The Buzz Newsletter

September 2007

 

 

Page 3

Greetings from the President of the IHPA

Dear Honey Producers,

Wow, another hot Iowa State Fair is in the record books for the IHPA. The new renovations seem to have worked out great. We had lots of comments from other vendors, the customers and beekeepers about the new and improved area we use in the Ag building. Most people thought that we had added several more spaces, but the space used is the same, it just looks so much more streamlined that it appears larger. We put all of the exhibit areas together and moved the sales area to the end closer to the water with the new larger sink and hot water heater. We also added a couple storage areas to keep the honey stock for sale so that we didn’t have a cluttered pile behind the counter. Even though the fair officials are saying that about 10,000 fewer people attended the 2007 Iowa State Fair, the Iowa Honey Producers Association had record sales. The preliminary gross income for the IHPA was up around $10,000 more than any previous year. We were running low on creamed honey by Thursday evening. We ran out of pretzels on Saturday evening, but with not much to sample, we didn’t get any more. We also were running low on the lemon juice needed for the lemonade. The Des Moines Register helped us with sales by putting in an article about fair bargains and included the honey lemonade. I will have facts and information for you at the annual meeting during the state fair report.

THANK YOU to Mike Brahms, Steve Brahms, Melanie Bower, Duane Bower and Jerry Kern for helping make the changes possible. The grant money sure made things easier. THANK YOU also to all of the people that helped set up and take down the booth area and especially to all of the workers. We, the IHPA, couldn’t do this without the help of all of you. I, as sales booth manager, really appreciate you taking time to come and help make this possible.

I want to THANK Melanie Bower for the superb job she has done as Superintendent of the Apiary exhibit for the past couple years. The exhibits looked great. If you have any suggestions for changes to the rules for the apiary exhibit, please contact Melanie.

How are your bees doing? Get your honey off so you can treat for mites. With all of the CCD publicity the question, “Are your bees dying?” was the number one topic of conversation at the fair. We need to make sure that we are doing everything possible to ensure the health of our colonies. Hopefully, we will have some expert advice soon. The Iowa State Apiarist job has been let and there have been several applications sent in. Let’s keep our fingers crossed (and our toes) that a qualified candidate is located and we can have the expert help that is needed. We received several new members and gave out numerous applications to prospective beekeepers at the fair.. Many are interested in taking beekeeping classes. Lots of people have noticed that there aren’t as many honey bees and are wanting to do something about ensuring the pollination in their gardens and orchards.

Don’t forget about having Chelsa Bronnenberg, the 2007 Iowa Honey Queen help you with any promotions. Chelsa did a great job representing the IHPA at the Iowa State Fair. No doubt you heard some of her interviews on the radio or television or you got to speak to her at the fair. She did several presentations at the stage area located in the Ag building. She answered many questions from the public while explaining beekeeping and about honey bees in general by the observation hive display. Thank you Chelsa for a wonderful job at the fair.

The Annual Meeting is fast approaching. Please consider attending. Pat Ennis has a great line-up of speakers and we will be discussing the CCD problem and hear from people that attended the Pollination Symposium held in Ames in June. There will be information elsewhere in this issue [pg.7] concerning the Annual Meeting November 16th and 17th to be held at the Marshalltown Best Western Regency Inn.

Get your honey extracted and enjoy some of the nice cooler weather that Iowa has in September. Stop to smell the lingering flowers and enjoy the company of those you love.
Sincerely,

Donna Brahms, IHPA President