December 05th, 2018

​November’s Ramblings of a Bee Bumbler, from your PRESIDENT

Fall is in the air and winter will not be far behind. I finished my fall honey harvesting the last week of October. With the dry summer we had in North Louisiana I was not too surprised at the low harvest numbers. My fall colony losses were around 10% which brought my yearly numbers to 15%. I can live with a 15% loss of colonies. With my health issues and wanting to down size, the losses kind of work in my favor. More on that later. I also treated for varroa and did an inventory of needed wooden ware replacement needs for spring as I was pulling honey supers. It looks like I will have a busy spring replacing bottom boards, brood chambers and the like. While my fall harvest was light the colonies looked healthy and most had plenty of stores going into winter. I averaged around 100 pounds per colony for the year. Not great but I am thankful for the harvest I got. So now the colonies look good, varroa treatments are in (Checkmite) and supers are stored with moth crystals. Nothing to do now but wait until spring. NOT!! There are dead-outs to clean, queen excluders to clean, extracting equipment to clean, honey house to clean. Did I mention I have a lot of cleaning to do?
Just a few follow-up notes. I mentioned I had treated for varroa. There is a very true statement that goes “If you have bees, you have Varroa.” The question is what is the count and if you are going to treat? I do treat for varroa with chemicals and rotate the type I use. This spring I used Apistan (fluvalvanate) followed by Check-mite (coumaphous) this fall. In the spring of 2019 I will use Apivar strips (amitraz). I feel by rotating my chemical use in this way, I am lessening the chance of chemical resistance build-up. This may not work for everyone but seems to work for me. Whatever treatment you use, be sure and follow the directions for application, personal protective equipment and the disposal of used strips and equipment.
I mentioned down-sizing in the first paragraph. I have health issues, that unless I hire some help, I need to cut back on the number of colonies I run. A 300-colony operation is about all one man can handle. At least this man. As a “Best-practices”, I did not combine weak colonies this fall or try to requeen. Those colonies are not welcome in my operation. Since I treat all my colonies the same, the weak ones, those that lost and/or did not replace their queens, those with excessive varroa or hive beetle numbers or those that did not produce an excess of stores, needed to go. Some would call it down-sizing by attrition, but I call it cutting my losses and only working with the strongest and best colonies I can.
Beekeeping is going strong in Louisiana if the attendance at our spring and fall field days are any indication. We had our Fall Field Day at the USDA research facility in Baton Rouge and it was a great day spent with new and old beekeepers alike. There were around 150 in attendance in October with great speakers, good food, an outstanding facility and again just visiting with fellow “BEEKS”. I want to thank all those that came but especially all those that worked to make this year’s event a success. This event is as much a chance to learn about beekeeping but more so to show you what the USDA Bee Lab does for us. We need to keep the importance of the work the research scientists do in the forefront. We are very fortunate to have this facility in our state and we don’t want to lose it. So thank you members of the LBA, Capital Area Beekeepers, USDA research facility staff and speakers that again made thus year’s event a success.
I know with Thanksgiving right around the corner it is a busy time for all of us. I do want to remind you of the LBA’s annual convention that is being held in Sulphur, Louisiana this year. The new LBA website has all the information about the early registration, agenda and speakers appearing this year. There will be several breakout sessions to attend and vendors to visit and by purchasing your bee supplies for next spring from. I look forward to then and visiting with so many of you. There will also be our annual membership meeting where we discuss whatever business needs your attention and the election of officers and board members. There are some openings on the board this year and we are always looking for new members and fresh ideas. There are several committees that are also looking for help from the membership. If you like the direction your association is taking, get involved. If you do not like the direction your association is headed, get involved. The LBA is YOUR association and it depends on you to make it strong and fulfilling the needs of the state’s beekeepers.
A couple of final notes. The Louisiana Farm Bureau (LFB) Honeybee Commodity Committee will also be meeting during the December convention. We will look at past recommendations to the state board, add additional recommendations if needed and elect a new chairperson and vice chairperson. This meeting is open all Farm Bureau members  but only committee members can vote or approve recommendation to present to the state LFB board. If you are interested in serving on the committee you can see me at the convention, but you will have to contact your local parish Farm Bureau board for appointment.
In January the American Beekeeping Federation and the American Honey Producers Association have their annual conventions. These are great places to gain information, pick up needed supplies and hear from some of the best of the best speakers in the bee keeping industry. It also pays to be a member of these organizations as they provide newsletters, magazines, websites and promote beekeeping and honey production on a state, federal and national level. Want to change things, get involved. Want to learn more, get involved. Want to be a better beekeeper, get involved. So what is my final message for 2018? GET INVOLVED.
The LBA is only as good as it’s membership and the work/cooperation each of you supply. Thanks again for allowing me to follow my passion in serving you, the membership, and I will see you at the convention in December.
Randy Fair, LBA President