Beekeeping class causing a buzz in Maysville

There has been quite a bit of buzz lately about the disappearance of bees and the need for more beekeepers around the country.

To promote the need for those little insects that help put some of our favorite foods on the table, the Northeastern Kentucky Beekeeping School will hold a beekeeping class at the Maysville Community and Technical College.

The class will take place Feb. 27 and is hosted by the Licking River Beekeepers Association. Vendors will be on hand during the day with beekeeping products for sale.

Bruce Barns, owner and operator of Cowan Station Honey Farm and past president of the LRBA, said there is a great need for local beekeepers in the community.

“Bee keepers are needed in all areas. Over 40 percent of all the food we eat needs pollination to produce. Without honey bees food would be in short supply. This will be the seventh year we have had a beekeeping class at MCTC where we provide up to date information from some of the finest beekeepers in the area,” Barns said. “My wife, Regina, and I have been beekeepers for seven years. We started with just two hives and attended the beekeeper school. After one year of working with hives I was fascinated with the honey bee. Currently we have 20 hives at our farm. Our bee association has about 40 members where some are just hobby keepers and then we have a couple of members with over 50 hives. Honey has some properties for health and is one of nature finest food. Local honey has benefited humans for several centuries. The beekeepers associations decided that since many people are interested in the honey bee but may not know much about them or how to tend a hive, a short course on beekeeping would be of great benefit. With this class we are able to help beekeepers gain knowledge for the latest information on the problems and solutions for maintaining healthy productive hives. My self, I enjoy working with the bees and the structure they have and how they make both the wax and honey,” Banks explained.

Beekeeper Tammy Horn along with other notable beekeepers will be on hand as class instructors.

This year’s guest speaker will be Dr. John Strang with the University of Kentucky Department of Horticulture who will speak on logistics of pollination and the effects of pesticides.

Classes will also include beginning beekeeping, creating Nucs to increase hives, raising queens, bee nutrition, bears and bees, honey bees and the law, honey and wax uses, mite control, pollen testing honey, planting for bees and much, much more.

Pre registration is requested but not required and will take place at 7 a.m.

Adults who plan to attend the class will pay a $20 pre registration fee or $25 at the door.

For children the cost will be $7.50. The price for class includes lunch and refreshments. Class will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will end by 3:30.

For more information you can contact Bob Fore at 606-247-5817 or email questions to lickingriverba@gmail.com.

According to research, bees are disappearing around the world en masse, never to return.

Fact is we need those tiny little hard-working insects to keep the economy buzzing.

Furthermore, bees make it possible for us to enjoy some of our favorite foods such as apples, berries, cantaloupe, honey and even candle wax.

In the United States alone, more than 25 percent of the managed honey bee population has disappeared since 1990.

As a way to keep the economy buzzing, a beekeeping class could prove to be highly informative for those interested in learning a viable way to help take the sting out of a sluggish economy.