AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Ala. — Calling all beekeepers! Registration for the 29th Annual Alabama Beekeeping Symposium is now open. The symposium is set for Feb. 3, 2024. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System beekeeping team is excited to offer a packed agenda in Clanton, Alabama at the Clanton Conference and Performing Arts Center.
Jack Rowe, an Alabama Extension forestry, wildlife and natural resources regional agent, said the team is looking forward to hosting the event and has a great agenda planned.
“James Tew, a well-loved apiculture specialist, started this symposium 29 years ago, and it has remained popular with hundreds of people in attendance each year,” Rowe said. “Here, we are looking forward to 2024 with excitement and anticipation.”
Registration
Registration for this event is online and open until Feb.3. The cost to attend is $45 per person. To register, visit the Alabama Extension Store at www.aces.edu/go/store.
Beekeeping Symposium
This year’s agenda is packed with everything beekeepers need to know — from bee nutrition and stress to planting for bee nectar and pollen year-round.
“The speakers for this year’s event bring with them many years of experience in this industry,” Rowe said. “We are honored to have them be a part of the symposium and are eager to learn from their wealth of information.”
Symposium speakers include Auburn University Bee Lab’s Amy Weeks, Dan Aurell and Jennifer Standley. Other speakers include Alabama Extension professionals, Alabama Master Beekeepers and United States Department of Agriculture professionals, among others.
Vincent Wallace, Alabama Beekeepers Association president, has been attending the Beekeeping Symposium for 11 years and recommends it to beekeepers in all stages because of the relevant information shared.
“I highly recommend attending, especially for the new beekeeper,” Wallace said. “The learning curve is quite steep with beekeeping. The symposium exposes the new beekeeper to the knowledge needed to do things right and keeps the seasoned beekeeper on the right track.”
Topics discussed at this year’s symposium include the following:
- Landscape from the bee’s point of view
- Hangry bees
- Interactions between nutrition and stress
- Feeding bees: when and why
- Nucs for profit
- Hive observation
- Queen-rearing basics
- Varroa sampling and management
- Queen loss
- Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and bioengineering in agriculture
- Planting for nectar and pollen year-round
Other topics include beginning beekeeping and an apiary inspection update and panel, as well as a personal account of the journey from backyard beekeeping to apiary manager. The symposium will close at 4:15 p.m. with a raffle of donated beekeeping items.
The full agenda — including speakers and topics — is available by visiting the 29th Annual Beekeeping Symposium web page on the Alabama Extension website, www.aces.edu.
Honey show
For the second year, the beekeeping symposium will include a honey show. This year’s show will be facilitated by Brutz English, a certified University of Georgia Master Beekeeper. Brutz, also the president of the American Honey Show Training Council, will conduct honey judge training at the symposium.
English said the beekeeping community does an excellent job of educating others in the art and science of beekeeping. However, he said there is little opportunity for beekeepers to learn what to do with their hive produce once they have become successful beekeepers.
“The honey show is the best forum to learn how to turn that raw honey and beeswax into high-quality, gourmet and artisanal finished products,” English said. “We teach participants to be aware of fundamental food safety, how to produce items that meet or exceed high standards of sanitation and hygiene and how to improve their production methods and practices, so their hive produce can reach the highest quality and market value possible.”
Honey show exhibits will be accepted Friday, Feb. 2 from 4 to 5 p.m. Exhibits will also be accepted Saturday, Feb. 3, from 8 to 10 a.m. Judging begins promptly at 10 a.m., so late exhibits will not be accepted.
More information
More information about the 29th Annual Alabama Beekeepers’ Symposium is available at www.aces.edu. Rowe is also available to answer questions by email at wjr0001@auburn.edu.
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