Indiana Beekeepers Association
Copyright 2011
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Officers
President's Message
A big thank you to Mr Steve Doty for coordinating the past eleven Indiana Bee Schools. It is a pleasure to work with Steve and a special group of people who come together and work together to put on such an event. I enjoyed going through the feedback sheets from the bee school. Most of the feedback was positive especially about the keynote speaker, Jamie Ellis. There were lots of good comments on the breakout sessions also. If you need information that you didn’t receive at the bee school perhaps you can get it by attending local club meetings. I encourage each of you to attend club meetings in your locality. You can find the closest club to your neck- of- the- woods by going to “Local Association Meetings” on this web site.
The auction and the Young Beekeeper Fund Drive drawing was a big plus money wise for “promoting better beekeeping throughout Indiana. It helps with the young beekeeping and other beekeeping programs for the coming years.
We added a “New Beekeeper Award” this year at the bee school. A complete hive was given to a brand new beekeeper, Dale French, New Castle, IN. All he has to do is add bees. There will be a picture of that lucky winner in the newsletter. We hope to have this on the agenda again for the next year since we have so many new beekeepers attending the bee school.
Beekeepers in Southern Indiana are ready to get the beekeeping season underway. A couple hundred packages of bees will be delivered to Spring Valley Farm sometime around April 1. There will be a lot of new beekeepers receiving some of these packages. I will have a special meeting for new beekeepers when they receive their packages of bees.
Think Spring,
BEE HAPPY!
Kenny Schneider, President
Indiana Beekeepers’ Association
Nominations Committee
Steve Doty
9815 S State Rd 13, Fortville, IN 46040
317-485-5593
jsdoty@indy.net
Mike Seib
7784 N. Sanctuary Lane, Mooresville, IN 46158
317-432-5342
kycolts1@yahoo.com
Tony Stewart
1477 Old Salem Road, Lanesville, IN 47136
812-952-2324
basket926@yahoo.com
A Note from the V.P.
Greetings from the northern parts of the State. I want to thank all of the many beekeepers who have given me the affirmation to serve as VP for this fine organization. When Kenny asked me to consider, I reflected back at the time and effort that he has paid to the Indiana Beekeepers Association (IBA), and I wish that , in some small way, I would be able to give to the cause to support him. I do look forward to serving with him to bring strength and credibility for the IBA. I ask that if you have thoughts and ideas, please let me know. We are a strong group because we work together.
I have a feeling that the beekeeping as we have known it for years is changing. By that, I mean there are always factors that are changing and we need to consider before we act, rather than just doing what we have done for years. As my thoughts go back over the last season, there are several things that are not in the normal process of everyday routines.
For the last several years, the spring nectar flows have moved ahead of the normal schedule and the summer flow started in August - July. In fact, the Soft Maple tree in my yard was covered with bees working the buds on December 2nd. What does all this have to do with how we manage the bee hives? I have been telling new beekeepers that I realize they get very interested in April-August. But there is a lot more to beekeeping then that. If you own livestock, would you look after them weekly, or monthly? Should be all of the above!
I read an article which stated that a farmer was able to store hay in the summer, so he had something to feed in the winter months when there was no grazing pastures available for his cattle. I feel that beekeepers are much the same. During the four months of the year when there are nectar sources to make surplus honey, the bees are more than capable of bringing in food to build up and raise an endless supply of replacement workers to not only survive, but to make surplus for their caretaker. In turn, when the winter months come, I will check on each hive every few weeks to make sure they have a candy brick on top of the inner cover in case they need it.
Back to the farmer...the bales of hay from last summer are a small price to pay to keep the cattle alive until next season. The ten dollars spent on sugar is no comparison to the cost of a new colony. My passion for beekeeping and as your VP is to help my fellow beekeepers know what to look for and what to do before they get into a crises management situation.
May this be the best year to BEE!
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Indiana Beekeepers’ Association
Indiana Beekeepers Association
Copyright 2011
All rights reserved.
Send comments or questions about this website via e-mail to:
indiana
