Author: mpsba

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MPSBA Pot Luck Picnic June 3, 2018 – 10am to 2pm

Hi MPSBA members

At our May 11 meeting the folks in attendance voted to cancel the Beeyard Tour for this year.  Its just a very poor year for the bees and it was going to be difficult to arrange a decent tour.

However, a majority of the people at the meeting did wish to have some sort of a get together in June instead of the tour.

So, what I am offering is a “Pot Luck Picnic” at my place (92 West Road, Huntsville) from 10am to 2pm Sunday June 3, 2018.

Bring along your cooler with whatever you would like to enjoy for your lunch (no alcohol please) and some chairs.

I will have a BBQ going if you want me to cook something up for you.

Please let me know if you plan to attend.

Rob

robertjkey@hotmail.com

705 783 3320

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MPBSA Meeting Minutes – April 21, 2018 DRAFT

These minutes have not been approved so they are considered DRAFT minutes.
Board members present: Roland Lalonde & Rob Key
  • call to order at 0940
  • World Bee Day – May 20 (United Nations declared world bee day to be May 20 last December – )
  • Motion to approve last meeting minutes by Craig and seconded by Joe Boehm – carried.
  • Next meeting is Friday, May 11, 2018 and John is bringing some food at 6pm if people want to show up a bit early – meeting still starts at 6:30pm
  • Rob reviewed the antibiotic discussion at the Powassan meeting with the vet that they had come in.  This vet will probably provide the antibiotics to beekeepers and it shouldn’t be a big deal.
  • Joe mentioned that you can buy some before the legislation is passed and put it in your freezer and it should keep for quite a while (at least until the whole process gets sorted out).
  • Q&A
    • when to unwrap – Joe recommends middle of May for this year
    • when to re-queen – up to you, queen’s can live many years and some commercial bee keepers re-queen every august, you should be able to tell by your brood pattern if your queen is still viable – the workers will also know and take care of this themselves if you don’t (if you are letting the hive raise their own queen – should aim for when the dandelions are out, otherwise you can introduce a new queen any time)
    • where to find mason bees – set up your bee house and they will find it!
    • will there be a tour this year? – yes, still looking for volunteers – was going to be Bracebridge / Gravenhurst but maybe Parry Sound again, Rob will talk to Peter Istvan
  • reminder to take courses if you are interested – there are quite a few available right now
  • 50/50 – Joe won but donated his winnings to the club funds
  • Motion to adjourn by Joe seconded by Roland – carried.
  • formal meeting closed
  • equipment show and tell and discussion
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MPBSA Meeting Agenda – April 21, 2018 – Club Expo

Hey Fellow MPSBA members!

I would like our April 21 meeting to be a morning of sharing of beekeeping ideas.

If you have a beekeeping related item you like, bring it along. It could be wooden wear, a tool, a magazine, a particular kind of feeder, anything at all.  If it is too large to bring in, snap a picture and bring that.  Don’t be afraid of duplication, we all know there are many different makes and designs of the simplest items. (smokers, hive tools, uncapping tools, bottom boards, bee suits, etc)

We will set up tables around the parameter of the hall to display your items and leave lots room in the centre to move around, have a chat and a coffee.

For those of you just starting out, this will be a chance to get a look at real equipment used by actual beekeepers.

So, you’ve got a week or so to think about, find that item in the shed, in the back of the truck or  dig it out of the snow, and bring it along to the Raymond Hall on Saturday, April 21 at 9:30am.

See you there

Rob

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MPBSA Meeting Minutes – March 17, 2018 APPROVED

M-PS Beekeepers Assoc. March 17/18 9:30, Raymond Hall

Rob welcomed everyone and introduced Sarah Martz from OMAFRA.

Sarah gave us a talk about Understanding Ontario’s’ Label Requirements for Honey:
-Ont Regulation 119/11 and Food Safety Requirements
-OMAFRA’s honey monitoring program – will check colour class, grade(moisture) and drug and lead residues.
-Labels – in 2016 only 17% of retail honey were compliant, 46% at farm gate
-over 150 gr – honey/miel
-grade and colour class
-name and address
-net weight
-country/province of origin
Farm gate – sold directly to consumer from producer’s place of residence
-Honey/miel
-address
Retail – needs grade and colour class as well
-grade=moisture – use a refractometer
– colour – can use colour chart, Pfund Scale Honey Grader

Standard Container Sizes are for Retail, sizes do not apply for Farm Gate sales

Comb honey label must say Comb Honey/miel en rayon. Does not need grade and colour class.
Honey substitutes are not regulated – ie honey and cinamon etc.
Federal requirements – Consumer Packaging and Labelling act – nutrition label, allergen alerts

Sarah offered to look at any of our member’s labels to check them before we would get them printed.
sarah.martz@ontario.ca, Teresa Ferreira teresa.ferreira@ontario.ca.

