Subject: Jan. 95 'Buzz' - Iowa Beekeepers State Newsletter

From: [email-masked] (Terry Dahms)
Date: Thu, 9 Feb 1995 11:56:56

Submitted by: Terry Dahms, Pres.
       East Central Iowa Beekeepers Assoc.
       internet: [email-masked]
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                   THE BUZZ                     JANUARY, 1995
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       A newsletter published monthly as a cooperative effort by The Iowa
       Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and The Iowa  Honey 
       Producers  Association  (IHPA),  an affiliate member of  the  Iowa
       Horticultural Society.   Copy deadline is the 20th of each  month. 
       Your  ideas,  comments  and letters are welcomed  and  encouraged. 
       EDITOR:   Bob  Cox,  State Apiarist,  Iowa Dept.  of  Agriculture,
       Wallace Building,  Des Monies, IA.   50319 Phone:  (515) 281-5736. 
       IHPA  MEMBERSHIP:   Membership dues in the  Iowa  Honey  Producers
       Assn. are $5.00/year.  Send to Gordon Powell, IHPA Treasurer.
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       RENEWAL NOTICE:  If you would like to continue receiving THE  BUZZ
       newsletter,  return the last page by January 20th,  unless you did
       this last month.

       FROM THE PRESIDENT:
          Winter  is the time for the beekeeper to plan,  reorganize  and
       get ready for the coming season.   As representatives for all  the
       rest  of the members of the Iowa Honey Producers Association,  the
       board is also making plans for the coming year.  Some of the plans
       include beekeeping classes and seminars,  what to do if we  happen
       to  have  a  major  bee  transportation  accident,  reviewing  the
       regulations  and  laws  for  beekeeping  for  possible  revisions,
       planning  for  State Fair and the Annual  meeting,  considering  a
       beekeeper exchange with Poland and other promotional events.
          By  the way,  the board and its committees can not cover  every
       community in the state.   Maybe you feel that there have not  been
       enough honey promotion events in your area.   Consider yourself as
       on  a committee to plan for and ask for assistance from the  state
       association  to bring a promotional event to your  community.   If
       you need assistance,  feel free and bold to present your ideas and
       requests to the board.   Remember, bees don't sit at home and wait
       for  the  nectar to come to them--they go out to  search  for  it. 
       There  are  plenty of sweet honey experiences out there;  we  just
       need  to  buzz off to find them.   Don't take your  cue  from  the
       drone--very  few of them make a positive contribution.   Let's  be
       scouts and tell the others where to find the golden opportunities. 
       In  every  community  where there are bees,  the  work  gets  done
       through  local  initiative.   So also  in  your  community,  local
       initiative  is  what is needed to identity and  utilize  the  many
       sweet promotional opportunities.
          Some of our efforts may not seem all that effective.  Don't let
       that discourage you.  At another time your efforts may exceed your
       expectations.  It has been my experience that some efforts which I
       thought were not all that successful at the time, resulted in very
       good and positive results years later.   The problem was not  that
       the  effort was ineffective,  but that I wanted to  see  immediate
       results.   Often  it  takes time and the cumulative  effect  of  a
       number of efforts to make the difference.  
          We have a story and a product that interests people.   They are
       just waiting to hear, so lets tell them.         - Paul F. Goossen
       COYLE'S COLUMN
          This time last year,  I was reading up on bait hives and how to
       produce section comb honey.  Having had great fun with both in the
       summer,  I  am drawn to other ploys to pass the winter  until  the
       bees start flying again.  As a beginner in the bee business,  I am
       still  excited by all the things I do not know and how much  there
       is to learn.
          Listening  to  Wendell Schmidt talk of how he was  raising  his
       queen  bees and to Tim Laughlin's "show and tell"  on  observation
       hives,  got  me  down to the library and  back  to  the  workshop. 
       Although everyone does not have an extensively equipped  workshop,
       we  all  won  a  public  library  system  which  is  a  wonder  to
       contemplate.
          Some  time  back,  I learned of the Inter Library  Loan  system
       (I.L.L.).   Through it, I have been able to read both "Forty Years
       Among  the  Bees"  and "Fifty Years Among the Bees"  by  Dr.  C.C.
       Miller, with regard to section comb honey.  I then went on to Carl
       Killion's  "Honey  in  the Comb."   This winter  so  far,  I  have
       borrowed,  "Scientific Queen Rearing" by Doolittle,  "Comtemporary
       Queen Rearing" by Laidlaw and "Rearing Queen Honey Bees" by Morse. 
       All  of this cost me no more than a trip to the library  to  place
       the request and another two to pick up and return the books.   The
       request form has a line which asks how much one is willing to  pay
       for handling if the lending institution has such a fee, but so far
       all have been free,  even though books have come from as far  away
       as  Maine  and Colorado.   I hope through this  article,  I  might
       introduce someone to some new sources of information.
          Talking of information,  I love to tinker with odd and ends  of
       gadgets  and  to try as many different systems as I  can.   So  if
       there  is  anyone  who would like to  share  their  experience  or
       innovations with me, I'd be delighted. Contact: Peter Coyle,  2425
       Franklin Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50310 (515) 277-2415.

