NEVADA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

Welcome

The Nevada County Beekeepers Association is a diverse group of professionals and hobbyist, men and women, young and old, with a keen interest in promoting the well being of honey bees and their habitat while enjoying their amazing benefits. The NCBA strives to promote education on beekeeping and agriculture by providing the latest news and techniques in these fields. 

The club members meet once a month on the first Monday at 7pm and visitors are always welcome. All meetings are held in the Veterans Memorial Building at 255 South Auburn Street, Grass Valley, CA. Entrance is off the back parking lot, in Grass Valley at 7pm.  The August meeting is always moved to the County Fair Grounds with a fair booth clean up following by a barbeque social. 

  • Any questions about bees?
  • Always wanted to get bees?
  • Questions about honey production? 
  • Have some information to share?
  • Wondering about pollination in your garden or orchard?
  • Have some bees or equipment to sell?
  • Want to meet some great folks?

Join our lively question and answer session starting promptly at 7pm followed by refreshments, brief business discussion, raffle and a great program.

Become A Member!

President's Message - December

I’m writing this on Thanksgiving Day.  It’s a beautiful day, with temps expected to peak in the mid 60’s, up here at near 3000’.  The bees are out, with some feeding on the little bit of dry pollen sub I’ve put into the tube feeder, I built a few years ago.  All is good!

Certainly hope all enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday.  Growing up, it was a big deal in my family.  The bulk of my relatives grew up as cotton-growing share croppers in the South.  Living in near poverty, much of the time, did not deter them from celebrating Thanksgiving day with a vengeance.  The tradition continued when most migrated to California to find their fortunes.   The fortunes didn’t happen, but the pecan pie was still delicious and very much appreciated by this growing California boy.  Hope you all have similar memories and/or are developing them!

In November, we elected our officers and Board members for the year 2023.

Mark Machado – Acting President

...see full article in the current Newsletter

Bee Bits - December

On November 13th I left Grass Valley for a speaking engagement in Peru, shortly after first frost and nice rain, but while the leaves on our black oaks were all still green. I returned 11 days later, and it was a whole different picture.

The leaves have changed! Our colonies are now going into winter dormancy, and this provides a window during this window of opportunity when there is no sealed brood for them to hide in. You can mix up enough oxalic dribble to treat a colony or two by dissolving a half cup of sugar in a half cup of water, adding 9 grams of oxalic acid (wood bleach, or get some pure stuff from me). Then use a 60 ml syringe to apply 5 ml to each seam of bees).

Note: Due to bureaucratic nonsense, California is the only state in which OA treatment is not yet registered, so I must add the disclaimer that I’m not recommending that you do this without a permit).

Anyway, I was invited to present and advise in Peru due to the recent massive plantings of blueberries there.

Peruvian growers cultivate some 50 different cultivars of blueberries, and in the last five years have become one of the world’s predominant exporters. Peru is expected to have 50,000 acres of blueberries planted within three years, as well as 40,000 acres of avocados (third in the world). The beekeepers there are facing a sudden demand to supply some 300,000 colonies each year for pollination contracts.


This will be a big change for the beekeepers in Peru.

...see full article in the current Newsletter

Happy beekeeping!

Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com