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Greetings from the President of the IHPA

Dear Honey Producers,

Another year is in the record books. Our attention is now drawn to predictions of what the new year will bring. I think that the beekeeping industry is due for some good news. Let's hope that 2009 will be a great year for beekeepers. Maybe there will be a breakthrough in colony collapse disorder. Maybe there will be no need for spraying soybean aphids. Maybe there will be an abundant nectar flow for the entire state of Iowa, not just certain locations. Hope leads to many great things happening. Let's all hope for 2009 to be the best year yet!

As I sit to write this article, the temperature is below zero. It was just a miserable day to be out of doors. The wind sure felt like it was just cutting right through everything. Let's hope the cold snap doesn't stick around too long. Let's also hope that the colonies that we winterized are in good shape and can handle this extremely cold weather. Maybe we should keep our fingers crossed also.

Mike hasn't worked for a couple of days, but he sure has gotten the pile of beekeeping magazines, seed catalogs and other magazines read and filed. Cold weather is good for something! Perhaps you also don't have time to keep up on magazines during the frenzy of the summer, now is a good time to catch up. He has also made a list of things that we need to get done for spring. Ordering packages and queens are some of those items.

Now is the time to get any honey bee packages ordered and any new equipment ordered or put together . Let's hope there is no shortage of package bees or queens this year. The more quickly you decide about the number of colonies to increase or if you just want to requeen colonies, the more likely you will receive your order. There are several package suppliers advertised in the BUZZ or check with the national magazines or your equipment suppliers to get your bees ordered.

Diane Jurchen is competing in Reno at the American Beekeeping Federation Convention for the American Honey Queen. Another hope of the IHPA is to get an American Honey Queen or another American Honey Princess. Good luck Diane in Reno. The experience is one she will always remember and we know that she will represent the IHPA well. Diane is attending school in Maryville, MO majoring in education.

Remember if you are having an event this year and would like Iowa Honey Queen Shiliah Spaulding to attend, book the date early. If you know of a date that you would like honey queen representation, please let Shiliah know now so she can put it on her calendar. The more quickly you contact her, the more likely you will have her attend. There are only so many days in the year.

The Iowa State Fair is still eight months ahead, but now is also the time to decide on your entries. If you have them in mind, as the spring and summer progress you can work on projects. I always have my camera with me, you never know when you can get that winning photo. As Mike drives for his job, he thinks of ways to make the wax art project. We need to keep the exhibit numbers high so that we don't lose any space or award money in the categories. Think of entering Apiary exhibits at the fair while you don't have as many things to do this winter.

Beginning beekeeping classes are starting to form in January, February and some into March. Phil Ebert has included a list in this issue of the BUZZ. If you know of a person interested in becoming an Iowa beekeeper, please let them know about our website or give them the information so they can attend some classes. Andy is also going to coordinate some summer classes in Ankeny. Our youth scholarship winners will also be attending classes and receiving their equipment in January. Let's encourage as many new beekeepers as we can to increase our numbers. The future of the Iowa Honey Producers Association is in new beekeepers and new association membership.

If you have any suggestions for the board to act upon this coming year, please let one of your directors or officers know what you would like us to concentrate on. We hope to represent each and everyone of you, but if we don't know what you feel is important for us to do, we can't always succeed in making the membership happy. Encouragement or volunteering to help on committees is another way to help your organization.

The IHPA will have a booth at the Iowa State Horticulture Expo to be held in April at Ottumwa. If anyone has ideas or wants to volunteer to man the booth, let us know. The booth is free of cost to us because we are an affiliate of the Horticulture Society. We can get lots of information out to the public at very little cost to us.

Let's Bee Cheerful and hope for the best beekeeping year in Iowa for 2009.

Sincerely,

Donna Brahms, IHPA President

Pesticide Regulation

For those who saw the “Pesticide Regulation” talk given by Chuck Eckermann at the annual meeting: He has made the information from his PowerPoint slideshow available upon request but asked that it not be published in The Buzz or on the IHPA website. Anyone interested in obtaining the slideshow details should contact me either by phone or email.

Thank you, Andy

(515) 725-1481

andrew.joseph@iowaagriculture.gov