       BEE MANAGEMENT IN JANUARY
          Mice are prone to enter hives in winter,  if the entrances  are
       large enough to enable them to do so; these should, therefore,  be
       diminished so as to allow only one or two bees to pass at a  time. 
       Cats  likewise  are  an annoyance,  to which bees  should  not  be
       exposed.   They  should  not be permitted to run  upon  or  gambol
       between  the  hives.   Nor should the direct rays of  the  sun  be
       allowed to strike the entrances during the winter,  when the  bees
       ought  to enjoy undisturbed repose.   A slight  temporary  screen,
       easily removed on mild days, when the temperature permits the bees
       to  fly,  will prove highly serviceable--preserving the  bees  and
       preventing  an  inordinate consumption of honey.   If a  warm  day
       tempt  the  bees to fly while the ground is covered with  snow,  a
       quantity of loose straw should be scattered on it in front of  the
       hives  to keep the bees from being blinded by the glare,  and  aid
       them  in regaining their homes.   If,  in addition to  this,   the
       apiarian  has taken the precaution to secure his hives from  being
       stolen,  he  will have done all that can properly be  required  of
       him,  during the month.  (Excerpted from January 1861 American Bee
       Journal--the first issue.)
       1995 APIARY REGISTRATION
          Its  time to register your apiary(s) again.   Simply send me  a
       copy of last year's registration with the current date if  nothing
       has changed.  If there are only small changes, make those directly
       on  a copy of last year's registration.   Be sure to make  another
       copy of your registered locations for your records and next year's
       registration.  
          If you do not have a copy of last year's registration, fill out
       the  one  at the end of the newsletter.   If you do not  know  the
       legal description of your apiary(s), get a county map to pin point
       the location to nearest 1/4 section.  If you live in town and your
       bees  are located at your home,  indicate by "homeplace"  or   "at
       home address above".  Be sure to fill in the name of the county in
       which  your apiary(s) is located and use a separate form for  each
       county.
          The  purpose  of  apiary registration is  to  enable  pesticide
       applicators to contact you in case of applying pesticides that are
       labelled "toxic to bees"  within a two-mile radius of your apiary. 
       I  get a number of calls each year from pesticide applicators  who
       want  the  apiary  locations in several  counties  where  they  do
       business.   Many  more contact the local county ASCS  offices  for
       registered locations.  Its kind of embarrassing when they call and
       no  one is registered in the county and they know that  there  are
       beekeepers  in  the county.   They figure that  beekeepers  either
       don't  care if their bees are sprayed or that beekeepers  are  not
       willing to do their part to avoid pesticide kills.
          Let's show the farmers,  pesticide applicators and ASCS  office
       personnel that Iowa beekeepers really do care about their bees  by
       registering this year.
                                        
