In this episode, we welcome back Colorado beekeeper, Tom Theobald. Tom had a small commercial operation in Colorado in the late 70’s, running up to 200 or so colonies when he first started using two queen colonies. The biology of running two queens in a colony does make sense if you use the technique Tom perfected, but the better you get, the more lifting you are going to do. His finished production hives had three deeps for brood production and seven mediums for honey storage. At the time, an average to strong colony in his part of Colorado would make about 70 pounds of honey in a season, Tom’s two queen colonies averaged between 240 and 270 pounds! The advantages, beside huge honey crops, were that these colonies started with last year’s queen, and a new, second queen was added in early spring.  When the season was over, the new queen almost always prevailed, thus starting the next season with a proven queen. Plus, with a foraging population as large as these colonies produced, there was a vast store house of pollen the next spring for that season’s buildup. Two-queen honey production is becoming a lost art as it takes a lot of work, timing and an understanding of your area’s nectar flows. However, the payoff is big! If you have bees in a location with lots of forage and not too much varroa or pesticide pressure, this approach may work for you. Tom and we would like to know if you or a beekeeper you know uses the two-queen approach. Let us know on our website! Links and websites mentioned in this podcast: Our First Season Interview with Tom about Neonicotinoids: https://beekeepingtodaypodcast.com/tom-theobold-the-problem-with-neonics Honey Bee Obscura Podcast with Kim & Jim: http://honeybeeobscura.com ______________ Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!  We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum. _______________ We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com Thank you for listening!  Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"

Beekeeping Today Podcast

Two Queen Honey Production with Tom Theobald (S3, E32)

On this special Holiday Replay, we bring back one of our favorite episodes from the first season, when we invited Dr. Sam Ramsey to the podcast to talk about the Varroa Mite. Sam Ramsey is a life long entomologist. His interests in all things insects started in his youth along with his parent's encouragement and his siblings displeasure! He continued his studies in college (Cornell) and just recently completed his PhD this year at The University of Maryland under Dr. Dennis vanEngelsdorp. Dr. Ramsey made headlines earlier this year with the publication of his doctoral research on the feeding behaviors of the varroa destructor mite on the honey bee. In this episode of the podcast, we discuss with Dr. Ramsey why he studied what was thought to be a closed subject and proved that the varroa was not feeding primarily on the bee's blood, but rather a liver-like organ called the 'Fat Body'.  This is a fascinating discussion that all beekeepers should listen to. There are many interesting facts, that run counter to popular press and education. Following are the links mentioned in this podcast: Dr. Ramsey's website: https://www.drsammy.online 3-Minute YouTube Video on the Varroa Mite findings: https://youtu.be/Fyfyj-2O47Q GoFundMe site for Dr. Ramsey's new research on the Tropilaelaps mite in Asia: https://www.gofundme.com/fundhoneybeeresearch Dr. Ramsey's ground breaking research on the varroa, published in January, 2019: https://www.pnas.org/content/116/5/1792 For fun and diverse thinking, Dr. Ramsey's 'jazzy' departure from American Idol: https://youtu.be/UWwuxlkm7_4 ______________ Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!  We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum. _______________ We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com Thank you for listening!  Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"

Holiday Replay: Dr. Sam Ramsey & The Varroa Mite (S3, E31)

On today’s episode, we talk with Newfoundland beekeeper, Peter Armitage and Dr. David Peck, a Professor from Cornell University, David Peck.  Those of us south of the Canadian border tend to mispronounce the name of that big Island off the east coast of Quebec and just north of Prince Edward Island. We tend to slur it, saying ‘Newfundlund’ instead. But that is wrong. How do you say it right? “Understand New Found Land”. Onomatopoeia to the rescue! (One of the cohost’s still can’t get it right…) The good people who live on Newfoundland Island have managed to keep this rather inhospitable island completely free of Varroa mites. Not one mite. And Newfoundlanders are determined to keep it that way, using their Varroa Action Plan. There’s only one way to get to Newfoundland and that’s by boat, so they have some control on what gets onto their island. But they are in no way taking any chances. They have established the Plan to keep varroa off the island, educate the beekeepers all about varroa, and continuously monitor colonies for any accidental, or even illegal, incursion. Learn about the Newfoundland Varroa Action Plan and more on this informative episode! Links and websites mentioned in this podcast: Newfoundland Varroa Action Plan - https://www.nlbeekeeping.com/varroa-action-plan   Research paper detailing how varroa will transfer from flower to bee - https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0167798  YouTube video of a mite vaulting onto a bee from a flower petal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oij1HOxD3iU ______________ Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!  We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum. _______________ We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com Thank you for listening!  Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue" v2

