by Todd Youngblood Dear Friends, I hope all of you have made plans to join us at the Dedication Ceremony of the Janice and John Thomas ‘59 Honey Bee Facility in College Station Saturday, February 20, 2010. As I prepare for this day, I can’t help but to look back at where we have come from. If my memory serves me correctly, it was at the 2003 Convention in Tyler that the idea was first hatched. The vision of some of the leadership back then has finally become a reality. It has been a long and winding adventure to get to where we are today. But an adventure that I hope you and I will find to be fruitful in the coming years. I am a firm believer in research and development. I think this is the only way to be successful. It is facilities like this one at TAMU that will help us find answers to the ever increasing list of problems that this industry faces every day. As we move forward in this relationship with TAMU, it will require a lot of effort to make this facility what we want it to be. The leadership of the TBA will be offering ideas to the TAMU Entomology Department and assisting in the research that will be taking place at this Facility. So if you have ideas feel free to offer them, because after all, this is the Facility you helped to build.
Another project that your TBA Board has moved to the front burner this year is the Standard of Identity for honey.
We have already determined that the Texas Department of Health has jurisdiction over this and by the time you are reading this, we should have already had a meeting with them. The Standard of Identity of Honey may very well be one of the most important things we do this year. I continue to see more and more honey blend products in the market place all of the time. We will have to deal with this or we will continue to lose market share to these products. It is interesting to me that this and other major producing countries of the world continue to have below normal crops, but it is never reflected in the price of honey. These honey blends are taking the place of true honey and it is hurting us all. I hope you will join me and your Board and support this issue.
As I sit here in late January, the outlook for a good crop in the south Texas brush country are improving. We have had adequate rains and the winter has not been too severe. We had a cold snap in mid January, but it did not last long enough to do any damage. I hope your outlook is as good as ours.
Thank you, Todd Youngblood
By Todd Youngblood Dear Friends, 
The Texas Beekeepers Association has just completed another very successful convention. This was one of the biggest conventions that I have attended in the 10 to 12 years that I have been involved with the TBA. I would like to thank the East Texas Beekeepers Association for all of their efforts that they put into this convention. I’d also like to thank all of the presenters and directors that helped to make this convention so successful.
The Honey Bee Facility at Texas A&M University has been completed. The dedication of the Facility will be held in conjunction with the Winter Delegates Meeting on February 20, 2010. Be sure to mark your calendar for this date. It has been a long process, but I am delighted that we have finally reached this point in our relationship with Texas A&M University. We will continue to be involved with suggestions for the work that will take place at the Facility. We have established a Liaison Committee that will be in contact with the Head of the Entomology Department and the Apicultural Research Staff that will be corresponding our ideas to them. Again thank you for all of your support throughout this endeavor.
Also announced at the Convention was the funding of an endowment for Honey Bee Research to be conducted at the Facility. The endowment was funded in the amount of $75,000 dollars by Janice and John Thomas and was named after Nevin Weaver who was a researcher at TAMU in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. As with other endowments, only the interest earned on the principal will be available for spending each year. This amount will vary from year to year, but will be a steady source of revenue for honey bee research and education. Funds like this will be ever more important in the coming years as funding from traditional source become ever more difficult to obtain. Again we owe the Thomases another big Thank-You for their contribution and vision for the Honey Bee Industry.
The weather conditions in South Texas have improved dramatically. We have received generous rain fall since the beginning of September. This should help our prospects for a better honey crop in the spring 2010. I hope your situation is as bright as ours.
Sincerely, Todd Youngblood
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by Todd Youngblood Dear Friends, We have had some positive changes in the rainfall department in south Texas since my last article. In early September we received some very general amounts of rain. Some places received more than others, but it was all very welcome. At my warehouse, we received four inches and at my home, I had six inches. The best part is that everybody had some. It has really changed the outlook for next season. Although it is early, it was a very timely rain as for improving the prospect for a good brush honey crop next spring. We will need some good follow up rain, but this is a good start. I think my bees are in better condition right now than they have been in the last couple of years. I am not sure why, but I am very pleased. We have switched from corn syrup to sugar syrup and are feeding some essential oils mixed in the feed. Occasionally, we will drench the colonies with the oils and sugar syrup. My story is very common in the industry when I talk to other beekeepers. It seems that everybody is doing something different, so it is hard to pin point what is making the difference. I hope you are experiencing the same.
John Talbert has been hard at work on the agenda for the upcoming Convention. He has put together a great group of speakers who I think will be very informative about their topics. We will be having a panel discussion on the Rasberry Crazy Ants that have moved into the Houston area, as well as, updates on some of the other pests that we are constantly dealing with. On Thursday, we will have our Kids Learning About Bees program put on by the Honey Queens and also have Dr. Larry Connor talking about advanced beekeeping. And as usual, we plan on having the business meeting after lunch on Saturday with the Annual Banquet on Saturday night. I hope you have made plans to be there so we can share our experiences with you. If you are planning to attend, take advantage of the early registration and receive a discount on the price.
As for the Honey Bee Research Center in College Station, we continue to make progress in the construction. Monica Delisa and Chad Wootton will be giving an update at the Convention in Tyler. It is hard to believe we are nearing completion of this project. We are almost finished and then it will be time to put this facility to good use for the benefit of the whole industry. We will continue to need your support and input as we move into the next phase of this project. So stay involved. We have set February 20, 2010 as the dedication/ribbon cutting event. I hope you will make plans to join us on this day.
Thanks,
Todd Youngblood, TBA President
by Todd Youngblood Dear Friends, My family and I have just returned from a great trip to College Station.
We have begun construction on the Honey Bee Research Facility at Texas A&M. On Friday July 24, 2009, we held a stud signing ceremony at the site of the building. The stud signed by everyone in attendance, will be on display inside the building once it is completed. We have tentatively set the date for the TBA Winter Delegate’s Meeting, along with a possible grand opening of the Facility, on February 20, 2010. We will have more details for you as construction progresses.
As we bring this part of the process to a close, it is time to start looking forward as to the next phase of our relationship with TAMU. We will not be able to sit back and wait for the fruits of our labor to come. We will need to be involved in the decision making of what we think needs to take place there. Afterall, we are the major stakeholders and deserve a big seat at the table. I will be in contact with Dr. Heinz and others as to suggestions for potential ideas for research. This is a process that will require a lot of help from all involved. I hope you will be willing to help when I or whoever may call on you to help make a push for certain projects that the industry finds important. We have come a long way since I was first approached by Mr. John Milam to serve on the fund raising committee for the Facility. It is no time to sit back and rest.
As the summer wears on, your TBA Board of Directors are preparing for the Annual Convention. I am sure you know by now that the Convention will be held in Tyler this year. I hope you are making plans to come and share a few days with friends and hopefully glean a few pieces of information from the programs that will be presented. I always feel that my days spent at conventions are well worth the effort it takes to get there. I hope you feel the same. Look for the finalized program agenda in the next issue of the Journal.
As I mentioned, the summer continues to wear on here in South Texas. We are in the midst of the driest 23 month period since record keeping began in the late 1800's. Despite the harsh conditions of the country, our bees seem to be holding up quite well in the current state. We have been feeding a lot of sugar syrup with essential oils mixed in. I have only recently begun feeding pollen substitute as the signs of natural pollen have all but dried up. I hope your part of the country is in better shape than mine.
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President
Thursday, 26 August 2010 16:08 | 
