(Host) Earlier
this month over 700 beekeepers and a
million honeybees swarmed happily around the University
of Vermont in Burlington. Commentator and
beekeeper Bill Mares was there.
(Mares) They came from 25 plus states and two
Canadian provinces. Over 700 beekeepers
flooded the University of Vermont
campus to learn, practice and share information. For the first time in 32 years, the Eastern
Apicultural Society was holding its annual conference in Vermont.
When EAS
last came to Vermont, beekeeping
was a lot simpler. There was really only
one disease to worry about. Honey
production was core topic. Today, globalization has brought a host of pests,
parasites and pathogens. And the big money
in beekeeping is in pollination for hire.
Most of these
beekeepers were serious amateurs, but there was a sprinkling of
professionals and part-timers, known in
the industry as sideliners. Common to
all was a dedication to these fascinating and productive creatures who live on
the cusp between the domestic and the wild.
The conference
theme was "Bees and Beyond" with lectures and workshops on how
bees fit in with other areas of agriculture. One group toured the
Intervale with its manifold and lush
agricultural enterprises. Others attended workshops on honey and chocolate, and
honey and cheese, the latter led by a world expert on honey tasting from Northern
Ireland.
Organizers put
up 20 beehives on the green between Bailey Howe Library and the Fleming
Museum. Lent by Champlain Valley
Apiaries in Middlebury, the bees were used in workshops throughout the
week.
The keynote
speaker was Vermont writer Rowan
Jacobsen, author of a best selling book about the bee crisis. His catchy title was "IT’S TERROIR, NOT
TERROR" And then he explained the vital link in food between place and taste. With missionary zeal he urged the attendees
to make "honey the next wine."
MacArthur genius grant winner Dr.
Marla Spivak talked about her research with building resistance to the
ubiquitous and predacious varroa mite.
The president of the largest national professional beekeeping
organization, George Hansen, who has 5,000 hives in Oregon
spoke about the life of big time
migratory beekeeping, which is largely dependent upon pollination.
At
a
Bee Olympics, the events included keeping a smoker lit for longest
time and an obstacle course where teams carried hives full of marbles
in
a race against the clock.
Spear-headed
by Mike Palmer of St. Albans, there
was an elaborate honey contest with awards for different styles of honey like extracted and
creamed, for mead, for
arts and crafts and for the most
interesting gadget.
Lectures
were great, but it was in the talks at breaks, over bee hives, at dinner, or at
the vendors’ area, where you really
learn. I’ve been to eleven of these
conferences and that’s the best part-rubbing elbows with world class experts,
and other amateurs from other states and climes. As one regular attendee said, "A day at EAS is
worth a year of experimentation on your own."
However,
there is one occupational hazard at an apicultural conference. Beekeepers speak their own minds. "And
so, one is reminded that… The old
joke about lawyers applies to beekeeping.
Six beekeepers will have seven opinions.