Newfoundland's Varroa Action Plan with Dr. David Peck and Peter Armitage (S3, E30)

QSI–America is a Germany based company that is in the business of testing honey for anything. Their US lab in Corona, California is led by Tobias Wiezorek, and employs about 35 scientists looking at the biochemical, microbiology, chemical and pollen aspects of the honey and wax samples. They can perform many tests, including moisture content, the presence of antibiotics or pesticides, the HMF content to determine if the sample has been overheated, sugar ratios to tell if it’s a blend, pure or something else, they can identify the pollens found in a sample to identify the source  and/or country of origin, presence of GMOs, and heavy metals. The sophistication of these tests continues to grow as the people who are in the business of adulterating honey also get more sophisticated. Honey is a good indicator the quality of the environment the bees who make the sample have to live in. QSI-America’s testing is indicating almost every sample has some level of glyphosate in it (and there is no level of that chemical that is allowed), and it turns out, pretty much across the board, urban honeys are cleaner than those from the farm. Testing isn’t just for the largest beekeeper. Anyone can send in a sample. It takes 5 days and when done, you can claim to have the best honey around and provide the documentation to prove it! Listen to this informative episode today! Links and websites mentioned in this podcast: QSI-America - https://www.qsi-america.com News Story about the Destroyed Green River College Apiary - https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/bear-destroys-beehives-used-research-local-college/HZM6SBDC5VELHFX6NVPYCA65RM/ Green River College Bee Yard Assistance - https://www.gofundme.com/f/bees-in-the-039burbs-apiary-repair ______________ Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!  We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum. _______________ We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com Thank you for listening!  Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"

Honey Testing - QSI America with Tobias Wiezorek (S3, E29)

In this week’s episode, guest host Kirsten Traynor speaks with Emily Bondor of the Santa Cruz Bee Co about how she manages her colonies and those of other beekeepers without chemical intervention. Emily discuss the types of losses beekeepers should expect when foregoing varroa treatments, how to be an ethical treatment-free beekeeper, so that your sick colonies don’t impact hives in the vicinity, and how her attitude toward treatments has evolved, because she also manages other people’s investment in bees. Tune in for this in-depth discussion about the pros and cons about stopping varroa treatments of your bees. Also, just in time for the Holidays, Kim reviews a new book about bees, written for children, "H Is For Honey Bee" by Robyn Smith van Frankenhuyzen and illustrated by Eileen Ryan Ewen. Additional information: Santa Cruze Bee Company - http://santacruzbeecompany.com H is for Honey Bee on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/H-Honey-Bee-Beekeeping-Alphabet/dp/1534110704/ _______________________ Kirsten's interviews are brought to you by BetterBee. BetterBee’s mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent customer service, continued education and quality equipment. How do they do this? Because many of their employees are also beekeepers, so they know the needs, challenges and answers to your beekeeping questions. From their colorful and informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational activities, including this podcast series, BetterBee truly is Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at www.betterbee.com Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com Thank you to Global Patties for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!  We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a new quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum. _______________ We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com Thank you for listening!  Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"

Santa Cruz Bee Company's Emily Bondor with Kirsten (S3, E28)

