Submitted by Terry Dahms - President
East Central Iowa Beekeepers
internet: [log in to unmask]
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THE BUZZ AUGUST, 1993
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A newsletter published monthly as a cooperative effort by The
Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and The Iowa
Honey Producers Association (IHPA), an affiliate member of the
Iowa Horticultural Society. Copy deadline is the 20th of each
month. Your ideas, comments and letters are welcomed and
encouraged. EDITOR: Bob Cox, State Apiarist, Iowa Dept. of
Agriculture, Wallace Building, Des Monies, IA. 50319
phone: (515) 281-5736
IHPA MEMBERSHIP: Membership dues in the Iowa Honey Producers
Assn. are $5.00/year. Send to Robert Shepherd, IHPA Treasurer.
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Dear Fellow Beekeepers,
Well the drought of '93 never came, but the floods of '93
are here. I think everyone would have been happy if we would
have just gotten a third of the crop we got in '88. The bees
have been bringing in some honey between rains, most likely from
the white dutch clover. It is really abundant this year.
Here in Cambridge, like other places, we have lost entire
bee yards in the flood. I received a call the other night that
one of my yards with about 15 colonies was entirely gone. A
large pond to the east aways had broken out the side and came
down right through the middle of my yard. It washed a gorge at
least 30 foot deep, 100 foot wide, cutting an entire corn field
in half and taking all our hives except one. It is an
unbelievable sight. I've never seen anything like it.
I talked to some beekeepers in eastern Iowa this week. Some
of them are not even going to set up their extracting equipment.
Southern Iowa has some honey on their hives. But for the most
part there is not much honey out there.
The ground is very saturated with water around here, as it
probably is all over the state. We're going to have trouble
getting into our yards to pull the honey even if the rain stops.
And that brings up another point. The honey that is out there on
the hive and capped is very wet. If it is left out there too
long there is a good chance it will sour. I bring my honey
supers in to the honey house and stack them so they are not
tightly sealed. I turn every other one the opposite way on the
stack to let air circulate. With fans and dehumidifiers going
the moisture can be pulled down to 17.5--18 percent. After the
moisture is down I then begin extracting. This works quite well.
Hopefully the rain will stop soon, things will dry out, and
we will yet get some honey off the abundant flowers out there.
Even though things aren't going well, we must remember we have so
much to be thankful for.
-Leroy Kellogg, President IHPA
HONEY OF A VERSE
Thus may we gather honey from the weed
And make a moral of the devil himself.
- Shakespeare
LAPLANDERS HONEY CONFERENCE
Friday, September 10th the Laplanders Honey Conference of
southern Iowa and northern Missouri will be held in Allerton,
Iowa at the Inn of The Six Toed Cat. Dinner will be held at 6
P.M. and the program starts at 7 P.M.
For further details and reservations contact: Ann Garber
(515) 872-2119 by Tuesday, Sept. 7th.
The following day, Saturday, Sept. 11th at 10 a.m. will be
the Honey Walnut Classic on the east portico of the Inn of The
Six Toed Cat in Allerton. This is the 3rd year of this popular
event. Be sure to visit the "Bee Hive", next door to the Inn,
owned by Ann Garber, which includes an extracting plant and gift
shop featuring honey products, beeswax candles, etc. All this is
a part of the Allerton World's Fair with live entertainment at
the Inn and community family fun at the Centennial Bldg.
AFRICANIZED HONEY BEE (AHB) UPDATE
The first human death in the United States attributed to
the Africanized Honey Bee occurred on July 15, 1993, in Starr
County, 30 miles north of Rio Grande City, Texas. Mr. Lino
Lopez, an 82-year old rancher, tried to destroy a colony of bees
that had become established in the walls of his ranch house when
the bees attacked him. Apparently he used a torch-like
instrument soaked with gasoline and when he introduced the
gasoline-soaked rag into the wall opening the bees became angry
and attacked him. It is not known with certainty how many stings
he received. Mr. Lopez was taken to a local hospital where he
was pronounced dead.
