A guide to beekeeping through the seasons
In collaboration with Minnesota beekeepers and with funding from a USDA NIFA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) grant, the U of MN Bee Lab team is developing a new tool in the form of a guidebook to support more beekeepers across the north central region of the US.
The first iteration is Beekeeping in Northern Climates Workbook, designed to guide beekeepers through recording colony health monitoring and management through the seasons. It provides beekeeping support during colony inspections, provides training on inspecting colonies, and helps track goals with space for note taking. The Beekeeping in Northern Climates Workbook can help a beekeeper working alone or to be an interface between a beekeeper and their mentor. Alone, the workbook guides a beekeeper through colony observations. Paired with a mentor, a beekeeper mentee can report their observations, receive confirmation or notes about their colony health and management, helping to build skills and confidence.
Workbook - Field Data Sheets Only
The project team is working on incorporating beekeeper feedback from the 2023 pilot year to produce a Guidebook that takes beekeepers through performing inspections and helps make management decisions for the bee season based on colony growth. The new Guidebook will be available spring 2025.
What is the feedback so far? Beekeepers are excited to have an in-apiary companion designed specifically for beekeeping in northern climates. The colorful workbook inspires good note taking and record keeping, one of the most important skills a beekeeper can have. Sign up for update notifications. Contact [email protected] with additional questions.
The guidebook is paired with the Beekeeping in Northern Climates, Third Edition manual that is available as a hard copy from the U of MN Bookstore or download a free PDF. (Students of the Beekeeping in Northern Climates online course and the in-person Beekeeping in Northern Climates Year 1 course receive a hard copy of the manual as part of the course.)
Beekeeping in Northern Climates Manual, Third Edition
This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number 2021-38640-34714 through the North Central Region SARE program under project number LNC21-448 with the title “Addressing honey bee health challenges in Minnesota through providing colony assessment tools and education for beekeepers.” USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