50/50 draw was the biggest ever – for $50!! Winner is……Roland

New.. Website set up by Craig Nakamoto, www.muskokaparrysoundbee.ca. Minutes will be posted on the website, plus dates of upcoming meetings.
Rob suggested we get a logo for the association – put the request out to our creative members.

Bee yard tour – visiting other bee yards. June 2, with rain date being 9th. We will try to have the new bee inspector, Tim Greer or our retired bee inspector Claude Dupuis. Rob was asking for a volunteer to head up a Gravenhurst/Bracebridge tour this year. Contact Rob if you would be open to having us visit your yard.

Future speakers:
May 11, Gord Sleeman – honey judging
Sept 7, Tech Transfer Team

OBA conference, March 21 – 23, BlueMountain. Check out OBA site

Registration for new beekeepers. All beekeepers must be registered with OMAFRA, it is free. This is a good thing that helps us all. Most importantly it helps to keep track of any diseases and can warn nearby beekeepers.

Liability insurance is through OBA. $96/yr., 5 million liability. You need to be a member of the OBA. Also check your home insurance. Insurance is mandatory if you sell at farmers’ market.

Upcoming courses:
Tech Transfer Team
Canadore College, Parry Sound – Beginner’s, Queen Rearing, and IPM advanced.
Classes are also offered by Scott Ferrier, Kearney.

A good source of info on beekeeping is the videos from Univeristy of Guelph.
Devon Rawn –youtube videos are another good source.

Medication update. As of December, we will need a prescription from a vet in order to buy our Oxytet antibiotic. It was suggested that Hailey from Martin Veternary services will be a good connection.

Treasurer’s report:
Crofters education grant of $2000 has now been all used. Jane will send a letter of appreciation.
$2278 on hand.
32 members have signed for 2018.

Next meeting is April 21, 9:30

Meeting adjourned at 11:00. Jim Smith moved, seconded by Roland Lalond. Passed.

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OBA’s Spring Meeting – March 22,23 2018

The OBA’s Spring Meeting is set to bring you the best, most timely learning and networking just as the 2018 beekeeping season begins.

Click here to download the registration file as a PDF.

Honey Producers Day takes place on Thursday. This year there is no Honey House Tour. Instead, we’re offering simultaneous presentations that focus on honey bee health and on mead, timed to allow you to flow easily between sessions, depending on your interest. We’ve also added more content, including two keynote (and top-of-mind) presentations by Dr. Pierre Giovenazzo from Université Laval.  His first is on Selection of Varroa Sensitive Hygiene Behaviour in Honey Bees; his second on Sustaining Honey Bee Health with Probiotics.

 You’ll also learn about:

–          Ontario’s Healing Honey

–          The opportunities and challenges of Making & Marketing Mead

–          How to get ready this year for new Antibiotic requirements

–          Infrared Imaging for Winter Inspections

–          Essential practices for beekeepers

–          Best practices for transporting your bees

–          U of G’s ambitious new plans for the Honey Bee Research Centre

–          Honey labelling – always a sticky issue!

Friday’s program is aimed at anyone interested in bee breeding. Learn more about constructing Queen cell incubators, overwintering Queen banks, and infrared monitoring. You’ll also find out the latest on bee breeding from the ORHBS program – Ontario’s own breeding program –  and BeeOmics, the national honey bee genome project.

Bring your shopping list and meet with vendors right onsite. And plan to connect or reconnect with old friends and colleagues, while building your industry network.

We’re back at Blue Mountain due to popular demand, based on an exceptional experience in 2016. We can’t promise snow, alas. But we can promise you a memorable and content-rich experience at one of Ontario’s best-known winter resorts.

The spring meeting registration form is attached.

See you there!

