Texas Summer Clinic – 2016

We got back from the Texas Beekeeper’s Association Summer Clinic in Conroe, Texas today and it was a wealth of information from experts and hobbyist from all over the state.

There was a large emphasis on natural beekeeping this year and we listened to varying opinions on natural pest treatments, feeding tips, and how to keep your bees alive. We were lucky enough to hear the author of “Natural Beekeeping: Organic Approaches to Modern Apiculture”, Ross Conrad, and learn a little bit about his hive management style. Although things are quite different here in Texas – he lives in the North East with harsh winters – some of the methodology and practices he uses are certainly beneficial for battling mites, small hive beetles, and other honeybee pests. I would highly recommend reading his book – it has a lot of good information for apiary management and backyard beekeepers.

We split up and tried to soak up as much information as we could, writing down reference book names, honey collectors, master beekeeper’s contact information, and everything in between.

Here’s a copy of the schedule along with the classes we attended.

We learned about all kinds of natural techniques for keeping bees and will continue to write articles to help share the knowledge that was learned at this event. Another event will be coming to the Bryan/College Station area this Fall – we’ll be there and hope to see you too!

Overall, we met a bunch of new beekeepers, experienced beekeepers, and a took a lot of notes – we’ll be trying out some of the things we learned about natural beekeeping on our hives soon!