Starting several years ago, Steve Donohoe wanted to find out more about beekeepers and how they kept bees. His travels took him to California, where he talked to Randy Oliver and Ray Olivarez, to Vermont to talk to Mike Palmer, then back the UK to talk to Murry McGregor in Scotland and Peter Little, who used to work with Brother Adam, then on to a New Zealand honey packer and finally to France to visit that country’s largest queen breeder. These people were sort of his heroes, successful at their occupation and fairly well known in the beekeeping world. What he wanted to know was, what does it take to get to their respective positions, what do they have in common, and what don’t they have in common. He explored the biggest challenges they faced as a group, and as individuals. It took several years to analyze the data collected, recount the interviews and gather the collective wisdom these beekeepers shared with him. He gathered this all and his book is now available so you don’t have to travel the globe to gather the information yourself. Steve spent some time with us recently unwinding the tangle of his travels and finding the best in what he has learned. You will be glad you read this book and even better, glad you sat back and listened to this episode: Interviews with Beekeepers. Links and websites mentioned in this podcast: The Walrus and the Honey Bee - https://thewalrusandthehoneybee.com Business With Bees - https://www.amazon.com/Business-Bees-Honeybee-Including-Pollination/dp/1631594591 ______________ Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!  We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum. _______________ We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com Thank you for listening!  Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"

Interviews with Beekeepers, Author Steve Donohoe (S3, E27)

Protecting pollinators and improving the habitat for honey bees often entails planting nectar and pollen rich plants. In this episode, Kirsten talks with Calvin Ernst, founder of Ernst Seeds, who has been deeply involved with growing native plants for over 50 years. Learn how providing seeds for erosion control to the Department of Transportation helped him start his company and how he transitioned the company’s focus to natives over time. He provides solid advice on preparing the ground prior to planting for pollinators. Learn more about this family run business and how it provides for pollinators in this week’s show. Also in this episode, Kim reviews The Art of the Bee: Shaping the Environment from Landscapes to Societies by Dr. Robert Page.   Additional information: Ernst Seeds - https://www.ernstseed.com Ernst Planting Guides - https://www.ernstseed.com/resources/ Beekeeping Today Podcast Episode with Randi and Lindsey of Ernst Pollinator Service - https://beekeepingtodaypodcast.com/large-scale-planting-large-scale-pollinator-habitats-with-lindsey-white-and-randi-grout-s2-e12 Ernst Pollinator Service - https://www.ernstpollinatorservice.com Bee Culture's "Catch The Buzz" on Honey Bee Vaccines - https://www.beeculture.com/catch-the-buzz-honey-bee-vaccine/ The Art of the Bee on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/0197504140 _______________________ Kirsten's interviews are brought to you by BetterBee. BetterBee’s mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent customer service, continued education and quality equipment. How do they do this? Because many of their employees are also beekeepers, so they know the needs, challenges and answers to your beekeeping questions. From their colorful and informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational activities, including this podcast series, BetterBee truly is Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at www.betterbee.com Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com Thank you to Global Patties for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!  We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a new quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum. _______________ We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com Thank you for listening!  Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"

Ernst Seed Company - Calvin Ernst with Kirsten (S3, E26)

In this episode, Master Beekeeper, Katharina Davitt reveals the nutritional benefits honey bees derive from bananas. Yes, you read that correctly, bananas! We all know that bananas are good for people. They are full of carbs, minerals, vitamins, are good for digestion and just taste good. But the one thing all beekeepers learn when they start out is that when bees are threatened, they release alarm pheromone and that smells like bananas. So up to now, wise beekeepers didn’t bring bananas to the bee yard. But it turns out feeding bananas to honey bees is actually a good way to get good food into a hive. Really. Katharina Davitt tell us why and how. Her University of Montana Master Beekeeper research project explored the nutritional requirements of honey bees and the properties of bananas. Katharina shares data behind this! The conclusions reached from this study found that colonies cannot live on bananas alone, but bananas will help in the spring, during a summer dearth and in the fall. But who would have thought – bananas for bees?! Before the talk with Katharina, Kirsten, Kim and Jeff discuss the ongoing debate pitting the honey bee against native bees and pollinators. Why the debate? What’s the issue and what’s the real problem? Kim, Kirsten and Kim explore it all. Links and websites mentioned in this podcast: Klamath Bees - https://www.klamathbees.com   Davitt Apiaries - http://davitt.com Cavendish Bananas and their Nutritional Benefit to Honey Bees - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j3TdyD1Nb7FTBECcuBoRwSzh6Y_CfAnT/view?usp=drivesdk Cavendish Bananas Increase Brood Rearing in Apis Mellifera - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1p1fK3BxWjpq98sIHuXSe3XU7nGCteg1h/view?usp=drivesdk Kirsten's referenced Gordian knot paper - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016953472030207X Historical reference to beekeepers advocating for environmental protection - https://academic.oup.com/envhis/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/envhis/emaa059/5921133 ______________ Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!  We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum. _______________ We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com Thank you for listening!  Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"

