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  Four Generations of Beekeeping: Continuing the Legacy At a 24-acre farm called Meisenbachhof in Germany, Alessandro Heuberger and his wife Katrina grow rye and corn, and take care of a million bees, two pigs, five dogs and seven horses. The beekeeping is part of a family tradition for Heuberger, an apprentice supervisor at the Magna facility in Untergruppenbach, Germany, and a fourth-generation beekeeper. Heuberger’s first lessons in beekeeping started when he was five. His grandfather Josef, who learned the maintenance of bee colonies from his father, introduced the boy to the sweetness of harvesting honey. “It’s such a great childhood memory,” said Heuberger. “We were in a meadow surrounded by fruit trees. My grandfather told me, ‘Alessandro, it’s very important to be careful with nature.’ It was amazing to smell and eat the honey. Today, I’m following in the footsteps of my ancestors.” His approach: combine the tools and best practices of the past with new techniques and techn...

  Modernising honey production for a sustainable future In the heart of Kragujevac, Serbia, a tradition of beekeeping that spans more than three generations is flourishing, led by Sanum per Fructus. This proud supplier, known for its commitment to producing 100 per cent natural honey, is gaining recognition not just in Serbia, but across Europe and around the world. Its secret? An unmatched blend of tradition, innovation and sustainability. Supported by the  EBRD’s Youth in Business Programme , with contributions from the European Union, Luxembourg, Sweden, and Italy through the Central European Initiative, Sanum per Fructus is a young and dynamic company founded by Vladimir Milanović. “We are an efficient and flexible enterprise. The average age of our employees is 30, which means we bring a lot of energy and innovation to our work,” says Vladimir. This enthusiasm is evident in the company’s forward-thinking approach, particularly in its adoption of digital technologies to en...

BEEKEEPING COLUMN - Creating a buzz in August Welcome to the eight edition of Rubery beekeeper, Jas Payne’s monthly column. Take a fascinating glimpse into the beautiful, industrious and vital role of bees in nature and experience life as an apiarist. August is quite possibly the busiest, and most physically demanding, time of my beekeeping year! Over the last couple of weeks I’ve begun the job of removing excess honey from the hives. I do this in one of two ways. Option one involves lifting out one frame of honey at a time, shaking any bees that are on the frame gently back into the lower part of the hive, placing the frame of honey into a sealed box and repeating until all the frames of honey are removed. Option two means adding a ‘clearer board’ under the boxes of honey. The clearer board acts as a one way valve. Bees go down into the main part of the hive but can’t get back up, and when I return 24 hours later the bee-free honey boxes can just be carried away. The next job is extra...

  Va. residents can apply for free beekeeping equipment What’s all the buzz? The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is accepting applications for the 2024 Beehive Distribution Program. The program provides free equipment for assembling new beehives to  Virginia  residents ages 18 and up. Recipients will be selected at random from qualifying applications submitted by Sept. 6. Businesses, nonprofit organizations and government agencies are not eligible to receive beehive units. Multiple individuals in a household with the same mailing address may apply to the program. Recipients of beehive units must assemble the equipment and occupy it with a colony of honeybees within one year of receiving the equipment. To learn more and apply, visit  vdacs.virginia.gov/plant- industry-services-beehive- distribution-program.shtml . Media: Contact VDACS Office of Plant Industry Services at 804-786-3515 or  vabees@vdacs.virginia.gov .

  Vice-President of Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva meets participants of “Young beekeeper" project in Gabala [PHOTOS] Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and founder and head of IDEA Public Union, met with participants of the "Young beekeeper" project in Gabala,  Azernews  reports. During the meeting, Leyla Aliyeva engaged in heartfelt conversations with the young beekeepers, discussing their activities, initial experiences, and impressions of beekeeping productivity. The young beekeepers expressed their gratitude to Leyla Aliyeva for her support and presented her with their first batch of honey, specially packaged and purified by them. Since 2021, 20 young beekeepers in the Gabala district have been supported as part of the "Young beekeeper" project, initiated by IDEA Public Union and co-organized with the Youth Foundation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the State Employment Agency, and "ABAD" public legal entity. The...

  Foulbrood still a ‘gigantic issue’ Wairarapa beekeepers are pulling their weight in managing a highly infectious bacterial brood disease, but there is no room for complacency, a pest management veteran says. Just over 270 cases of american foulbrood (AFB) were reported in the Manawatū-Whanganui region, which includes Wairarapa, to the body responsible for eliminating the disease in New Zealand’s managed beehives in the 12 months to July 2023. “This is just 0.41% of all cases notified in that period,” Marco Gonzalez, national operations manager for American Foulbrood National Pest Management Plan, said. “Wairarapa is doing a good job,” with low prevalence of the disease, and cases mostly contained within the region’s commercial beekeeping operations. The current picture was welcome shift from 2019 when Wairarapa had one of the largest AFB outbreaks in the country when a single commercial beekeeper reported 333 cases. But, Gonzalez said, “the main risk with AFB elimination is that ...

  Bees 'starving' for pollen as native flowers fail to bloom n the sandy hills of the Yanchep National Park, Anton Esterhuysen is on the hunt for flowers. The native bushland on Western Australia's central coast would normally be bursting with springtime blooms but after four years of increasingly dry winters, only a handful of plants are starting to bud. "WA has had less rain and a very hot summer, and that's probably the after-effect we are seeing now," Mr Esterhuysen said. "A lot of dead plants and blooms, the buds are not there." Anton Esterhuysen looks for flowers in on Western Australia's central coast.  ( ABC News: Andrew Chounding ) Each season, the migratory beekeeper has brought his hives down from the warmer blooms in the state's north for the springtime flowers, but this year the dry weather had delayed the move. "This time of year, we would like to be here in the spring country on the sand plains," he said  "We see...