wow thats interesting.
from a relative newbie, i havn't been for the last few so this year was a case of "where is everyone??".
the first conference i went to was the auckland one that had randy oliver, so not all that long ago.
Conference feedback
- Thread starter frazzledfozzle
- Start date
from a relative newbie, i havn't been for the last few so this year was a case of "where is everyone??".
the first conference i went to was the auckland one that had randy oliver, so not all that long ago.
one rumour I heard is that conference will be in Christchurch next year. possibly only 2 days though.
it’s about blimmen time they had one back on the Mainland !
Sorry. It is a bit late getting this. It is a pity you did not say hello. The bacon butties would have waited whilst we yapped.
Maybe another time.
No rumour. Karin Kos, in May, announced this to a 120 Canterbury audience; to applause. Mainland beekeepers getting really enthusiastic about this.
mr john berry got recognised tonight as the unsong hero of beekeeping. i know he wouldn’t mention it.
Yep next year CHCH in new conference center.
Truck guy was pleased, made a few connections and expects a couple of sales, a good vibe overall, 1024 Registrations, exhibiters' down a bit still a good few days. Yes thinking of 2 days next yr, 3 days quite long and some people need 4 nights accommodation for 3 day event so some rejigging on the cards
$32,000.00 raised at Saturdays Dinner Auction, great effort for Heart Kids.
Couldn't have mentioned it even if I had wanted to because I was away from my home computer and have no idea how to do that sort of thing on my phone. There was apparently a few less people there than last time but still an awful lot of people and while I caught up with a lot of people I missed out on meeting a few.
Sorry about the spectacle of me doing the time warp which some of you had to see but in my defence I had had my first can of Coke in three months so I was a bit overstimulated.
Frazz, if I recall it correctly then you said the same thing last time (when it was announced for Blenheim) - and then didn’t go?
Great to meet new people (@NickWallingford ) and @John B at the honeybee research symposium along with Frank Lindsay and others. Would welcome thoughts/feedback on the honeybee symposium. Anyone got to the posters? Yes/no for the Chch?
I caught up with @Dansar and while I did not catch up with @Trevor Gillbanks , I did see an impressive mo’ on the barbecue.
Some interesting sessions, some of the info might explain the recent varroa hive losses (treatments not reducing mite levels). Words of Frank Lindsay ‘if you go to a conference and learn one thing, then it probably paid for the conference’.
I seem to run on adrenaline the whole time and am now stuffed !
I caught up with @Dansar and while I did not catch up with @Trevor Gillbanks , I did see an impressive mo’ on the barbecue.
Some interesting sessions, some of the info might explain the recent varroa hive losses (treatments not reducing mite levels). Words of Frank Lindsay ‘if you go to a conference and learn one thing, then it probably paid for the conference’.
I seem to run on adrenaline the whole time and am now stuffed !
I think the embarrassing thing was John, that you still remembered the moves and showed up the younger ones. But we did notice that you were quick to blame the coke.
Kids, don’t get stimulated on coke.
Congrats on the buzziest bee John.
Did you notice a different sort of crowd there to other yrs now all the big money has gone from bee keeping and only the die hards remain
Hi John - I attempted zoom for the symposium. I wanted to hear Andrew Cridge. So got set up prior to that talk. I got the slides on my screen but the presenter prior, was only a mumble sound. I could only just hear Andrew, despite slides on my screen. I did a test on my PC to see if the zoom speaker thingy was working. So unfortunately, I zoomed out. Of course, this may be my fault, but I think if my beekeeper brain couldn't manage this, I suspect others may be in the same boat.
Did have a look at some of the posters, and I think you would get more visits to these if they were in the foyer. Of course not every conference is going to have such a big foyer, so that may not be possible.
I think ChCh will be well attended, by a good mix of beekeepers. Also, ChCh holds the biggest per centage of hobbyist hives in one area in of the Sth Is - maybe this has to be considered for the Sat programme.
Interesting comment in Shelley Hoover's climate change talk. It may not be resistance to varroa miticide treatments occurring, it may be increased temps aiding continued laying and foraging. Up until the last fortnight, Canterbury has had a mild winter, and we had a lovely balmy autumn.
The conference vibe was good. Must admit I spent more time catching up with people, than attending talks (I am getting into the category of after years of attending meetings, conferences etc - I am meetinged out!) Good to see the large amount of entries in the honey comp. I think the warm weather helped. I have gone to conferences in Rotorua before and had to wear layers of winter clothing! But it was great to get some warmth on the bones and some wonderful vit D the first couple of days; particularly after all the rain and damp chill the fortnight prior in Canty. Yesterday v heavy rain in Rotovagus, but warm, and today warm!
Amongst so many people it was hard to tell but I did see what I thought was more young people than normal both beekeepers and beekeeping associated scientists and science students. There was certainly plenty of corporate New Zealand still there and they were the only ones I notice being really upbeat about the future of New Zealand beekeeping but I can't help wondering if they were like ducks swimming at the top of a waterfall. Serene on top and paddling like mad underneath.
I spent a lot of time just being social, catching up with old and new friends. When you have been in the industry as long as I have you invariably end up doing a lot of it (and enjoying it). I did however in a few spare moments try and pay a bit of attention to what was happening in the industry and unexplained hive deaths was pretty well up there. There seems to be a general consensus that there is a huge problem but why there is a huge problem is less clear. Varoa and it is resistance to various products is certainly at the forefront of discussions but I was surprised there was no really clear consensus.
I didn't attend every seminar but did go to a lot and while I didn't learn anything really new I did fill out a lot of the knowledge that I already had. Perhaps the most pertinent thing is that the longer you have varoa the less varoa your hives will tolerate. I have been aware of this since before I ever had a varoa in my hives but to find out that in America three varoa per hundred bees is now considered the limit before serious damage occurs , is a bit frightening.
Alan McCaw's granddaughters talk on behalf of heart kids, the chosen charity for the conference was enlightening, sobering , deeply moving, surprisingly joyful and a little bit magical. When I consider how much my own heart problems affected me to see someone that young and that severely affected by her heart condition be that upbeat, charming and happy was for me at least inspiring and at my age I take a fair bit to be inspired .
I spent a lot of time just being social, catching up with old and new friends. When you have been in the industry as long as I have you invariably end up doing a lot of it (and enjoying it). I did however in a few spare moments try and pay a bit of attention to what was happening in the industry and unexplained hive deaths was pretty well up there. There seems to be a general consensus that there is a huge problem but why there is a huge problem is less clear. Varoa and it is resistance to various products is certainly at the forefront of discussions but I was surprised there was no really clear consensus.
I didn't attend every seminar but did go to a lot and while I didn't learn anything really new I did fill out a lot of the knowledge that I already had. Perhaps the most pertinent thing is that the longer you have varoa the less varoa your hives will tolerate. I have been aware of this since before I ever had a varoa in my hives but to find out that in America three varoa per hundred bees is now considered the limit before serious damage occurs , is a bit frightening.
Alan McCaw's granddaughters talk on behalf of heart kids, the chosen charity for the conference was enlightening, sobering , deeply moving, surprisingly joyful and a little bit magical. When I consider how much my own heart problems affected me to see someone that young and that severely affected by her heart condition be that upbeat, charming and happy was for me at least inspiring and at my age I take a fair bit to be inspired .