The colony was destroyed by a Texas Apiary Inspector.
Samples were sent to the Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
Weslaco laboratory, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) Harlingen laboratory and ARS Beltsville laboratory for
identification.
On June 18, a colony of honey bees was detected inside the
exterior frame of a house in Tucson, Arizona. The bees allegedly
killed a dog, and the property owner was stung six times while
trying to free the dog. Later, the sample of the bees was
confirmed as Africanized by the Agricultural Research Service Bee
Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland. Plant Protection
and Quarantine and State cooperators are working with the
homeowner to have the colony destroyed.
The Arizona Department of Agriculture (ADA) is conducting a
door-to-door survey of the area. There are 42 swarm traps within
the 4 square-mile area surrounding the detection. ADA has
intensively trapped along the border of Mexico with 296 traps.
On July 9, a swarm of AHB's was intercepted in a trap 2
miles north of Sasabe, Arizona, in Pima County along the
Arizona/Mexican border. The swarm was destroyed, and a sample of
the bees was sent to the Beltsville bee lab where the sample was
confirmed as Africanized.
(B. Glen Lee, Richard Backus, Elba Quintero - USDA/APHIS)
"A beehive's hum shall soothe my ears". (Sammuel Rogers)
STATE APIARISTS REPORT
The Flood - What a summer! I have several reports of colonies
being washed away or drowned by the flood. Besides that, I
believe the torrential rains and abnormally cool weather have
spoiled our early summer honey crop in most areas of the state.
There should be Federal government disaster relief money for
severe honey crop losses, but not for lost bees or the beehives
themselves, unless FEMA can be persuaded that our beehives are
agricultural buildings. In most cases beehives were carried away
downstream or if found, the comb is unusable because of mud and
debris in it.
After almost two weeks without running water I'm looking
forward to having water by tomorrow in our home. This week they
started turning off overhead lights at 11:00 a.m. in the capitol
complex buildings to conserve electricity. So we are working in
the dark except for desk lamps. The only positive side of this
disaster is that it makes you more thankful to God for what we do
have.
State Fair - I am looking forward to a good showing for the
apiary exhibit at the State Fair this month. The honey that has
been produced is beautiful. Be sure to get your entry blank in
to the Fair by the August 9th deadline. The table displays have
been remodeled so that we can maintain spots for four entries
with less space. The tables are now 5' wide by 7' deep.
John Johnson could still use help in the Honey Sales Booth.
The booth will only be a success to the degree that beekeepers
volunteer to work. Please sign up on the back page of THE BUZZ
to come make the fair booth a success.
Inspection - So far this inspection season we have found a low
level of Varroa mites in many counties. In addition, we are
seeing most beekeepers with fewer colonies of bees or in some
cases none at all. The replacement package colonies are not
developing well, especially if started on foundation. The bright
spot in the state appears to be the extreme southern part of the
state where a fair honey crop has been made. The remainder of
the state is still anxiously awaiting a late honeyflow on alfalfa
or soybeans.
FIRST UPPER MIDWEST BEEKEEPERS MEETING
The Minnesota Honey Producers Association and the University
of Minnesota Apiculture program cordially invite all beekeepers
in the upper Midwest to attend a winter meeting, December 2-4,
1993, in Minnesota. As most everyone is aware, apiculture
research, teaching, and extension programs have been eliminated
in many state universities. The problems created by the
parasitic mites, Africanized honey bees, and foreign competition
for honey prices are moving the beekeeping industry in the
direction of increased self-sufficiency and diversification. The
hope for the future is to establish regional centers of
apicultural research and extension. The University of Minnesota
is one such center.
Everyone is invited to celebrate the continuance of the
apiculture program at the University of Minnesota and to
participate in the establishment of a regional program. An open
house and tour of the Apiculture facility is planned as well as
exciting speakers: Dr. Shimanuki (USDA lab in Beltsville, MD);
Sue Cobey (Ohio State University); and Marla Spivak (University
of Minnesota). Panel groups composed of beekeepers, state
apiarists from the region will discuss the possibility of
establishing a USDA Bee Research facility in St. Paul. This is
an important meeting; please plan to attend.
