- July 13, 2013, Saturday morning at 9:30 am. Meeting at extension office in Oshkosh (see note below).
- September 14, 2013, Saturday morning at 9:30 am. Meet at the Ripon Public Library (Silver Creek Room). Address is 120 Jefferson Street, Ripon, WI. See note below about the guest speaker scheduled for a presentation.
2. July Meeting. The July meeting of the ECWBA will be held at the Winnebago County UW Extension Office. Meeting date and time is Saturday, July 13, at 9:30 am. The address for the extension office is 625 East County Road Y, Oshkosh, WI. Driving directions: Take US Highway 41 north bound to the Highway 76 & Jackson Street exit. Exit Hwy. 41 onto Jackson Street south. Drive south on Jackson Street about a mile (or two) to Hwy Y at stop and go lights. Turn left, travelling on Hwy. Y, and drive approximately a mile to address. The extension office is on the right side of the street, located in the James P. Coughlin Center building. There will be a meeting with a presentation focused on the summer and fall management of colonies for the newly established (first year) beekeeper.
3. September Meeting. The September, 2013, meeting of the ECWBA will be at the Ripon Public Library. Meeting start time is 9:30 am. The special guest speaker will be Ann Marie Ames from the Wisconsin DATCP. Ann Marie will give a presentation about the Drift Watch program that she oversees at the DATCP. Drift Watch is a registration program for beekeepers and organic producers to help against pesticide damage and contamination. It sounds like Ann Marie has a great program lined up for us. This will be a timely and important presentation, so ECWBA members are encourage to bring a guest that is involved with beekeeping or organic production. Here is a summary of the program sent from Ann Marie:
“Make your bees and sensitive crops visible to help keep them safe. Register your hives or commercial vineyards, orchards, pastures or gardens on DriftWatch.org. DriftWatch uses the Google Maps ™ interface to record the locations of sensitive crops including grapes, bees, fruit trees, organically raised produce and certified organic properties. The map is one tool applicators can use to take necessary steps to prevent pesticide drift. The more producers who register fields in the program, the more useful the map is to applicators. The program is intended for commercial producers, with the exception of bees. Beekeepers of any size are encouraged to register their bees on DriftWatch.org. If you already have a DriftWatch account, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection encourages you to log on to check your account for accuracy – if you are moving your bees this year, remember to move them on DriftWatch.org. If you are not already participating in DriftWatch, now is a great time to register. To log on to your existing account or to create a new account, visit http://wisconsin.agriculture.purdue.edu/. If you have questions or need help submitting a field, contact Wisconsin DriftWatch coordinator Ann Marie Ames at 608-224-4504 or email her at AnnMarie.Ames@Wisconsin.gov.”
4. The year 2014 is still six months away, but let’s plan ahead for the next year. At the July and September meetings, we will again try to establish a committee for a beginner’s beekeeping class for early 2014. Also, please give some consideration to volunteering or seeking a nomination for one of the two officer positions that will be up for election in January 2014. The ECWBA needs to vary its leadership with new and different ideas in order to keep it a thriving organization.
5. The ECWBA maintains a library from which members can check out beekeeping books. Andy Krueger has been doing a great job as our association librarian. If you have ECWBA books, please bring them back so we can keep those books circulating. If you are exploring something new in beekeeping, the library probably has a book or DVD for you to check out. This is a valuable resource – use it to your advantage!!!
Beekeeping Notes:
- In spite of its late start, spring came on rather quickly. It looks like the honey crop should be a good one. Be ready add supers for the accumulating honey.
- Develop a plan for honey extracting. Either buy an extracting unit (or system) or team up with an existing beekeeper that can provide you with an extracting service.
- Also, plan how you will store the honey harvest. There can sometimes be shortage of jars at this time of the year as everyone scrambles to obtain containers.
I look forward to seeing you all at the July 13, 2013, meeting in Oshkosh.
Best of Beekeeping,
Jeff Champeau
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