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Greetings from the President of the IHPA

Dear Honey Producers,
It was my fault that the September newsletter was so late. I apologize for that. The Iowa State Fair causes such turmoil in everyday life for all of us involved. To get everything that needed to be included in the BUZZ just took extra time and the deadline for the issue was during the fair.

I had decided that maybe I had done enough for this organization as your president. I had made getting another state apiarist one of my goals. That goal has been met with State Apiarist, Andy Joseph. Now appeared to be the perfect time to step down. I have since realized that we have another huge problem that needs to be addressed. That thorn in our side, as an organization, is the chemical spraying and the detrimental effect it has on all insects. To work on the situation, a group of entomologists, ISU extension personnel, the pesticide bureau, aerial sprayers, Andy and myself met to discuss possible solutions. There are so many conflicting studies about the proper time to spray, how the labeling law is being misused for the chemicals being applied, the application process itself and what protection the apiary registration is actually doing for us. We met to discuss all of the above plus more. I will report on the outcome in next month's issue. This is now my goal as your president. We need some protection from chemical spraying and other entities have agreed. We are working to better the situation. If you have any ideas or suggestions about this subject, please let me know. My address and email address are listed on the back of this issue. We need your input. ( Ivan, I am sorry, I misspelled your last name. I must have missed it when I proof-read the copy.)

One way of increasing the membership in the IHPA was started a couple years ago. That program is the Youth Scholarship program. Mike has received applications from over a dozen youth wishing to be included in our program. The word is getting out about our program. It is vital to our organization to increase beekeepers and what a wonderful way to do it. We might even have some help with the purchasing of equipment this year. More on that when details become available to us.

How was your honey crop this year? Ours was really good. Remember to get any treatments on your colonies as soon as possible. One of our best defenses is to make sure our colonies go into the winter months as healthy as possible. If you don't have enough honey available to your honey bees for the long, cold winter months to come, make sure that you provide food for them NOW. One of the research questions and ongoing studies for the problems facing our colonies is colony health. Let's provide them with every opportunity to be healthy.

Don't forget to register for the Annual Meeting. The convention will be held in Marshalltown at the Regency Inn Best Western hotel on November 7th and 8th. The agenda will be included in this issue along with other articles concerning the contests, (the more the merrier), lodging, registration forms. If you have further questions, contact Pat Ennis, Melanie Bower, or myself. We will host our youth scholars and will be able to hear and see their year through photos, stories and some even did 4-H presentations. Please welcome them into our meeting. We will also introduce our new members that evening with another group of scholars being named. Please consider this your invitation to become part of an ever evolving group of beekeepers. We need your presence and your input in this organization.

I wish you all a wonderful autumn season and hope you enjoy the out-of-doors and beautiful fall foliage. Have a "beewitching" season.

Sincerely,

Donna Brahms, IHPA president

Membership dues for 2008:

Dues for 2008 must be paid in order to be able to vote at the 2008 IHPA Annual meeting. They are still $10 for the primary member and $5 for each additional family member at the same address. The November Buzz will be the last one sent to members who have not sent in their 2008 dues. 2009 dues are being accepted now if you want to send it in.
Melanie Bower, Treasurer
207 S.E. Diehl
Des Moines, IA 50315

Extractor for Rent Through the Department of Ag

The Department of Ag has some small-scale extracting equipment available for loan:

Small motorized extractor

Hot knife

Honey filter baskets
Just call me (Andy) at (515) 725-1481 if interested

The Nebraska Beekeepers Association Chemical Free Workshop

November 14: Deadline to register for Chemical Free Workshop; submit registrations to Nancy Holman Southeast Community College, Continuing Education Division, 301 South 68th Street Place, Lincoln, NE 68510, phone 402-437-2712, fax 402-437-2703

November 21-23: Chemical Free Beekeeping Workshop at Southeast Community College, Lincoln NE, Current speakers confirmed are: Dee Lusby, Randy Quinn, Dean Stiglitz, Laurie Herboldsheimer, Corwin Bell, Kelley Simmons, and Michael Bush. Topics Small cell beekeeping, Experiences in natural cell beekeeping, Bee breeding, Top bar hives, Natural cell size and varroa, Small cell management, several others are in the process of deciding and making arrangements details will be updated as available.
www.nebraskabeekeepers.org