Lloyd said:
  The receipe I have
> used for years calls for corn syrup but it is no longer easy to get that 
> in
> 60 pound pails around here.  I am looking for a receipe using 100%
> granulated sugar.

I used my "phone a friend" and he said to make up a pail of sucrose like you 
want to use and then use the same recipe.

Bobby Whirlycamp from Randolf, Nebraska has a large cooker he uses to make 
candy boards and he dumps whole drums of granulated sugar in the cooker and 
then  adds the remaining water however I have never seen the cooker working 
only had its use described to me.  You could probabbly call information and 
get his phone number and ask. Bobby removes his honey crop from 2000 hives 
in the fall and then extracts all winter. Only beek from our area I ever saw 
extract in dead of winter. One year a friend and I went to see Bobby at his 
operation in heavy coveralls. When we stepped inside (outside temp around 
10F) Bobby was extracting honey. We did not stay long as the temp inside was 
around 90F.

I own a 50 gallon 3 phase steam kettle which would make candy boards fast 
and all you would need is to place enough water in first to keep the sugar 
from burning. I would not think the consistency would need to be exact as 
long as in the middle between too soft and too hard.

I am not far enough north in my opinion to need candy boards on *all* hives 
but some to prevent starving at times would be useful. We fed all hives 
needing feed this week  when temps were 70F. which removed any chance of 
hives starving now. We are trying to get Missouri hives cranked up for 
pollination and splitting and liquid sucrose does a better job than a candy 
board as incoming syrup acts to a degree like a small flow.

We had mostly 8 frame strong  hives which were not needed in California for 
almonds. Most of those sent graded 8 frames when the contract was for a 5 
frame average. The grower reaped the rewards. You never know what bees 
coming out of winter in January will look like. I have heard of no problems 
so far. I was worried after I read the CCD article in the bee magazine.(Feb 
Bee Culture).

However if you look at page 150 of the February American Bee Journal you 
will see a a testimonial from commercial beekeeper Dale Rye blaming the 
neonicotinoids for 2000 dead hives this season.
Dale does not call his pesticide kill CCD.    Dale does blame Bayer in the 
article.

Many of us hope in the near future Bayer will have to prove their product 
did not kill our bees rather than now beeks having to prove their product 
did!

bob

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