The Polk County Beekeepers Association formed shortly after the five week long Polk County Extension office beekeeping course completed in March 2016. The purpose of the beekeepers group is to support and share with one another best practices, tips, experience and camaraderie as the group supports their hives through the busy bee time of the year.

New hives may not be able to generate a lot of honey the first year, but the new beekeepers are learning how to work the hives and build them up so they are sustainable through the winter.

The next meeting will be held Thursday, May 19 at 5:30 p.m. at the Ag Center in Mill Spring. The guest speaker will be Phil Holbert, of Holbert Bee Supply in Saluda. He will demo working the two hives at the Ag Center. All attendees who would like to watch should bring their bee suit or bee jacket and veil.

Following the demo, we will share in the potluck and have a question and answer session. All are welcome to attend whether you have a hive and would like to learn more, need to hear how others are doing things or simply want to meet a really nice group of folks.

Please bring a dish to share and your own plates, silverware, and cups to cut down on waste and help support the environment. Meetings will be held monthly on every third Thursday at the Mill Spring Agricultural Center through the fall. The meetings will feature speakers on different beekeeping topics that are of interest to Polk County beekeepers.

If you have questions about beekeeping in Polk County or the Polk County Beekeeping Association, please contact Ansley Roberts at the Office of Agricultural Economic Development at 828-894-2281 or Ansley@polkcountyfarms.org.

-Submitted by Lisa Krolak