Bananas for Bees with Katharina Davitt (S3, E25)

This autumn wildfires cut through large swaths of Oregon, destroying towns, homes and habitat. In this episode, Kirsten talks with Sharon Schmidt, founder of Cascade Girl Apiary, who lost her home and apiary in Phoenix, Oregon. Sharon was visiting a friend when the fires roared into her town. The police would not let her return to her property. She expected the fires to be brought under control, but as she watched from the ridge line, her town went up in flames. Talent and Phoenix, Oregon were both early members of the Bee City USA program, changing their towns into bee havens. Luckily one of her out apiaries at a local fire station survived. Tune in to listen to this heart-wrenching story of loss and community. Our good wishes go out to all those impacted by fires. Additional information: Cascade Girl Organization: https://www.cascadegirl.org _______________________ Kirsten's interviews are brought to you by BetterBee. BetterBee’s mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent customer service, continued education and quality equipment. How do they do this? Because many of their employees are also beekeepers, so they know the needs, challenges and answers to your beekeeping questions. From their colorful and informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational activities, including this podcast series, BetterBee truly is Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at www.betterbee.com Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com Thank you to Global Patties for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!  We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a new quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum. _______________ We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com Thank you for listening!  Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"

Oregon Fires - Sharon Schmidt with Kirsten (S3, E24)

 Dave Doroghy works in the worlds of advertising and sports marketing and lives on a house boat on the Frasier River in southern British Columbia near Vancouver. His discovery of beekeeping wasn’t the common story of being swept off his feet with this new found passion. No, his interest was primarily financial. Show me the Money was a part of his professional sports life, so ‘show me the honey’ became a part of his beekeeping life. His story is familiar to many new beekeepers. He makes just about every mistake that can be made with a hive full of bees and his journey is both educational for him, and entertaining for the readers of his book. What he did wrong and what he did to fix it are lessons all of us need to examine, explore and learn from. Dave joins Beekeeping Today Podcast on this episode to talk about his beekeeping experiences and his book (reviewed in both Bee Culture magazine and The New York Times). Listen today! Links and websites mentioned in this podcast: Dave's Website: www.houseboathoney.com Show Me The Honey on Amazon:Show Me The Honey Bee Hive to Beekeeper: https://www.bee-craft.com/shop/books/bee-hive-to-beekeeper Updates on Developments with the Asian Giant Hornet in Washington State: https://agr.wa.gov/hornets ______________ Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!  We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum. _______________ We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com Thank you for listening!  Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"

"Show Me The Honey" with Dave Doroghy (S3, E23)

In this episode, Kirsten sits down with Matthew Pettersson of Madhu Honey, who fell into beekeeping after a chance encounter with a giant jar of honey in a New York City apartment. Fascinated by honey bees and the golden honey they create, he ended up working for a commercial organic beekeeper in Germany, who runs four to six thousand colonies – much larger than one typically thinks about organic beekeeping, envisioning small bucolic apiaries with a beekeeper very much in-tune with their bees. Hooked, he didn’t want to stop over the winter and so headed to New Zealand in the southern hemisphere to keep working bees. One of his beekeeping buddies offered him four barrels of Manuka honey to sell in Europe. Because he had left a job in logistics, he knew all about imports and exports. And so, he founded Madhu Honey, importing high quality manuka honey to the EU market—a business born from the successful sale of his first imported pallet, sold before it even arrived in the harbor. Madhu Honey will be available in the USA the winter of 2020-2021. Additional information: Contact Matthew directly at: madhu@madhuhoney.com. Madhu Honey: https://madhuhoney.com Unique Manuka Factor Honey Assn: https://www.umf.org.nz Comparison Between MGO and UMF Manuka Scales: https://www.manukahoneyorganic.com/what-is-umf/ Asian Giant Honey Updates in Washington State: https://agr.wa.gov/hornets _______________________ Kirsten's interviews are brought to you by BetterBee. BetterBee’s mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent customer service, continued education and quality equipment. How do they do this? Because many of their employees are also beekeepers, so they know the needs, challenges and answers to your beekeeping questions. From their colorful and informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational activities, including this podcast series, BetterBee truly is Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at www.betterbee.com Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com Thank you to Global Patties for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!  We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a new quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum. _______________ We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com Thank you for listening!  Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"

