Month: November 2017

A weekend at the 2017 OSBA Conference

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This year I had the privilege of attending our state beekeepers association conference which was held at the Oregon Garden in picturesque Silverton, OR. It was a weekend of presentations, exhibitors, resource tables, spending time with beekeepers from around the region, and beautiful weather. 

As a hobbyist beekeeper I wasn’t sure where I would fit in. On the first evening of the conference I overheard a lot of commercial beekeepers chatting about almond pollination and nuc sales. I was worried that the conference was designed for our commercial beekeeping friends… Oh, how I was wrong!

I found that all of the information provided had the same goal: helping our struggling bee population.

One of the most exciting presentations came from Dr. Jennifer Han from Washington State University. Her research is currently focused on using the Metarhizium Brunneum fungus as a method for Varroa control. Also out of WSU was a presentation from Dr. Brandon Hopkins who is testing the use of a forced brood break to improve the effectiveness of mite treatments. It all sounds very promising!

Other presentations included updates from the OSU Master Beekeeper Program, the Bee Informed Partnership NW Technical Team, news about a new law regarding best beekeeping practices in urban settings, increasing genetic diversity in North American honey bees by introducing germplasm from Europe, an update from Dr. Ramesh Sagili from the OSU Honey Bee Lab. We also saw presentations from Brian Lacy of Urban Bees & Gardens, and Sarah Red-Laird of the Bee Girl Organization (who also happens to be one of my beekeeping idols!)

I absolutely enjoyed hearing the latest in honey bee research and what some of our regional beekeepers are doing to help the bee (non-native and native) population. And yes, there were BEES! The weather was absolutely perfect, so I took advantage of it and explored the gardens. It was easy to tell what plants to find the bees on because their enthusiastic humming could be heard from several feet away!

If you have been thinking of attending the annual conference, please go! It is a content rich experience and a unique opportunity to connect with beekeepers from around the region.

    

Sustainable Beekeeping Through Nucleus Colonies

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For our November meeting we had a “movie night.” If you missed out, or would like to re-watch it, the video is embedded below.

This video presentation by Joe Lewis was chosen because it summarizes what I’ve been promoting within the club for the past couple of years: the use of nucleus hives as a resource.

The video gets a little preachy at the end about treating for mites. I want to be clear that I and Portland Urban Beekeepers don’t want to shame people into treating. That is a personal decision. Yes, we shouldn’t ignore Varroa mites. They are a problem, no doubt. And whether you choose to treat or practice treatment-free beekeeping is entirely up to you.

But regardless of how you keep bees or even what kind of hive you use, nucleus colonies can be one of the most important tools we have at our disposal. I encourage all beekeepers to make it a regular part of their practice.