ECWBA Newsletter - June, 2010

June 26, 2010

1. Meetings. Here is the list of meeting dates for the remainder of 2010:
July meeting: July 17, 2010. 9:30 am. Fond du Lac County Library.
September meeting: September 18, 2010. 9:30 am. Ripon Public Library.

2. Presentation Topics. Here are the discussion topics to be covered at the meetings:
July meeting: Andy Krueger will talk about her beekeeping operation and incorporate information about her Master Gardener skills.
September meeting: To be determined.

3. July Meeting. The July, 2010, ECWBA meeting will be at the Fond du Lac County Library. The library’s address is: 32 Sheboygan Street, Fond du Lac, WI. To get there, take Main Street (north or south) to Sheboygan Street. Take Sheboygan Street east one block to Portland Street. Turn right (south) on to Portland and go about a half block to the library’s parking lot located on the east side of Portland Street.

4. WHPA Summer Meeting. For those of you who are interested in checking out the Wisconsin Honey Producers Association, the WHPA will be holding its summer meeting on Saturday, July 10, 2010. This meeting will be at the Lion’s Hall in Redgranite, WI. The featured guest speaker is Dave Mendes, a nationally known honey producer and package bee and queen producer. There is a $15.00 registration fee which includes lunch.

5. Internet Blog note. Our blog has a NEW look. The blog has up-to-date information about the ECWBA and other beekeeping information. There are links from the blog to the club photo gallery as well as a discussion group. Let's hear from you! If you'd like to post something - forward the info on to Jeff or Denise. Take your time and enjoy the links to OTHER BEEKEEPERS from the site - it's always interesting to see into the life of other keepers.


Beekeeping Notes:
* Before things get going too fast this summer, this would be a good time to check on your honey gathering supplies and equipment. Will you need more honey supers? Queen excluders? Bee escapes? Jars and bottles for honey? Start planning ahead.
* Be sure to have plenty of supers on hand for the BIG nectar flow. If you run short of supers, here’s a couple of options: buy some more supers, or extract the full supers and return them to the hive (these are called “wet” supers).
* For the new beekeepers, start planning the honey harvest. If you plan for a liquid honey harvest, start shopping for extracting equipment. Or find an existing beekeeper that will help you out with extracting.
* You may want to buy honey jars in advance. When there is a big honey crop, sometimes the suppliers run short of jars.
* Start thinking about fall pest treatments and over-wintering strategies.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at 715-330-9969. I’m sometimes hard to contact, but leave a message and I’ll call you back. Or e-mail me at jeff.champeau@yahoo.com.

Best of beekeeping,
Jeff Champeau - President, ECWBA - Telephone: 715-330-9969