I'm now a MEMBER

I was greeted with an opportunity to hitch a ride with one of our members to: THE WISCONSIN HONEY PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION (WHPA) fall/winter convention at Manitowoc (topics as previously noted in blog)

WOW - I'M SOLD - what a GREAT OPPORTUNITY and EDUCATION our chapter offers it's members!!!!!

some TOPICS that stood out to me - 'cause I LIKE all this BIOTECH and BIOLOGY and SCIENCE and RESEARCH stuff.

Jerry Bromenschenk.....honing in on the CAUSE FOR CCD!!!

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0013181

here's a link to his recently published article. the long and the short - it's the deadly combination of a latent virus with nosema...read on! again - it shows that our bees might be able to handle a single factor on it's own...but in combination - it becomes deadly.

another speaker, Dr. Marion Ellis - UN/ Lincoln...repeated the words of Paracelsus (1493 - 1541) over and over again...."The dose makes the poison." Taking an aspirin can help you feel better - taking a BOTTLE will make you feel really bad! (or dead) He talked about all the chemical exposures our bees deal with on a daily basis - from WHAT WE PUT INSIDE the hive and WHAT THEY GET OUTSIDE the hive...and how sometimes it's the COMBINATION (drug interaction) that kills. He touched on the importance of cycling out foundation - as wax is absorptive...and chemicals can be building up in there.

we also had Dr. Marla Spivak down from the Minnesota Bee Lab - updating us on the research going on there.

I was HAPPILY surprised by the QUALITY of the speakers, topics and by the "FORWARD-NESS" (Wisconsin's state motto is FORWARD) of their approach as an orgainization. They've introduced legislature that will impact the LABELING requirements in the state of Wisconsin. The long and the short here is....if it says, "HONEY" - IT BETTER BE HONEY INSIDE...PURE AND UNADULTERATED. (or it can COST you...don't mess around in Wisconsin!)