Annual Meeting of the Iowa Honey Producers
Association
It's meeting time again! The annual meeting of
the Iowa Honey Producers Association will be held Friday, November
18 and Saturday, November 19, 2005 in Marshalltown, Iowa at the
Best Western Regency Inn located at 3303 South Center Street.
We have a full schedule planned as usual. Make
plans to enter the photo contest or the foods made with honey
contest to show off your skills. The rules are listed at the end
of this article for these competitions. There will be a silent
auction on Friday and Saturday this year, so get some Bee collectibles
together to share with your friends. There will also be an auction
during the banquet of larger items. Regina and her honey queen
committee worked hard at the state fair rolling beeswax candles
to raise money for the queen program. Let's help them complete
their funds by donating items for a great sale.
Here is a little background on a couple of our
featured speakers this year, Bob Cox and Allen Dick.
Bob Cox
Bob studied and worked under Dr. Bill Wilson at the University
of Wyoming in Laramie where he received his Masters Degree. During
this time he also worked at the USDA Bee Disease and Pesticides
Research Laboratory for five years. When that lab was closed Bob
moved to Weslaco, Texas with Dr. Wilson when the Bee Laboratory
opened there to do research on the honey bee tracheal mite and
Africanized honey bees. After working in Weslaco for 4 years Bob
moved to Des Moines to work as the Iowa State Apiarist for 13
years. In 2002 Bob moved back to Weslaco to work at the Bee Research
Laboratory again. During his professional career Bob’s main
emphasis has been on “Improving Bee Health: Reducing the
effects of pesticides, bee diseases, parasites and other pests
on honey bees.” Current research focuses on integrated pest
management of varroa mites and small hive beetles.
Allen Dick
Allen Dick, originally from Ontario, is a beekeeper from Swalwell,
Alberta. Swalwell is situated northeast of Calgary and 100 miles
east of the Rockies. Allen began keeping bees in Alberta in the
70’s and gradually built up to 3500 colonies for Canola
pollination and honey production. He sold out a couple of years
ago and currently keeps only a few colonies. Allen maintains a
website at www.honeybeeworld.com and also hosts the website of
the Iowa Honey Producers. His website contains a daily diary for
several years of his operation and also has cataloged information
on a number of beekeeper topics. Allen is very computer oriented
and well informed on issues facing the beekeeping industry. Some
of his other interests include kayaking, sailing and skiing.
Rules for the contests:
COOKING WITH HONEY:
The categories will be: cookies and snacks, and miscellaneous
items. The main sweetener in the item needs to be honey and please
include the recipe with your name on the back.
PHOTO CONTEST RULES:
There will be two classes to choose from to enter. One will be
harvesting, processing, packaging, or marketing bee hive products.
The other class will be general beekeeping; any subject depicting
honey bees, honey or beekeeping, but not included in the specific
subject class. Photos in both classes will be judges on technique,
composition, impact and overall appearance. Photos must be matted
with a maximum 2-inch border but unframed.
SEE YOU IN MARSHALLTOWN NOVEMBER 18TH
AND 19TH FOR FUN, FELLOWSHIP AND LEARNING!!!
