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Winter prep for your bees

11/8/2015

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Hopefully you monitored mite levels and treated accordingly back in Aug/Sept.  Hives should have been checked after mite treatments to insure that they had a good queen. Weaker hives should have been combined with stronger ones.  Finally, feeding of 2:1 sugar syrup should have been done to get hives up to weight with plenty of food stores to get them through Winter.  You can still feed liquid through November if we get temps of 50+ degrees.  If temperatures aren't favorable for feeding liquid syrup, then add sugar bricks.  Many recipes can be found online or you can buy winter patties from the major beekeeping equipment suppliers.
Make sure you've installed entrance reducers and mouse guards. Also, use duct tape to seal up any holes or gaps that might let too much cold wind blow into the hive.  Make sure the hives have an upper entrance, both for ventilation and to allow bees easier access to outside when we get flying days in late Winter/early Spring.  If you wrap your hives, wait to do this until the weather forecast doesn't show promise of any long spells of warm weather (usually after Thanksgiving).
Add a 1-1.5" inch piece of foam insulation board (blue board or pink board) between the inner and outer cover at the top of the hive.  This reduces condensation build up above the cluster of bees on the inside of the hive.  If not done, condensation can build up on the underside of the inner cover and drip down on the cluster of bees.  Wet bees during the Winter equals dead bees. 
Reduce cold wind exposure by placing windbreaks on the W and N sides of the hives, or wrap them with roofing felt (remember to cut holes for the bottom and top entrances).
Following these basics won't guarantee Winter survival, but it will help to put the odds in the bees favor.
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Upcoming beekeeping Class

11/8/2015

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Like last year, I'll be teaching a beekeeping class for the University of Illinois Extension Service.   Read the details and register here:
https://web.extension.illinois.edu/registration/?RegistrationID=13151

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Here we Grow!

10/20/2015

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October 20, 2015  Tim and Sarah Wilbanks, owners of Kalona Honey Co., LLC are excited to announce the upcoming merger of Kalona Honey Co.’s package bee supply business with Lee Heine’s package bee business.  Heine, of Watertown, WI has built the nation’s largest package bee supply business over the past 28 years.  Wilbanks will begin working with Heine immediately for the upcoming 2016 package bee season, before taking over fully at the end of the season.  Wilbanks will be maintaining the same supply sources from producers of package bees in Northern California, along with continuing to utilize his suppliers from Georgia.
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Winter 2015 Speaking Schedule

1/9/2015

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We are scheduled to speak in several places this Winter, with a few locations still TBA regarding specific dates/times.  Below is the current schedule:


January 17th 2pm:  Iowa City Landscaping and Garden Center
                                  
"A Buzz About Bees"
                                   
January 29th 6pm:   Central Eastern Illinois Beekeeping Assoc.--Champaign, IL
                                   
Central Eastern Illinois Beekeeping Association on Facebook
     
February 9th 6pm:  Kirkwood Community College--Washington, IA
                                    Ron Wehr's "
Beginning Beekeeping Class"

February 10th 7pm: Jefferson County (MO) Beekeepers Association--Hillsboro, MO
                                     http://jeffcobeekeepers.com/

February 24th 6pm: Saint Louis Beekeepers--
Schlafly Bottleworks --   St. Louis, MO 
                                    
http://www.saintlouisbeekeepers.com/

February 28th:          Indiana Bee School--Indianapolis, IN
                                     *Kalona Honey Company will have a booth for package bees
                                    
http://indianabeekeeper.com/

March 6th:               University of Illinois Extension Service - Moline, IL
                                     
Beginning Beekeeping Class: Part 3 (Class is full)
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see you in Oskaloosa

12/2/2014

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Tim will be speaking on Friday, December 12 at 6:30 at the Mahaska County Extension Office in Oskaloosa to the Back to Basics Bee Club.  He will be covering the obstacles and opportunities when transitioning from a backyard beekeeper to a sideliner to a commercial beekeeper.  Tim will also be discussing small hive management.
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RaDISH Magazine Article & Beekeeping Classes

10/2/2014

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Kalona Honey Company is featured in the current issue of the Radish Magazine out of the Quad Cities.  Tim will be teaching a beekeeping class for the University of Illinois Extension Service.  Read more about it by following this link:
  http://radishmagazine.com/stories/display.cgi?prcss=display&id=696388

For a more intensive course, check out the Basic Beekeeping Course offered by our friends at Indian Creek Nature Center in Cedar Rapids, IA.  Click the following link:
   http://www.indiancreeknaturecenter.org/basic-beekeeping/
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The cobbler's children

2/18/2014

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These beekeeper's children are outliers.  There is plenty of honey to go around here and this is one of the many, many ways we enjoy it.  The children prefer to eat it by the spoonful.  Really, why would you want anything else?
We use honey as a sweetener in baking part of the time and in coffee and tea almost all of the time. Many a breakfast around here includes honey too:  peanut butter honey toast, honey sweetened oatmeal, honey on bland "adult" cereal that is not full of dyes.  These cobbler's children have an abundance of shoes. 

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our magazine debut: blood & honey

12/28/2013

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We were blessed to make our publication debut in the only magazine dedicated entirely to the food of Iowa.  Click on their logo above to check out the amazing piece on pages 18 through 20 that paints a picture of our family and operation written by Lucy Fitzgerald. 
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Sanctuary

11/11/2013

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Below is a video documentary titled "Sanctuary."  It was done by a young man, Zander Stone, who I met at the Southeast Iowa Beekeepers' Fall Field Day.  Zander wanted to produce a short documentary that told the story of "why" people kept bees.  I had the privilege of sharing part of my story.  Enjoy!
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Iowa Honey producers Association Annual Meeting

11/4/2013

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The family spent Friday and Saturday up in Marshalltown, Iowa at the 101st annual Iowa Honey Producers Association meeting. 

Highlights included the Queen luncheon which was a dad and daughter date.  Tim and Ansley had an opportunity to visit with other beekeepers over lunch.  Coincidentally, 2 of the 3 gentleman who sat at their table happened to be chiropractors as well!

The evening banquet was great as Tim took Harrison and Ansley.  Sarah hung with the baby bees back in the hotel room.  The banquet included delicious food, awards presentations, the 2014 Iowa Honey Queen coronation, and an auction. Not to mention, there were bee cupcakes!  The key speaker for the weekend was Randy Oliver, a beekeeper and scientist/researcher from Northern California.  Randy was full of information regarding the challenges facing beekeeping today.  You can visit his website at www.scientificbeekeeping.com.

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    The Wilbanks Family

    We are fifth and hopefully sixth generation beekeepers maintaining a small hobby farm in rural Iowa.  We love Jesus, family and pure, natural, sweet honey.

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