> Which was a better show?

I'd have a hard time choosing; that is why I went to both :)

Each meeting has its unique pluses.  AHPA members visited the Carl Hayden
bee lab.  ABF members visited a casino.

If cost is a concern, I figure that the ABF always costs me about twice than
what the AHPA does, since the ABF tends to pick pricey and toney places,
while the AHPA tends to pick places where you can park a semi or motorhome
for a few days (for free) if you need to, breakfast is free, and a person
can grab a hamburger or taco nearby for a couple of dollars, instead of
having to pay big bucks for a snack or basic meal, as I have found I wind up
doing at the ABF meetings.

This year, AHPA was at a Holiday Inn on the edge of Tucson.  The AHPA
attendance is a bit smaller and the sessions are focused more towards honey
production and pollination, but there is a great deal of overlap in content.

The same research was presented at both, however, the ABF had several other
groups meeting concurrently, the AIA and the AAPA (and some from CAPA).
Since beekeepers registered at the AFB meeting were welcome to attend the
scientists' session, that added content that otherwise would have been
absent.  For example, Medhat and Rob Currie were at the AAPA meeting
discussing formic and oxalic, but not Tucson.  ABF also had presentations
from grad student contestants which were worthwhile.

All in all, probably the ABF has more, but, then what is better than
visiting the Tucson lab and the Baton Rouge lab, as we did during AHPA
meetings?  ABF also has special content for rank beginners and hobbyists,
which AHPA does not.

From all this, one might conclude that ABF wins hands-down, but I would not
jump to conclusions.  If I were a small or mid-size beekeeper and had to
choose, is uncomfortable in big, glitzy places, likes to have convenient
free truck parking nearby, and had to watch my convention budget, I'd just
go to whichever is closest, and, because AHPA costs much less, give them the
edge -- unless the added content was important to me.

There is a group of people who attend both.  That is costly and a bit
gruelling, but allows a person to skip sessions that are duplicates and to
meet more people.  Will I keep doing it?  Don't know.

allen
A Beekeeper's Diary: http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/
More info from my travels and pictures from a 2005 visit to Lusbys'

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