Organic Beekeeping and Importing Manuka: Madhu Honey with Kirsten (S3, E22)

Marina Marchese is the President of the American Honey Tasting Society. She refined her learning and teaching skills in Italy and Raffaele Dall'Olio was one of her teachers. Today we discuss with them all of the aspects of honey tasting – the basics of how to taste a honey, using your tongue, your nose, your eyes. Learn the vocabulary to describe, and then to remember the flavors, the taste and aromas of all of the many varieties of honey available. Marina’s American Honey Tasting Society offers honey tasting classes, similar to the three years of classes she took in Italy. What will you learn? To start, the difference between taste and flavor. Then you’ll learn the adjectives to describe what you are tasting. You will taste without smelling, and smell without tasting, and you will learn the actual techniques of how best to smell, and then savor a honey. Check out The American Honey Tasting Society, and Marina’s and Kim’s book on this fascinating subject “The Honey Connoisseur’. Links and websites mentioned in this podcast: American Honey Tasting Society: https://www.americanhoneytastingsociety.com Washington State Department of Agriculture, Asian Giant Hornet information: https://agr.wa.gov/hornets   ______________ Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!  We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum. _______________ We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com Thank you for listening!  Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"

American Honey Tasting Society with Marina & Raffaele (S3, E21)

In this week’s episode, guest cohost, Kirsten Traynor, editor of 2 Million Blossoms, talks with Michael Smith, Ph.D. Michael grew up in Panama, then went to boarding school in Wales, where he chanced upon a beekeeper with honey in a hallway. Together the two ended up launching a bee club that just celebrated its 15th anniversary. After being a gofer for a bee lab at a women’s university, Smith convinced Tom Seeley to take him on as a graduate student. At Cornell, he investigated what triggers drone comb building plus ran a side project on who steals from a honey stand. He’s currently in Konstanz, Germany as a postdoc, but returning to the US this fall to start his own bee research lab at Auburn, Alabama. The discussion is a rollercoaster ride filled with quirky humor, serious bee science and his work with the BEESBOOK tracking system. Additional information: Michael's Lab Website (The Smith Bee Lab at Auburn): https://smithbeelab.com Follow Michael on Twitter: @SmithBeeLab _______________________ Kirsten's interviews are brought to you by BetterBee. BetterBee’s mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent customer service, continued education and quality equipment. How do they do this? Because many of their employees are also beekeepers, so they know the needs, challenges and answers to your beekeeping questions. From their colorful and informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational activities, including this podcast series, BetterBee truly is Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at www.betterbee.com Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com Thank you to Global Patties for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!  We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a new quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum. _______________ We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com Thank you for listening!  Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"

Comb Building & More: Michael Smith, Ph.D with Kirsten (S3, E20)

