News & Events: Information on Meetings and other News & Events
Ashe County Beekeeping Association (ACBA)
May 12, 2016
* The May meeting of the ACBA for 2016 was held on Thursday, May 12, 2016 at the Ashe County Cooperative Extension Office, Ashe County Center, 134 Government Circle, Jefferson, NC 28640.
* To start the meeting, ACBA President shared some slides depicting EFB (European Foul Brood) vs. (American Foul Brood) disease in hives and actions to take when a hive is infected.
* The main speaker for the evening was James Wilkes who shared information and slides on his travel and attendance at the international Apimondia meeting at the end of 2015 in Seoul, South Korea. He said the meeting was a fantastic experience and he'll be looking forward to the 2017 event in Istanbul, Turkey.
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Regular Meeting of the ACBA
March 10, 2016
* The first meeting of the ACBA for 2016 was held on Thursday, March 10, 2016 at the Ashe County Cooperative Extension Office, Ashe County Center, 134 Government Circle, Jefferson, NC 28640
* Check out our 2016 Slate of Officers.
* Planned meeting topics for 2016 include:
* March - discussion: Opening hives and what should I be feeding, plus a discussion on nuc installation...speakers will be James Wilkes and Randy Baldwin.
* April - refresher on hive splitting...Jim Miles is the planned speaker.
* May - James Wilkes will present information on his travel and attendance at the international Apimondia meeting at the end of 2015.
* June - mid-year round table...participants TBD.
* July - diseases...presenter Greg Fariss.
* August - program TBD.
* September - winter preparations.
* October = Greg Fariss will again be our speaker and will cover a variety of topics on beekeeping.
* November - plans are to combine the pot luck dinner with a voluntary bazaar.
Regular Meeting of the ACBA
August 13, 2015
* The regular meeting of the ACBA was held on August 13, 2015 at the Ashe County Agriculture Center in Jefferson, NC to a packed audience of 28 Ashe County beekeepers and guests.
* The evening program consisted of an exceptionally informative presentation by Greg Fariss, regional Apiary Inspector for Ashe County - as seen in the thumbnail picture to the right - covering a variety of topics including winter hive preparations, diseases and viruses associated with Varroa mites and treatment for Varroa mites.
* Minutes of the meeting can be read here: 8/13/15 Meeting Minutes
* As part of the presentation, Greg shared a handout dealing with sampling colonies for Varroa mites.
* A promising new treatment option for controlling Varroa mites was also discussed and the product data sheet for Oxylic acid dihydrate was handed out.
Regular Meeting of the ACBA
July 9, 2015
* The regular meeting of the ACBA was held on July 9, 2015 at the Ashe County Agriculture Center in Jefferson, NC.
* The evening program consisted of a panel discussion by ACBA President Randy Baldwin, Program Manager Joy Lewis and guest James Wilkes, owner of Faith Mountain Farms and developer of Hive Tracks.
* Minutes of the meeting can be read here: 7/9/15 Meeting Minutes
* Before the start of the meeting, Bob Cole had samples of several plants for demonstration that are pollen sources for bees. Scroll over the thumbnail photographs to the right to see:
- Basswood
- Bee balm
- Corkscrew willow
- Golden rain tree
- Kiwi vine with kiwis
- Korean dogwood
- Orchard mint with parasitic Dodder infestation
Regular Meeting of the ACBA
June 11, 2015
* The regular meeting of the ACBA was held on June 11, 2015 at the Ashe County Agriculture Center in Jefferson, NC.
* The evening program featured several YouTube videos dealing with hive swarming that were presented by Program Director, Joy Lewis.
* Minutes of the meeting can be read here: 6/11/15 Meeting Minutes.
Regular Meeting of the ACBA
May 12, 2015
* The regular meeting of the Ashe County Beekeepers Association held on April 9, 2015 was treated to an extremely educational session by Doug Vinson, Regional Director of the Mountain Region, NCSBA.
* Doug's presentation "Summer splits: timing and techniques for mite load reduction, colony manipulations to interrupt Varroa mites" can be read here: Regular Meeting Minutes, 5/14/15.
* The evening meeting lasted well past 8:30 PM and didn't allow for any Q&A discussion by the 10 members and guests in attendance.
* Thank you Doug for a great meeting!
Regular Meeting of the ACBA
April 9, 2015
* The regular meeting of the Ashe County Beekeepers Association held on April 9, 2015 was treated to an extremely educational session by Jim Miles on two topics: swarming and splitting of hives.
* The evening included a lively Q&A discussion by the 26 members and guests in attendance.
* Thank you Jim for a great meeting!
At the end of the meeting, a raffle was held for the members and guests present to select from a collection of four beekeeping books that were donated by Fowler Bush.