Where have you been?

[apisbees]

First I would like to apologize for being absent far more than I intended. There are only so many hours a day that can be spent on bees before one needs a break. I am still judging honey at the Armstrong Fair and have done so for the last 21 years. Then after a shakeup of the director of the honey division 8 years back I took over the coordination of the beekeeping display. In 2017 our bee club very successfully hosted the British Columbia Honey Producers Association annual general meeting in Kelowna It has to date been the best attended AGM in BC from the beginning of the BCHPA when it was formed 100 years ago, thanks in a large part to Dan. Just after leading us in hosting the AGM the bee club lost its president when he moved to an other community. So I took the position of president of the club. We have changed venue for our club meetings. To top it off I moved about a year ago and am still trying to find things that got packed away.  This is the simplified version of events. More to come.

[apisbees]

New Meeting Venue.
The club was meeting in the library of the christen school and it was costing the club $80.00 a night for room rental. it was a nice facility but with a large meeting attendance we were reaching its capacity. Borrowing from what had happened up in Kamloops I approached the local college that offers culinary apprenticeship courses with the proposal that the bee club puts bee yard together with a goal of maintaining 10 hives for the college. The college will get a share of the honey for use in the culinary program. Can assist in the extraction processing and marketing. That ties into part of their curriculum of knowing and understanding where our food comes from. At first we thought it would be nice to have the bees on the campus but due to the campus layout and adjoining properties it was decided that it would be much easier to have the apiary off campus. So we worked up a gentleman's agreement between the bee club and the college. We have 8 nucs lined up for the end of the month. We have had equipment donated as well as we have purchased some. I was hoping to get the 10 hives set up for $2000.00 for both bees and the Langstroth hives. It looks like we will be a little over that but we have gotten almost enough wooden-ware and foundation. Have the 8 nucs lined up, in the donations and purchases we have secured 2 extractors, a Jones stainless steel hand crank 4 frame reversible flip basket. And a Dadant 12 frame electric extractor. 12 deeps and you can sneak in another 9 mediums in between or stuff 21 mediums into it. It has been a bit of time getting it all set up but we are excited to have a club apiary so members and new ones can come down and join when the hives are being worked.

[apisbees]

Taking on more responsibility.
In the past when asked If I would let my name stand for a position in the bee club, I would decline as I was involved in the setting up and coordinating the beekeeping display at the Armstrong Fair as well as arranging the volunteers to man the display and answer questions. I felt I had enough going on and that some others could step up and assist. When Dan was moving and the only ones considering to become president being fairly new to beekeeping. Dan ask that i take on being president while the new beekeepers gained more experience. In talking on being president it allowed me a little more freedom in setting up the deal with the college and the club. I did keep the club and the executive informed thru the process and the club authorized me spending $2000.00 in setting up the apiary.
As of Jan 1st 2019, the Canadian Food and Drug has moved to have restrictions on drugs used in the production of food. This has caused some of the drugs used on bees to have to be dispensed by Veterinarians. It was suggested by the Provincial Agriculturalist that the club contact vets and see if any are willing to work with the beekeepers, bee inspectors and be vets for the bee club rather than every beekeeper having to find one that is willing to work with bees and beekeepers. This is the latest project I have been working on. Getting beekeepers out to meetings can be difficult. Advertising and getting your event out there is key to attracting new members. Having our club name where ones in the community will come across it, we have a web page set up with meeting announcements, Contact information, services provided by members (pollination, swarm catchers, queens, nucs) and links to resources and supplies. As a way for beekeepers in the club to to reach out for help and to post what is happening in their hives and to ask questions, post upcoming events, The club decided it would be beneficial to set up a North Okanagan Beekeepers Facebook Page. We have also reached out to the lawn, garden, pest, and tree service companies to make them aware that there are beekeepers ready able and willing to rescue bees and provide them with a list of where to find beekeepers to this.
All the work is starting to pay off as our meeting attendance has risen from 30 to 40 at a meeting to over 60 at the last meeting.

[tecumseh]

Sounds like you have been busy and imho 'that is a good thing'. 

We have the same thing going on here with vets and antibiotic use.  Which is likely (if I am to believe the gossip) way overdue.   We have a vet school here (Texas A&M) and the couple of clubs have developed a couple of vet/beekeepers and at least one is willing to step up to the plate if the need arises < basically volunteer to the apiary inspector if diagnosis and paper work were need to comply with the new law.  In some ways the practicing vets are the easiest folks to train as beekeepers and many might be surprised at how fascinating they find beekeeping.

As strange as it may sound... one vet (kind of a new acquired friend) was up in Calgary this week giving a talk to a group of vets and vet techs..

Gene in Central Texas...

[neillsayers]

Wow Apis,

  You've been as busy as a one-armed paper hangar. You are exactly the guy to help in the positions you have earned. I'm glad to see you in here. Your sage and reasoned advice is always appreciated.

[iddee]

X2 what Neill said.

[Bakersdozen]

We have missed you, but being busy is better than being sick or tied up doing non-beekeeping tasks.

[apisbees]

To add to what tec said, In BC we have 10 apiary inspectors that will come out and check problems in your hives, inspect used equiptment before it is sold and if samples of infected AFB or EFB are sent to the Agriculture test lab then they can issue a prescription. But this takes more time, about a week to 10 days. and then you will need to go to the vet to get the drugs that are needed. or maybe get the local pharmacy to bring them in.