Coming in March: Organic Beekeeping Workshop with Ross Conrad
It was a full house at last year's workshop!
Celebrated Vermont beekeeper Ross Conrad will host an Organic Beekeeping workshop on Saturday, March 12, from 9 AM to 1 PM. This workshop includes two popular topics with local beekeepers: “Working with Honey Bee Queens and Swarms" & "Organic Controls for Pests and Disease other than Varroa”.
The event is presented by The Nature Museum at Grafton and will take place at NewsBank Conference Center at 352 Main Street in Chester, Vermont, across from the main NewsBank campus.
Registration is already open, so reserve your spot today! Tickets are $30 each before March 1; after that, they are $35 as space allows.
Conrad will present a balanced view of natural and organic beekeeping topics not often covered by conventional beekeeping lessons. Time will be allotted to discuss beekeeping and answer questions with Ross and to meet other beekeepers. Ross will be signing copies of his book following the workshop and will have bee related products available for purchase. Raffles, a flow hive display, honey tasting and light morning refreshments will be served, featuring special treats from Grafton Village Cheese.
Workshop Details
"Working with Honey Bee Queens"
The queen bee is the only fertile female bee in the hive and can lay 1,500 eggs or more a day during the peak of summer. Ross Conrad from Dancing Bee Gardens will provide beekeepers with information they need to work productively with queens. Workshop participants will learn how to differentiate between healthy queens and unhealthy ones, receive tips on how to introduce queens into a hive, and how to address queen problems that may arise. Note: this workshop is NOT about breeding queens and grafting.
"Working With Swarms"
This workshop will explore the swarm...from the swarm as an expression of the hive's vitality to the intricate details of how the hive decides on a new location to build their home and the process they use to coordinate the movements of 10,000 bees so that they all arrive at the new location at the same time. Based upon research conducted at Cornell University, Ross will share tips on understanding the swarm, how to work with the swarming impulse, and how to capture swarms.
"Organic Controls for Pests and Disease (other than Varroa)"
This workshop will cover everything from bears and skunks, to wax moths, small hive beetles, foulbrood, nosema, viruses and more.
This workshop includes:
- Ross Conrad’s beekeeping presentation
- Free coffee if you bring your reusable mug
- Light refreshments
- Raffles for prizes which include Ross’ CD & book
- Honey Tasting: Share a taste of honey if you can spare it . Will you taste regional differences in foraging habitats in the honey?
- Check out a Flow Hive. Brought by Mark Verespy
- Opportunities to meet other beekeepers
- Comfortable seating and lecture accommodations.
About Ross Conrad
Conrad is the author of Natural Beekeeping: Organic Approaches to Modern Apiculture. He learned his craft from the late Charles Mraz, world-renowned beekeeper and founder of Champlain Valley Apiaries. A former president of the Vermont Beekeepers Association, Conrad is a regular contributor to Bee Culture: The Magazine of American Beekeeping. His beekeeping business, Dancing Bee Gardens, supplies honey, candles, and other bee-related products and also provides bees for Vermont apple pollination.