Thursday 2 July 2009

Central Beekeepers Alliance

Central Beekeepers Alliance


2009-2010 Honey Bee Funding Announced for New Brunswick

Posted: 01 Jul 2009 06:40 AM PDT

New Brunswick’s Department of Agriculture and Aquaculture has announced the 2009-2010 Honey Bee Expansion Initiative to provide strategic assistance to the New Brunswick beekeeping industry.

This funding program is intended to help commercial beekeepers to expand their existing operations by increasing the number of colonies, and small-scale beekeepers who wish to expand their operations to commercial status

Who is eligible for funding?

  • The applicant must be registered as a commercial New Brunswick beekeeper (as per the requirements of the New Brunswick Apiary Inspection Act) in 2009.
  • Applicants who are not currently considered a commercial beekeeper must submit an expansion plan, indicating how they will reach commercial status (50 colonies or more by September 15).
  • Colonies must be available for pollination within New Brunswick.
  • All applicants must submit a plan that includes a summary of their production management practices including disease control and overwintering practices. Applicants with poor management practices (as deemed by the New Brunswick Department of Agriculture and Aquaculture) will not be eligible for funding assistance.

What costs are covered by the program?

  • The 2009-2010 New Brunswick Honey Bee Expansion Initiative provides financial assistance for:

    • Purchase of colonies
    • Purchase of nuclei colonies (nucs)
    • Splitting of colonies

Although the season is already well underway, eligible expenditures made since April 1, 2009, may still qualify for funding if they meet the guidelines. Expenditures made before that date are not eligible.

For more information about this program and other NB Strategic Agriculture Initiatives, please contact your nearest regional office of the New Brunswick Department of Agriculture and Aquaculture. Guidelines and Application forms for the Honey Bee Expansion Initiative are available on the NBDAA website at www.gnb.ca/agriculture (select “Strategic Agriculture Initiatives”).

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Central Beekeepers Meet 7 July 2009

Posted: 01 Jul 2009 05:55 AM PDT

beekeepingTuesday, 7 July 2009
Central Beekeepers Alliance Meeting
Agricultural Research Centre, Fredericton, NB
7:30 p.m.

Want to learn more about Beekeeping?

Central Beekeepers meet on the second Tuesday of the month. Visitors and new beekeepers are always welcome! Most meetings include an educational session, group discussion, or hands-on demonstration for the benefit of beginning beekeepers in central New Brunswick.

The Agricultural Research Centre ("Experimental Farm") is located at 850 Lincoln Road, Fredericton, New Brunswick. Entry is from the parking lot at the back of the building, at door "B". For a map to the Agricultural Research Centre, see our Next Meeting page.

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Maritime Bee Tour 2009 Set For PEI

Posted: 03 Apr 2009 06:53 PM PDT

The Maritime Bee Tour will be held July 17-18, 2009, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and hosted this year by the Prince Edward Island Beekeepers’ Association and the PEI Department of Agriculture.

Updated 31 May 2009 to add:


Guest Speakers:

  • Dennis Van Engelsdorp, Penn State University
  • Rheal Lafreniere, CHC & Manitoba Agriculture
  • Alison Van Alten, Ontario Tech Tranfer Team
  • and Local Beekeepers

Tour:

Accommodations:

  • Glen Denning Hall, Holland College
  • $99.00 / night + taxes (1 or 2 bedroom same price) with private separate bathrooms
  • To book your room by phone, call toll-free 1-866-740-7702 or local (902) 367-7702 and indicate that you are with the Maritime Bee Tour “Code 233″

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Video: Honey Bees Fighting Varroa Mites and Bee Louse

Posted: 02 Apr 2009 05:20 PM PDT

This video, Bees fighting varroa and braula coeca, was made by Ivan Brndušic, an electronics technician (from a long line of beekeepers on his mother’s side) who lives, works, and watches honey bees in the town of Bor, Serbia. When you see the bees’ attempts to remove the pests, it makes it very clear why hygienic grooming behaviour is a desireable trait for breeding in honey bees!

There’s a great explanation — with annotated photographs — of exactly what we’re seeing in this video as the bees try to fight off both Varroa mites and the very similar-looking but relatively benign-to-bees braula coeca (bee louse) on Brndušic’s website at brnda.com.

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Beekeeping Magazines Go Online

Posted: 18 Mar 2009 01:40 PM PDT

BeeKeepers QuarterlyThe BeeKeepers Quarterly edited by John Phipps, has just announced that it’s taking its show online. The UK beekeeping magazine can now be seen on the Web at www.bkq.org.uk. The March 2009 and May 2009 issues will be “free samples” for beekeepers to try it out, and there will be a small subscription charge for future issues. The print edition will continue for those who prefer to receive the magazine in that format.

This news comes from Kim Flottum, editor of Bee Culture - The Magazine of American Beekeeping, who is a regular contributor to the BeeKeepers Quarterly). Flottum notes that Bee Culture, too, will be releasing a digital edition later this year.

Other digital beekeeping magazines include Bee Craft (UK) and MidWest Beekeeper (US). So far, the American Bee Journal is not available on the Internet, but you can subscribe to the Journal through its website, or view the Table of Contents, Covers, and an index of articles in past issues.

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