VERMONT BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION
Summer Meeting, Long Trail School, Dorset, Vermont
July 22, 2006
Mike Palmer called the meeting to order at 9:45 AM
He called proud attention to the fact that it was the 120th meeting of the bee association,
certainly one of the longest-
The Recording Secretary counted about 65 people in attendance.
There were numerous products set up for a silent auction in an adjacent room, and everyone was encouraged to check them out and bid. The proceeds go to an ongoing, annual scholarship fund.
John Tardie gave the Treasurer’s report, and broke down the Association’s expenditures
and its various sources of income (from dues, honey sales, cookbook sales, etc.).
As of July 21, 2006, the Association has a bank balance of $8,116.97. John had hoped
to put our money into ING Direct in order to earn more interest, but unfortunately
the company only allows accounts from individuals, not from businesses or non-
Mike Palmer stated that the average age of a beekeeper in the U.S. is 55 years old, and that we need to “bring the youngsters in.” Larry Connor (this year’s guest speaker) said that he visited Texas last year and they have an interesting program: if a young person goes to a bee meeting once a month for a year and then writes a paper, he or she receives a free hive. Someone asked about VBA donating a hive to Vermont schools. Mike said that has been tried but there are insurance issues that make it difficult. Even UVM turned down a request to put a bee yard in on their property, stating that they would have to take out a $1 million liability policy. Other questions asked about collaboration with the Echo Center in Burlington and Billings Farm in Woodstock. Maddie Sobel said she would pass around a sheet to begin an email group that would develop ideas for VBA outreach to youngsters.
Steve Parise gave the Inspector’s report (this can be accessed on the
VBA web site). He said that someone selling nucs from NH had simply been reselling
bees he had bought in NY and SC, and that a number of them had AFB. Also, one hive
in White River had AFB and was resistant to treatment by Terramycin (this is the
first resistant hive found in VT). In another instance, a commercial beekeeper in
the Monkton/Charlotte/Burlington area let his bees rob out his winter dead-
Larry Connor asked about Small Hive Beetle (SHB) in Vermont, and whether they were
being brought in by migratory beekeepers. Mike said that they are now over-
Charlie Andros asked about the differences between two mite treatments, Apiguard and Apilife Var. Apiguard is effective at lower temperatures than Apilife Var. Steve mentioned that there can be brood damage at 80ºF when using Apilife Var, and Bill Mraz said that the queen will stop laying when it’s hot if Apilife Var is on the hive.
Mike Palmer gave a workshop update. The North Yard, at the Intervale in Burlington, is managed by Bill Mares. Kirk Webster and Mike Palmer had each sold two nucs to the yard. Unfortunately there was 100% loss last winter. Bill said the weather was real “squirrelly” and there was no production in his comb supers at all. One of the workshops in the North Yard was rained out, and on average 10—12 people attended the others. Bill teaches about bees in the winter at his high school. During the summer, 10 of his students attended the workshops. Bill stressed the mentoring and helping new beekeepers is crucial to the survival of VBA and of small hobbyist beekeeping in VT. Small clubs around the State are more pertinent than a few people from VBA trying to run everything. John Tardie said that VBA had received $150 in donations, and that Bill Mares had contributed $100 of it.
Bob Eastman talked about the South Yard, located in West Fairlee. There are 25 members in the Upper Valley Bee Club, and attendance at the first three meetings totaled 84 people. At the fourth meeting, Mike Palmer was the guest instructor, and gave a workshop in queen rearing. Bob mentioned that low attendance and very hot weather were bad for honey sales at the Connecticut Valley Fair in Bradford. It was so hot that creamed honey was changing color in the bottle. In all, there was a loss of $4.34.
Election of Officers. Mike Palmer seemed eager to pass the presidency of VBA on to someone else, as he has been president for 3 years already. He said he’s happy to continue, but needs more help. He remains president. Bill Mares remains as Vice President. Randy Potvin volunteered to be the new Webmaster. Diane Meyerhoff is the Membership Secretary. Valerie Vass volunteered to be the Newsletter Editor. John Tardie continues as VBA Treasurer, and Jeffrey Hamelman remains the Recording Secretary.
. One of the chief themes of this year’s meeting is management for sustainable beekeeping. Mike Palmer devoted a good chunk of time before lunch to describing the evolution of his methods to improve sustainability by raising his own queens, rather than buying Southern packages every year. As Africanized bees become more and more prevalent through the South, it will be more important for Northern beekeepers to develop queen rearing systems.
Lunch followed Mike’s talk, and it was plentiful and there was lots of variety to choose from.
After lunch, guest speaker Larry Connor talked about Queens, Drones, and Drone Congregating
Areas. After Larry’s talk, Kirk Webster gave an in-
The meeting adjourned at 4 PM.
