Summer Meeting Guest Speaker
Lincoln Sennett will be our featured speaker at the August 12 Summer Meeting in Strafford, VT. He is a co-owner of Swan’s Honey located in Albion, Maine. This beekeeping operation manages 3,000 – 4,000 colonies between Georgia and Maine. They offer pollination services, nuc sales, and produce and pack their own varietal honeys, including Tupelo, Sourwood, Wild Raspberry, Wild Blueberry, Clover, and Buckwheat.
VBA 2023 Summer Meeting
The 2023 summer meeting of the Vermont Beekeepers Association will be held on Saturday, August 12 at the Barrett Memorial Hall in Strafford, VT.
Directions from most places: I-89 Vermont Exit 2, take Rt. 132 East for about 6.5 miles. Barrett Memorial Hall is located at the junction of Rt. 132 and the Justin Morrill Memorial Highway in Strafford. See the location picture below. If you’re using GPS or mapping apps, the physical address is 248 VT Rte 132, S. Strafford, VT.
If You Missed the June 29th Mite Management Workshop...
Join VBA's Fred Putnam, Jeff Battaglini, and Tony Antonucci as they talk about mid-summer colony concerns and management.
2 1/2 hours of discussion on pest mitigation and a variety of other subjects relevant to this time of year.
Simply login to the VBA site and look for Mid-Summer Management: Mite Management: Monitoring, Counting, Treatment & AMA (Login required) under the Calendar menu.
It's Not Easy Being a New Beekeeper!
If you're a new beekeeper and missed our recent online workshop - Calling All New and Prospective Beekeepers! - the video recording is available to members by logging in to the VBA website and looking under the Calendar menu for Past Workshops & Events Recordings.
The session was hosted by VBA members, Robin Foldesy and Fred Putnam, who talked about the VBA Training Program, website resources, and upcoming VBA workshops and meetings. They also presented an overview of the ethical and legal requirements of beekeeping. The Powerpoint presentation from the workshop, It's Not Easy Being A New Beekeeper, is available to anyone for review.
VBA 2023 Recognition Program
Submit Your Nomination Today
It’s about you!
Nominations are due by June 30, 2023
The VBA Recognition Program recognizes the efforts of individuals and entities who provide significant support to honeybees, Vermont beekeepers, and the VBA mission. Read about the program and submit your nomination today! Winners will be announced at the VBA Summer Meeting on August 12.
New Member Benefit..
MASTER BEEKEEPING
Cornell Certificate Program
VBA members can sign up for Cornell's Master Beekeeping Certificate program at a substantially discounted rate. The 15-month training program consists of four online classes and three in-person final exams at Cornell's Dyce Lab for Honey Bee Studies.
Who should enroll?
- Beekeepers seeking advanced depth and breadth of knowledge to increase the success of their operation, extend their business opportunities, and gain credibility as a resource in the beekeeping community
- Beekeepers with at least 3 years beekeeping experience.
Normally, the cost for registration is $899 but current members of the Vermont Beekeepers Association can join the program at the discounted rate of $599. You can learn more about the program here.
If interested in registering, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to receive the code you will need for the discounted rate.
VBA in the Spotlight at the Vermont Flower Show
Setting up the booth from left, Richard Roy, Bianca Braman, Cheryl Dorschner, Bob Stoddard, Mary Stoddard and Anne Bowers.Cheryl Dorschner summarizes VBA's very successful exhibit at the 2023 Vermont Flower Show last month in her report that includes a slideshow of the hardworking volunteers who "routinely work incredibly together, take leadership, solve problems and scoff at snowstorms. They came from the Canadian to the New Hampshire borders and places in between, from the Champlain basin to the mountain region. And here also is the context of the larger beekeeping and pollinator presence at the Vermont Flower Show of which VBA can be proud to be in its midst."
Kudos to Cheryl (who organized VBA's presence) and all the volunteers! Read more...
New Resource to Support Pollinators
We often get requests from people wanting to help honey bees and other pollinators.
It’s helpful to create or maintain a habitat with plant species that bloom from Spring through Fall to provide pollinator forage as consistently as possible throughout the growing season. Having abundant forage and propolis sources is critical to honey bees and other pollinators' health.
A new resource based upon university research in New England and tailored to Vermont by Fred Putnam, Jr. and Jeff Cunningham from the Vermont Beekeepers Association can be helpful to homeowners, landowners, land managers, and consultants who wish to plant or retain species helpful to honey bees and other pollinators.