The meeting will be held December 2-4 in Bloomington,
Minnesota (just south of Minneapolis) at the Comfort Inn-Airport.
The hotel is located is located very close to the Mall of America
(convenient for Christmas shopping!). To reserve a room, you may
phone (800) 228-5150. Pre-registration will be required so we
can estimate attendance. Look for the pre-registration form in
upcoming newsletters and bee journals.
For questions, call or write Darrel Rufer, Vice President MN
Honey Producers, 3499-75th St. S.W., Waverly, MN 55390; (612)
658-4645; or Marla Spivak, Dept. Entomology, 219 Hodson Hall,
University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108; (612) 624-4798.
HONEY MONTH SIGNING CEREMONY
The signing ceremony for the Governor's Honey Month
Proclamation will be held August 31st at 10:15 a.m. at the
Governor's office in Des Moines. Secretary of Agriculture, Dale
M. Cochran has been invited. We would also like to invite
interested beekeepers to attend this ceremony. Pictures will be
taken and an article will be sent to each local newspaper in the
town where participants reside.
NATIONAL HONEY BOARD ELECTS NEW OFFICERS
The National Honey Board reelected Binford Weaver, Neil
Miller and Steve Klein as officers, reelected Dale Bauer as a
member and elected Mike Ingalls as a member to the Executive
Committee during the Board's annual meeting, held in Denver on
June 26.
Binford Weaver, a beekeeper and president of Weaver Apiaries
in Navasota, Texas, was reelected as chairperson of the National
Honey Board. As chairperson, Weaver presides at Honey Board
meetings and supervises all Board activities. Neil Miller,
president of Miller's Honey Farms, Inc., Blackfoot, Idaho, was
reelected as vice chairperson. Steve Klein, a beekeeper from
Marshall, Minn., was reelected as secretary/treasurer. Dale
Bauer, a beekeeper from Fertile, Minn. and an officer of Sioux
Honey Association, was reelected as member of the Executive
Committee.
Officers and members of the Executive Committee are selected
by a majority vote of the 13-member National Honey Board.
Prospective members of the National Honey Board are nominated
during an annual meeting of industry representatives from state
beekeeping organizations.
IOWA HONEY PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL REPORT (July 1, 1992 to June 30, 1993)
Sales of honey and hive products at the Iowa State Fair
continues to provide Iowa Beekeepers with a major promotional
opportunity. In 1992, the total for gross sales of honey and
hive products and honey ice cream (made by Anderson-Erickson
Dairy) was $19,473. Net income was $3,138.
The Annual Meeting was held November 6 and 7, 1992 in
Ankeny. Major topics included: Research on Tracheal Mites by
Dr. Bob Danka; Overwintering Bees, Bob Guntren; Honey Bee Project
in Minnesota, Dr. Marla Spivak; Queen Rearing, J. Z. Paysen;
Honey Bee Pollination for Hire, Fred Rossman and Producing Queens
in an Africanized area, Dr. Rick Hellmich.
Iowa's State Honey Queen, Heather Pomeroy, daughter of David
and Stephanie Pomeroy of Wayland, Iowa was named 1993 American
Honey Princess at the American Beekeeping Federation Annual
Meeting. She is involved in numerous beekeeping and honey
promotional activities nationwide.
A strong effort is being made at the national level to
entirely eliminate the honey loan/support program. Association
board members and other beekeepers contacted our congressmen
urging them to support retention of the program. Many beekeepers
believe low cost and poor quality, imported honey and the
importance of honeybees as pollinators warrants a honey program.
Several Association members participated in a signing
ceremony with Iowa's Governor Terry Branstad signing a
proclamation declaring September 1992 as Honey Month in Iowa.
