Honey Extraction

Why Honey Crystallizes

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Our last post about how to stop honey from crystallizing struck a nerve of at least one reader who contacted me directly. The point was made that honey with anything added was no longer natural, must be labeled as such, and, in their opinion, was not the right thing to do.  Personally I don’t plan to add corn syrup to my honey for personal consumption or for sale. Here is an article on why honey crystallizes and argues that it is not a bad thing. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.

Stop honey from crystallizing

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Cooks Illustrated, a renowned cooking magazine, recently had an article on how to keep honey from crystallizing. The “secret” is to add a small amount of corn syrup. Read more here to learn why it works and to find the amount of corn syrup needed.

Responsible Corporation

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Recently the Georgia Pacific Corporation in Green Bay WI displayed that it is more than just a paper company and they are environmentally sensitive. A swarm of honey bees was outside one of their mills. The easy answer would have been to kill them by spraying them with some sort of insecticide. Instead they contacted the Brown County Beekeepers Association. Read the full story here.

April Kustov- Wisconsin State Hive Inspector

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April Kustov, Wisc State Hive Inspector, spent 2 days with BCBA members inspecting hives and sharing her knowledge.  April was thorough and focused during hive inspections and spent a generous amount of time with each beekeeper, explaining and demonstrating as they went through each hive. 

She also was our featured speaker for the BCBA meeting (Wednesday 8/21/2019)   There was plenty of good conversation, great questions and valuable learning for all attending.  THANK YOU April !  So nice having you with us !  

  • April Kustov
    State Bee inspector April Kustov presenting to the club in August 2019.
  • April Kustov
    State bee inspector April Kustov inspecting a members hive during a visit to Green Bay in August 2019.

Girl Scout Troop 4679 Partners with BCBA

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BCBA participating in GIRL SCOUT Journey!

The Brown County Beekeepers Association recently partnered with Girl Scout Troop 4679 from West De Pere, WI to assist troop members on their Girl Scout journey. The members Brooklynn Steier, Nicki Waystedt, and Skylar Schultz, participated with  BCBA club members to construct, paint and install a hive as part of their Outdoor Journey. The Girl Scout Outdoor Journey is focused on environmental stewardship.  The girls learn how to care for our planet by minimizing our ecological impact and to be an advocate for nature.  Working with BCBA is a perfect fit for the girls to complete their Journey due to the important role bees play in our environment.  The girls certainly have talent painting and were very engaged in installing the nuc in their new home.

  • Girl Scouts helping install bees into boxes they painted.
  • Learning about bees
  • Girl Scouts
    Girl scouts earning their Gold award
  • Doing a hive inspection

University of Minnesota Seminar helps us LEARN about VARROA and IPM

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Have you done your MITE CHECK yet?  

Learn why integrated pest management (IPM) is important to keep your bees alive and how to apply it to your hives.

Below are the first two seminars (of a six part series) created by the University of Minnesota to help us manage Varroa with a plan. 

  1. Managing Pests with a plan  –  https://www.beelab.umn.edu/sites/beelab.umn.edu/files/ipm_final_1.mp4
  2. Managing Varroa Destructor with a Plan –https://www.beelab.umn.edu/sites/beelab.umn.edu/files/managing_varroa_destructor_with_a_plan_-_version_2.mp4

Honey Bee Health Coalition releases info. to help bee keepers manage foulbrood

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A great resource to help bee keepers with IPM – HONEY BEE HEALTH COALITION released an information sheet for hive management decisions related to American Foulbrood (AFB) and European Foulbrood (EFB).

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https://www.projectapism.org/project-apis-m-blog/honey-bee-health-coalition-releases-information-to-help-beekeepers-veterinarians-manage-foulbrood?fbclid=IwAR1IQIScHslT9o3HU9NAhVsM3HmvG-1JPXepVyRhg41VGPr9ibVEtb5Xf88

May 2019 Meeting Education

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During the May 2109 meeting of the Brown County Beekeepers Association attendees were treated to two informative talks related to honey bees. The bee clubs goal is to provide timely, accurate, and interesting education at each meeting. All persons interested in bees and beekeeping are invited to attend.

Kaelyn presenting her glucose study

Kaelyn Sumner Pulaski FFA Student Advisor. She presented her science fair project that she will be taking to state level. Her goal was to determine if location or geographic location impacted glucose levels in honey. She had over 60 honey samples from all across the United States and even one from Canada. One of her biggest challenges was finding the correct dilution of the honey to determine glucose levels. Surprisingly, she found that geographic location did NOT impact glucose levels in honey. Thank you for your work and for sharing with our club. Kaelyn will be presenting her project to State – Wisconsin Convention as one of the five top projects.

Slava Strogolov CEO of Strong Microbials Inc. presented information about Honey Bee nutrition using pre-biotics and strong microbials to promote bee health, reproduction and longevity. He explained the positive impact of using pre-biotics on Foul Brood, Chalk Brood, other diseases and pesticides and insecticides. Attendees had the opportunity to buy his product DFM.

BCBA – Honey and Cheese Tasting Event

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Honey and Cheese Tasting Event for Club Members and family

BCBA is holding a Honey and cheese tasting event !

Kent Pegorsch, president of the Wisconsin Honey Producers Association (WHPA) will give a presentation on the different Wisconsin flowers and nectar sources.   Every participant will receive a flavor wheel and color chart from the American Honey Tasting society (AHTS) as we taste various honey samples side by side.   We’ll then pair the sweet flavors of the honey with different types of artisan cheeses supplied by Nala’s Framagerie in De Pere.  Wine can be purchased separately. 

When: Tuesday June 11, 2019

Where: Nalas Framagerie,  2665 Monroe Rd De Pere

Time: 6:00 – 8:00pm

Cost: $20.00 per person – $10.00  age 12 and under

Limit: 20 people due to space constraints at Nala’s – ONLY 3 OPEN SEATS AVAILABLE! (as of 5/4/2019)

Contact:  Julie Mazzoleni -Vicepresident@browncountybeekeepers.com to register and/or bring your payment to the next Club meeting on Wednesday May 15th.

Bee Informed – Colony loss and Management Survey

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Bee Informed Partnership

Don’t forget to take the Bee Informed Partnership Survey for Colony loss and management.   You have until April 30th to complete the survey.  This survey allows beekeepers to gain critical knowledge around different management practices and how they impact honey bee health and survival rates.  It also help us to understand long-term honey bee colony loss trends.   Please remember to take the survey and be a part of the larger beekeeping community !!

TO TAKE THE SURVEY NOW – CLICK THE LINK BELOW:

https://26.selectsurvey.net/beeinformed/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=LMS2019#