       BEEKEEPING CLASS TO BE OFFERED IN DES MOINES
            Starting on Tuesday,  March 7, 1995 a beekeeping class will be
       offered  by the Iowa Department of Agriculture in cooperation  with
       Polk  county ISU Extension service.  It will be held every  Tuesday
       night for 8 weeks at the Des Moines Botanical Center.  This will be
       an  in-depth class covering a variety of topics on  beekeeping  for
       fun and profit.  Each class session will last from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
            The  class will include hands-on experience in  beekeeping  in
       the classroom and during field trips.  Those interested in starting
       with  bees,  novice  beekeepers and  seasoned  beekeepers  are  all
       welcome to participate.
            Pre-registration   is   required  by  February  27th   and   a
       registration fee will be charged.  For more information contact Bob
       Cox,  State  Apiarist,  Iowa  Department  of  Agriculture,  Wallace
       Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319 telephone (515) 281-5736.

       DID YOU KNOW...
          That  Edward Kretchmer was one of the founding fathers  of  the
       Iowa Beekeeping industry?   Mr.  Kretchmer wrote several books  on
       beekeeping  and  was the first president of the  Iowa  Beekeepers'
       Association  in  1875.   After  holding  two  meetings  with  poor
       attendance it was decided that the organization was premature  and
       was disbanded.
       IOWA FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GROWERS ANNUAL CONFERENCE
          The  Annual Conference of the Iowa Fruit and Vegetable  Growers
       Association will be held January 27-28,  1995 at the Crystal  Inn,
       6111 Fleur Dr.  in Des Moines.  This is a very interesting meeting
       for  any  serious  gardener, beekeeper  who  provides  pollination
       services,  or growers.   The Iowa Honey Producers Association  are
       planning  on  having  a  booth in  the  exhibit  room  to  promote
       beekeeping with convention goers.  If you can help staff the booth
       for part of a day, give Bob Cox a call (515) 281-5736.  
          To  obtain registration materials for the meeting contact  Iowa
       Fruit & Vegetable Growers Assn. at (515) 282-8192.

       4-H ESSAY CONTEST DEADLINE JANUARY 15
          4-H  clubbers,  there are just a few days left to get your  bee
       story sent in.   The American Beekeeping Federation is  sponsoring
       the  4-H  Essay  Contest  on  Beekeeping  once  again  this  year.   
       Because so few entries are received,  there's a great  opportunity
       to  win something by simply entering! The 4-Her is asked to  write
       an original story on honey bees suitable for a teacher to read  to
       second-grade students.  Suggested titles include:  The Busy Little
       Bee,  I  Like  Honey,  A Trip to the Apiary,  or  My  Friend,  the
       Beekeeper.  Send your story  to me by January 15, 1995! 
          Full contest rules are available from Bob Cox,  State Apiarist,
       phone 515-281-5736 or FAX 515-242-5015.

       IHPA COMMITTEE CHAIRS

       1.    State Fair Sales - John Johnson
       2.    Membership - Dick Blake
       3.    Term  of Office and Membership dues (By-laws change) -  John
       Johnson
       4.    State Fair Exhibit - Margaret Hala
       5.    Honey Queen - Paul & Hildegard Goossen
       6.    Nominations - John Johnson
       7.    Promotions & Awards - Ann Garber
       8.    Educational - Bob Cox
       9.    Annual Meeting - Curt Bronnenberg
       10.   Youth Exhange - Russ Swenson
       11.   Bee Emergency - Bob Cox
       12.   Legislative - John Johnson

       UPCOMING IHPA MEETINGS IN 1995

       MARCH 4  Board Mtg. at Barn Restaurant in Amana, Iowa 1:00 pm
       JUNE 10  Board Mtg. in Amana
       JULY     IHPA & CIBA field day in Eastern Iowa
       SEPT.30  Board Mtg. in Amana
       NOV.     Annual Meeting in Ames, Des Moines, or Marshalltown

       FOR SALE:  Southwest Wisconsin White Clover Honey,  clarified  and
       strained, in drums or pails. Call Al Balwin in Darlington, WI at
       (608) 776-3700