18th Annual Field Day at the USDA Honey Bee Lab in Baton Rouge Scheduled October 11, 2014

The USDA Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Laboratory and the Louisiana State Beekeepers Association will hold the 18th Annual Field Day on Saturday, October 11, 2014. The event will be held at the laboratory, located at 1157 Ben Hur Rd. This is near the intersection of Nicholson Drive (Hwy 30) and Brightside Dr., which is about two miles south of the LSU football stadium.

Gates will open at 9:30 a.m.; activities are scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.  A nonrefundable pre-registration fee of $30.00 is required for attendees 12 years of age and above.  Children eleven and under, must stay with their parents at all times. You must pre-register by October 1, 2014. 

You may register on-line at labeekeepers.org and pay through PayPal or credit card or you may mail your registration form that is located on the labeekeepers.org web site and your check payable to the Louisiana Beekeepers Association to:  David Ferguson, P.O. Box 716, Brusly, LA 70719. If you do not pre-register by October 1, 2014, the cost will be $35.00 per person.

The registration fee covers expenses including coffee, pastries and a great-catered lunch that includes Bar B Q Chicken Leg Quarters, Smoked Sausage, Dirty Rice, Bar B Q Beans, and Garden Salad with choice of 4 Dressings, Fresh Baked Honey Wheat Rolls, Honey Bee Cake and Coke Products.

What you will learn: 
The Field Day will include courses for beginners and more experienced beekeepers as well as workshops for those interested in a variety of topics. The beginning beekeeper course will begin with how to get started for those who do not yet own bees, then will progress to how to manage a few colonies. Topics will include equipment needs for the beginner, nectar producing plants, maintenance of colonies, pests, safety and etiquette in beekeeping, and hands on training in an active colony. 

The intermediate beekeeping course was a hit last year and it will be offered again with a variety of topics focused on the beekeeper with a moderate amount of experience that is now ready to take it to the next level. Topics will include anticipating equipment needs throughout a season, pest management, honey processing, and swarm catching.

There will be a variety of focused workshops for those not attending the courses (typically the more advanced beekeepers), i.e., queen rearing, instrumental insemination, small hive beetle control, good honey plants and artificial nutrition sources. These workshops will represent both the USDA-ARS Bee Lab’s research and beekeeper experiences. At the end of the day, the intermediate and advanced groups will come together over active colonies. Here they will have the opportunity to discuss a variety of topics and ask laboratory personnel and experienced beekeepers questions while gaining some hands-on experience in an open hive.

For more information contact: Margaret Prell at (985-863-3641 or e-mail her at martp@bellsouth.net

National Agritourism Professionals Association Accepting Charter Memberships

NAPA stands for National Agritourism Professionals Association and accepts membership dues from rural tourism supporters, policy and decision-makers, agritourism farmers and on-farm direct marketers. 

JOIN NAPA now to become a charter member. 
Dues are set for Charter members who join between September and December, 2014, at $40.00. Dues for 2015 will be $100.00 for January – December. By paying these dues, you are adding support to our zero-based budget!  Click here to join.

NAPA's mission is to provide resources, consultation and communication avenues fro agritourism venues in the U.S. and Canada.

To learn more contact:

 Martha Glass

National Agritourism Professionals Association
1-855-517-1617
108 Forest Hills Ct., Cary NC 27511

martha.glass@napa-usandcanada.com

Beef and Forage Field Day, Sept. 18 in Mangham

Beef and Forage Field Day will be held on Thursday, September 18, 2014 at Goldmine Plantation, 188 Cummins Road, Mangham, LA 71259, from 9:00 a.m.—Noon. 

Registration at 8:30 a.m. 

Lunch will be provided.

Topics covered will be:

 Pharmaceutical Best Management Practices
 Factors influencing calving problems
 Weed control demonstration
 Bull selection
 Impact of Ryegrass planting methods on production
 Replacement heifers: Buying or retaining from herd?

For more information contact Jim McCann at 318-649-2663, Keith Collins at 318-728-3216, Jason Holmes at 318-368-9935

Minimizing Mosquitoes

All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar Series: Minimize Mosquito Problems

Late summer is prime time for mosquitoes and the time of year when West Nile usually peaks.  Learn how to protect yourself and your family from mosquitoes by reducing breeding sites, resting sites, and avoiding them altogether.  During this webinar we will cover the basics of mosquitoes, what they need to survive and how you can eliminate it, how mosquitoes spread disease, information on insect repellents, and tips on how to minimize mosquitoes in your backyard.  Presented by Molly Keck, Program Specialist - IPM, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Moderated by Chris Becker, Regional Extension Agent, Alabama Cooperative Extension System andAmanda Tedrow, County Extension Agent, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension.  Clickhere to login as a guest and participate in the live event.  For more webinars in this series, see All Bugs Good and Bad 2014 Webinar Series. The webinars are brought to you by the followingeXtension Communities of Practice: Imported Fire Ants, Urban IPM, Bee Health, and Invasive Species; and by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
Photo Credit: David Cappaert, Michigan State University, bugwood.org

The recording of the August 1 Minimizing Mosquito Webinar has been posted at: https://learn.extension.org/events/1373

Next month (September 5) we will hear a webinar about two invasive stinkbugs: the brown marmorated stinkbug and the kudzu bug.  See https://learn.extension.org/events/1379  for information, including links to promotional flyers.