Bristol County Beekeepers Association presents a full day of "next-level" education for local beekeepers.
This event is a fantastic opportunity for beekeepers to expand their knowledge and connect with peers.
We will meet in Bristol Aggie - Gymnasium
(download map)
Join us for insightful presentations by renowned speakers:
Randy Oliver will present:
- Concepts in Varroa Management
Varroa continues to be the number one problem for beekeepers. Randy’s operation has successfully managed varroa, without the use of synthetic miticides, since 2001. He’ll share what’s worked for him (including selective breeding). Randy will present important biological concepts to help beekeepers to plan effective mite management strategies tailored to their own operations.
Randy runs new field trials and experiments every season. He will provide an overview of some of his recent field experiments, results, and practical applications. Based on your questions, he can also discuss his extensive research on how to control varroa without the use of synthetic miticides, including his deep research into application methods for oxalic acid, improved methods for application of thymol and formic acid, and extended-release oxalic acid (NOTE: not approved for use in Massachusetts), or testing of pollen subs and concepts in honey bee nutrition, testing of probiotics, and/or testing of thermal treatment.
This session will be based on your interest, so please come prepared with your questions!
David McComb will present:
- Improving Colony Survival and Queen Management
Dave McComb will share his journey and his techniques that have resulted in an operation known for exceptionally low winter losses. Dave will explain how he quickly immersed himself in beekeeping education, grew his operation from one aggressive colony to over 100 colonies with remarkable survival success. He will discuss how he adopted single-deep hive management, and his approach. Dave will also discuss his queen management approach and how he uses queen caging to help with varroa management.
- The Business of Beekeeping – Building a Thriving Sideline Business
Dave shares his business growth, from building a website and learning social media outreach to creating innovative honey products. He also discusses the value of honey shows, where his award-winning creamed honey has earned recognition at the state, national, and ABF levels.
More About Our Presenters:
Randy Oliver is a biologist & commercial beekeeper from Northern California managing 1000-1500 hives with his two sons. He began beekeeping as a hobby in 1966 and later turned it into a business. After the varroa mite severely impacted his operation in the 1990s, he focused on research-driven methods to improve bee health & management.
Randy now primarily engages in beekeeper-funded research projects & shares his findings through articles, lectures & website. He is recognized internationally for his unbiased, evidence-based approach to bee health, Varroa mite management, & other beekeeping topics
scientificbeekeeping.com
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Dave is a beekeeper in northeast Indiana with an Agricultural degree from Purdue University. His beekeeping experience began in 2018 when a colleague of his wife’s offered Dave his bees. Before Dave had a chance to consider the impact of his decision to accept, he was loading a colony of bees onto a trailer to transporting them to his house. What began with a single (defensive) bee colony and numerous hours spent reading books and watching YouTube videos quickly grew into a small business with multiple apiary locations producing an abundance of honey and bees.
Whether you’re curious about improving colony survival, queen management, or expanding your beekeeping into a thriving sideline business Dave’s story is full of inspiration and practical takeaways.
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