Have you ever had an interest in beekeeping?

If so, you’re in luck. We have a great beekeeping program planned. The Eastern Bluegrass Extension Beeschool will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday. This year we have breakout sessions planned, so there will be something for every beekeepers.

One of our morning sessions will be dedicated to beginners who have a year or less of beekeeping experience. This will also be a great session for anyone considering getting into beekeeping.

There will be some great beekeepers and beekeeping industry professionals who will be instructors throughout the day.

Some of the topics for beginners will include basic beekeeping equipment and activities to be done throughout the first year of hive management.

The beginner sessions will take place in the morning before lunch.

In the afternoon, we have an intermediate session planned for beekeepers going into their second year but have less than three years of beekeeping experience. This session would challenge, but benefit beginners as well.

The intermediate session builds upon the beginner session by covering what to expect in your second year of beekeeping. There will be slightly more in-depth instruction for those who have been beginning beekeepers, but would like to improve  their hive management skills.

There will be advanced sessions for those beekeepers with three years of experience or more.

These sessions will be focused on updates in hive pest management, making genetic improvements in the hive through queen development and improvement, cover information regarding beekeeping assistance programs and inspections, and much more.

We will have advanced sessions going on all throughout the day.

We have a group of knowledgeable beekeepers who will be instructors at this year’s bee school.

We will have the Kentucky State Apiarist Tammy Potter, KY Queen Breeders’ President Dorthy Morgan, Jim Coss from the Honey and Bee Connection, and our very own Powell-Clark County Beekeepers President Larry Young presenting.

Throughout the day, participants will have a chance to submit questions that will be answered by a panel of beekeepers at the end of the day. So there is not only an opportunity to learn from our presenters, but also an opportunity to learn from each other.

This is a great opportunity anyone who has interest in beekeeping will not want to miss.

The Eastern Bluegrass Bee School is open to Clark and surrounding county residents, or anyone who would like to attend. The cost is $10 to cover the cost of lunch. Contact the Clark County Extension Service by calling 744-4682 if you have any questions about this upcoming opportunity, or to let us know you are coming to help us plan for the meal.

Registration will be available at the door starting at 8:30 a.m. The program is scheduled to begin around 9 a.m, and wrap-up around 4 p.m.

David Davis is a Kentucky Cooperative Extension agent for agriculture and natural resources in Clark County. Contact him by emailing david.davis@uky.edu.