Pictures were taken and used to kick off a month of special
promotional activities.
The 1993 Spring Field Day was held May 22nd at the Ray Tull
Farm near Donnellson. The theme of the field day was spring
colony management and queen rearing with an emphasis on the
Jenter system of queen rearing.
Assistant State Apiarist Bob Wells retired as of June 30,
1993 after serving 18 years in that position. The state
association and several local beekeeping organizations honored
Bob with retirement parties and plaques.
This is the second year for the Iowa Honey Producers as a
member of the Iowa Horticultural society. This relationship
fosters better communication and a stronger position in
legislative matters and is mutually beneficial to beekeepers and
the Horticultural Society.
During the 1992/1993 winter over 50% of Iowa's honey bee
colonies died. Definite causes are not known. Guesses by
beekeepers include: no warm weather from November to late March
to provide cleansing flights; poor nutritional quality of fall
nectar and/or colonies weakened by parasitic mites.
As of 1993 tracheal and Varroa mites are wide spread in most
sections of the state. Adequate chemicals are available to
control Varroa, but not the tracheal mite. The risk of
contamination of honey with Ag chemicals is a growing concern.
We will continue to advise members on proper use.
The Iowa Honey Producers Association contributed $500 to the
University of Minnesota Bee Research program and $500 each to the
American Beekeeping Federation and The American Honey Producers
organizations. The grants are intended to support lobbying
efforts in Washington.
Iowa Honey Producers Association members participated in a
wide array of promotional and educational events and activities.
Some examples are:
a. Provided honey, cookbooks, and cash awards for
participants and winners in State Fair honey division
foods competition.
b. Financial support for Iowa Agricultural Youth Institute.
c. Cooperative effort with other agricultural groups to
produce and present educational materials to school
children throughout Iowa on a topic entitled "Iowa Kids
Love Iowa Food".
d. Provided materials for hospitals statewide for food
service people to use honey in patient meal preparation.
e. Booth at Iowa Home Economics Convention - Spring 1993.
f. Hawkeye Science Fair in Des Moines. Provided judge and
prize money.
g. Booth at Dutch Oven/Black Powder Celebration at Madrid
Boy Scout Camp.
h. Provided an observation hive and educational assistance
for use at State 4-H Educational Center near Madrid.
i. Assisted with several events at Des Moines Botanical
Center including Honey Days in March and Easter Egg Hunt
in April. Used the Honey Bear Mascot and gave away
honey candy at the April event.
j. Gave out honey samples and printed literature at a
Living History Farm event in September 1992.
k. Provided educational programs, literature and honey
samples to many public school, civic, county
conservation, church and other groups throughout Iowa.
- Submitted by Leroy Kellogg, President
(Prepared for the Proceedings of the Iowa State Horticulture
Society's Annual Meeting July 31, 1993.)
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DADANT BEE SUPPLY DEALER specializing in providing supplies for
the hobbyist and small sideline beekeeper.
AUTUMN APIARIES, INC. - GORDON & BEVERLY POWELL
4012 - 54TH STREET
DES MOINES, IA. 50310
PHONE (515) 278-1762
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FOR SALE: 1-500 beehives and a Fairbanks-Morris scales (Maximum
capacity 1000 lbs.) for weighing barrels.
Contact: Leon Metz in Hazel Green, WI (608) 568-7601 or 748-4706
FOR SALE: 50 hives of bees and a 50-frame extractor. Without
the honey crop $3,000 OR with the honey crop $4,000.
CONTACT: Dennis Loghry in Red Oak, IA at (712) 623-5715.
FOR SALE: Large Cowen Uncapper $700
Contact: Dick Blake in Shenandoah, IA at (712) 246-3412
FOR SALE: 2-frame galvanized Root Extractor with small stand.
Asking $50. Call Phil Ebert in Lynnville, IA at (515) 527-2639.