In this episode, we invited Dr. Brittney Goodrich to discuss what her research has found in almond pollination contracts.  Brittney is a Cooperative Extension Specialist at the University of California, Davis. She is an Agricultural Economist and one of her favorite topics to research are the contracts between beekeepers and growers for pollination services. She is sitting in the middle of the biggest pollination contract industry in the world: Almond Pollination. She did a survey of almond growers to find out what they think about pollination contracts. She looked at colony strength, number of colonies per acre, and number of frames per acre and cost. She asked about actual contracts, both formal and informal even including just a handshake and what happens when a beekeeper can’t fulfill a contract. She also looked at the expanding role of pollination brokers, and beekeepers acting as brokers and the shared risk each of these three players have in this business. Almonds growers continue to expand their acres, but they are using essentially all of the commercial honey bee colonies in the US right now. What happens when another 10,000 acres or more come on line in the next few years and what role do pesticide applications play in all this? And what pesticides are OK and which ones aren’t? And what happens if colony health issues don’t go away? Can growers pay a little more so beekeepers can afford to keep colonies healthy? Can some of the risk be divided so everybody does better? Brittney Goodrich explores all of these issues, and more. Listen in and learn. __________________________ Brittney provides Beekeeping Today Podcast listeners these points to include in a pollination agreement, whether written or verbal. Specific contact information for grower or owner, and beekeeper, or broker Crop and specific location Number of colonies needed Payment per colony based on agreed upon maximum and minimum strengths Payment schedule, e.g. half on delivery, half when removed, other terms Minimum strength and health of colonies that will be paid for and frames of bees, brood, queen, food Minimum average frame count Average strength to be paid for Bonus for colonies exceeding average strength, per frame Evaluation/inspection procedure and payment for services Colony strength enforcement mechanisms Delivery notification agreement, or per cent bloom, or specific date Colony density per acre Delivery access – gates, irrigation pipes, flooding, roads, assistance from grower Removal date, per cent bloom, advance notice Liability while on location for bees and equipment, injury of crew or non-crew individuals Access during bloom for maintenance, advance notice, time of day or night Location and colony count/drop minimum and maximum Pesticide application warning and procedure Compensation for pesticide damage applies by grower/owner Additional fees for additional moves Continuous water access Contract cancellation or transfer Acts of God Links and websites mentioned in this podcast: Brittney's personal website: http://www.brittneygoodrich.com/ Contract Resources:  https://www.choicesmagazine.org/choices-magazine/theme-articles/pollination-service-markets-evolution-and-outlook/contracting-for-pollination-services-overview-and-emerging-issues ______________ Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!  We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum. _______________ We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com Thank you for listening!  Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"

Almond Contracts: An Economist's Analysis with Brittney Goodrich, Ph.D (S3, E19)

 If you’re interested in starting a honey festival in your city, you have to speak with Steve Rogenstein who founded the Ambeesadors. A former event manager, he fell in love with bees and has used his unique skills to organize honey festivals in both New York City and Barcelona.  Currently he lives in Berlin, Germany. Steve is also involved with the COLOSS Survivor Taskforce, coordinating the citizen science project Honey Bee Watch. This project seeks to connect beekeepers, bee enthusiasts and scientists in identifying feral and wild honey bee colonies to help preserve their genetics and learn more about their survival traits. In this episode of Beekeeping Today Podcast, Steve sat down with guest host Kirsten Traynor to talk about unique honey profiles, the hoarding tendency of honey lovers, and what it takes to organize a giant citizen science project. Listen today! Additional information: The Ambeessadors - https://www.ambeessadors.com The Honey Bee Watch - https://www.honeybeewatch.com The College of Melissae - https://www.collegeofthemelissae.com Learning From The Bees, Berlin - https://www.learningfromthebeesberlin.com BCN Honey Festival - https://www.bcnhoneyfest.com NYC Honey Week - http://nychoneyweek.org North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) - https://www.pollinator.org/nappc 4th International Bee and Hive Monitoring Conference - https://colonymonitoring.com/events/ _______________________ Kirsten's interviews are brought to you by BetterBee. BetterBee’s mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent customer service, continued education and quality equipment. How do they do this? Because many of their employees are also beekeepers, so they know the needs, challenges and answers to your beekeeping questions. From their colorful and informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational activities, including this podcast series, BetterBee truly is Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at www.betterbee.com Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com Thank you to Global Patties for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!  We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a new quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum. _______________ We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com Thank you for listening!  Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong", Musicalman, "Epilogue"  

The Ambeessadors with Steve Rogenstein and Kirsten (S3, E18)

The podcast for the latest beekeeping news, information and entertainment for today's beekeeper. Hosts Jeff Ott and Kim Flottum bring you interviews and commentary helping you become a more informed and knowledgeable beekeeper.

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Beekeeping Today Podcast

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