two years.  Two, swarm season has not yet begun in earnest.  This will all change this month as the ladies begin to “fly the coop” en masse.  To all of you who are swarm-catchers out there, THANKS for your efforts.  Take pictures and video and share them!

CSBA Summer Meeting–June 16th

The final agenda for the CSBA Summer Meeting will be ready in a couple of weeks but will feature Colorado beekeeping and beekeeping issues.  Pre-registration will begin at 8 am and a full day of speakers will follow.  Lunch is included.  Last year, we held a “Beekeepers Ball” at the Pullman in Glenwood Springs.  It was a 6 course meal and featured HONEY–of all things.  As it was such a success, we will be repeating it this year.  Details will be released with the final agenda.

Pesticide Season is Here!

I got a call last week from my friend Tom Theobald who was in the process of moving a bee yard to avoid a pesticide application on alfalfa.  The pesticide in question was Warrior.  Warrior is a “broad spectrum” insecticide which means it kills every 6 legged creature with which it comes in contact.  Warrior is highly toxic to bees and other pollinators and Tom was simply not willing to assume the risk to his bees.

Agricultural applicators are only one part of the pesticide puzzle and, as they are licensed, may actually pose less of a threat to your bees than your neighbors (or your self).  Read this article for more information on home neonicotinoid use.  I just got wind of a list of consumer products that contain neonicotinoids and will be publishing it as soon as I see it.

The CSBA is truly concerned with both agricultural and urban pesticide use.  John Scott, Pesticides Program Manager for the CO Department of Agriculture (CDA) will be speaking at both the NCBA May meeting and the CSBA Summer Meeting.  The CDA is launching a new program called DriftWatch with the hopes of eliminating, or at least reducing, bee loss from agricultural pesticide application.

In addition, the CSBA is piloting a program in conjunction with BCBA, NCBA  and BBBSeed to educate consumers on the importance of pollinators.  The Pollinator Week promotion will run from June 18 through June 24.  We will have brochures available, pollinator seed blends and pollinator-friendly garden plants along with alternative pollinator housing featured all week long at participating Boulder and Larimer county nurseries and garden centers.  On Saturday, June 23, we will staff the booths with a gardener and a beekeeper to answer questions from consumers.  If you are interested in participating, we would LOVE the help.  Please contact me directly.

As your bees are near and dear to your heart, I can only hope that you are keeping up with the latest findings in the press regarding the neonicotinoid class of pesticides that Tom, personally, has bulldogged to national attention.  Your friends and your contacts with the “non-bee” world look to you for information on these issues.  The CSBA website has links to the latest in bee news in Resources–Articles.  Please find the time to familiarize yourself with these pesticide issues.

Neonicotinoids operate in a much more stealthy fashion than contact-kill pesticides.  A contact kill pesticide means that the bees were sprayed directly and are dying immediately.  In a hive, it is characterized by the sudden and mass die-off of bees.  If you have the poor luck to actually be present for this event, they you will see bees acting as though they are having a seizure. Click here for a picture of a pesticide kill. (Photo credit:  Doris Locke)

What to do if you suspect a pesticide kill

If you think your bees have been killed by the possible misuse of a pesticide, you need to report it immediately.  Here is a link to the CDA website.  This is the page with all the FAQ’s on an apiary claim.  Please, whether you have 2 hives or 2000, REQUEST AN INVESTIGATION!  It is extremely important.

Next, document your losses.

Take photos and video.  Be sure to turn on the time/date stamp on your camera.

Take samples and put them in your freezer right away.

Contact your regional association, if you are a member of one.  If not, contact me so I can stay in the loop.

Keep a diary of all contacts made and be sure to note with whom you spoke and what day you did it.  We have had issues with a lack of timeliness in the past that we want to make sure do not occur in the future.

Hopefully, you will not need to request an investigation this summer or any summer–but now you know how to do it.

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

Beth

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