2013 ABF Conference in Hershey, Pensylvania – A Sweet Experience
The American Beekeepers Federation held its annual ABF conference this year in Hershey, Pennsylvania. There were nearly 700 attendees that represented hobbyists, packers, serious sideliners and commercial beekeeping operations all across the United States. All the beeks were together under one roof learning from the countries leading bee researchers as well as getting a glimpse of new beekeeping equipment at the trade show.
This year the industry expects heavy losses this coming spring due to increased mite loads. Several classes at the conference were dedicated to integrated pest management and included natural and effective ways to rid the hive of mites.
Breaking the mites breeding cycle is easy to implement, is low cost and mitecide free. Sweet Mountain Farm plans to begin using these new techniques this spring. We will publish the “how-to” in the coming months as we integrate the method into our beekeeping operation and can report first hand our experiences.