Regards,

Lorna Irwin,
General Manager

Ontario Beekeepers’ Association
8560 Tremaine Rd., Box 476,
Milton, ON  L9T 4Z1
Phone (905) 636-0661  Fax (905) 636-0662

www.ontariobee.com

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Peter and Sandi Dickey are at the Powassan Group March 8th meeting!

From: Kathie Hogan <kathiehogan7@gmail.com>
Date: 12 February 2018 at 15:09
Subject: Peter and Sandi Dickey are at the March 8th meeting!

​1. Next meeting​ ​- Thurs. March 8. Peter will be talking about “Hive Inspections-what to do and look for throughout the year”. Sandi will be taking advance sales and they will bring any products to the meeting. Connect with Peter and Sandi Dickey at dickeybeehoney@​bell.net Their website is at http://www.dickeybeehoney.com​. They will also be bringing their homemade pollen patties (with Hive Alive included in them) to sell.​ Please CONTACT DICKEY HONEY IN ADVANCE if you are interested.

2. The Local Food Fest is set for Saturday May 5th. It is a day of gardening and food topics, with a Seed Exchange and some beekeeping thrown in. I really hope my beekeeping peeps will support me in this annual endeavour.

3. Even though it is winter…keep an eye on your hives and keep both entrances clear of snow.

4. Thanks so much to Dave and Helen Douglass for an outstanding presentation this month! We’d say more….but it would go to Dave’s head!

5. Here is a message for a Feb. 18/19 event in North Bay​ ​-

I was hoping you could share our event with your Bee Group distribution list – and primarily because, Bee City Canada’s founder – Shelly Candel is our guest speaker on Friday night and she will be doing a talk on Saturday as well. I figured your group would appreciate hearing her speak and we are trying to recruit municipalities, businesses, schools and other organizations to become Bee City certified… so this would be a good opportunity to learn what they are about!!

She will be speaking:

1) Saturday Feb 18th – 7pm @ the North Star Diner

2) Sunday Feb 19th – 3:15-4pm @ St. Andrew’s United Church

Here is the link to their website: http://www.beecitycanada.org

Kathie Hogan

khogan@250clark.ca

fb-Events at 250 Clark

@250clarkca

705-492-4895

The Municipality of Powassan, 466 Main Street, PO Box 250, Powassan, ON P01Z0

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Nucleus colonies for sale – Ferrier’s Maplebee Farm

FERRIER’S MAPLEBEE FARM
 
Place you orders for 4 frame nucleus colonies now to reserve yours for spring.
We are selling a limited quantity.
The price is $200. with a $100 deposit when ordering.
Earliest orders will be filled first so get your orders in.
We also have a bee equipment shop where you can buy everything you need to make you a successful beekeeper.
We also give beginner beekeeping classes in the spring.
Registration for the class is $60 and is also on a first come first serve basis with limited space.
Deposits can be made by email money transfer, cash, check, or credit card over the phone.

To place your order and pay your deposit for nucleus colonies or registration for the class

​,​

please contact us at.

phone- 705-571-7082
Mailing address
P.O. Box 265
Kearney, Ontario
P0A-1M0
​Please check out our webpage
​​

fbeefarm.com

Thanks
Scott and Heather Ferrier
Ferrier’s Maplebee Farm
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Caught on Camera – Queen Emerges

From: Istvan, Peter <Peter.Istvan@canadorecollege.ca>
Date: 21 June 2017 at 08:52
Subject: Caught on Camera – Queen Emerges
To: “Istvan, Peter” <Peter.Istvan@canadorecollege.ca>

Hi,

Yesterday, during an inspection at the Parry Sound and Area Community Apiary, a number of queen cells were found. On one frame, there were three cells, one queen had hatched, and then, in front of our eyes, two other queens emerged from their cells. Here is a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ1Zs92qvkw

Also, attached is some information from the OBA about a new treatment for varroa.

Website for info – https://www.animalhealth.bayer.ca/en/bees/bayvarol/

Bzzzz,

Peter

Peter Istvan, PhD, MBA

Canadore College – West Parry Sound Campus

1 College Drive, Parry Sound Ontario, P2A 0A9

T: 705-746-9222, ext 7352 F: 705-746-7347

Peter.Istvan@canadorecollege.ca

www.canadorecollege.ca/wps

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