FOR SALE: 20-frame (deeps) or 40-frame (mediums) extractor,
chain uncapper, cappings melter, clarifying tank, super lift,
honey storage tank, honey pumps, moisture tester, super cart,
honey house pallets, 300 - 6 5/8 supers. Contact Ron Silliman in
Carlisle at (515) 989-0161 Days or (515) 989-0423 Evenings.
FOR SALE: Two 4-frame, basket-type extractors - hand crank
$50.00 & motorized $75.00; 50 frame radial-type extractor,
galvanized & painted $300.00 Contact: Dennis Loghry, RR 2, Red
Oak, IA ph. (712) 623-5715.
FOR SALE: 400 two story colonies of bees. Will sell 1 or all.
Call Leroy Kellogg (515) 383-4476.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
AUGUST
19-29 Iowa State Fair - Apiary Booth on 2nd Floor of the
Agriculture Building. Sign-up sheet on last page.
31 Honey Month Proclamation Signing Ceremony 10:15 a.m.
in the Governor's Office in the State Capiatol Bldg.
SEPTEMBER
10-11 Laplanders Honey Conference 6:30 p.m. Friday and
Honey-Walnut Classic on Saturday at the Inn of the
Six-toed Cat, Allerton, Iowa.
18 Central Iowa Beekeepers Meeting & Fall Field Day.
noon until 6:00 p.m. Topics: Overwintering &
Disease Prevention. Evening meal will be catered.
25 "Taste of Honey" Day at Des Moines Botanical Center
27-28 American Bee Research Conference, College Station, TX
OCTOBER
9 IHPA Fall Field Day 1:00 p.m. at Doug Schmitz's Honey
House in Defiance, Iowa. More details later.
NOVEMBER
5 & 6 Annual Meeting of the Iowa Honey Producers Association
Starlight Village Best Western Motel in Ames, Iowa.
1993 IOWA STATE FAIR WORK SCHEDULE
Please indicate the day(s) and time(s) that you are willing to
work by writing your name(s). Also, fill in your name, address
and phone number at the bottom of the page.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 19 TUESDAY, AUGUST 24
9:00-1:30____________________ 9:00-1:30____________________
1:30-6:00____________________ 1:30-6:00____________________
6:00-9:00____________________ 6:00-9:00____________________
10:00-2pm____________________ 10:00-2pm____________________
(Handing out samples) (Handing out samples)
FRIDAY, AUGUST 20 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25
9:00-1:30____________________ 9:00-1:30____________________
1:30-6:00____________________ 1:30-6:00____________________
6:00-9:00____________________ 6:00-9:00____________________
10:00-2pm____________________ 10:00-2pm____________________
(Handing out samples) (Handing out samples)
SATURDAY, AUGUST 21 THURSDAY, AUGUST 26
9:00-1:30____________________ 9:00-1:30____________________
1:30-6:00____________________ 1:30-6:00____________________
6:00-9:00____________________ 6:00-9:00____________________
10:00-2pm____________________ 10:00-2pm____________________
(Handing out samples) (Handing out samples)
SUNDAY, AUGUST 22 FRIDAY, AUGUST 27
9:00-1:30____________________ 9:00-1:30____________________
1:30-6:00____________________ 1:30-6:00____________________
6:00-9:00____________________ 6:00-9:00____________________
10:00-2pm____________________ 10:00-2pm____________________
(Handing out samples) (Handing out samples)
MONDAY, AUGUST 23 SATURDAY, AUGUST 28
9:00-1:30____________________ 9:00-1:30____________________
1:30-6:00____________________ 1:30-6:00____________________
6:00-9:00____________________ 6:00-9:00____________________
10:00-2pm____________________ 10:00-2pm____________________
(Handing out samples) (Handing out samples)
NAME:________________________ SUNDAY, AUGUST 29
9:00-1:30____________________
ADDRESS______________________ 1:30-7:00____________________
10:00-2pm____________________
_____________________________ (Handing out samples)
PHONE(_____)_________________
RETURN TO:
W. John Johnson
RR 4, Squaw Valley
Ames, IA 50010
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