The North Eastern Apiarists’ Association host their spring field day on the first Sunday in October each year. It offers new and small-scale beekeepers an opportunity to extend their beekeeping skills, find out the latest industry news and ensure beekeepers know how to identify and respond to pest and disease issues.

It’s a popular day and there’s lots of opportunity to get hands on with bees. In fact, even aspiring (or potential) beekeepers will find it an invaluable way to find out more about what beekeeping involves. It’s held in at the cinema in Swanpool (between Benalla and Mansfield) and 40 or more hives are temporarily installed on the adjoining tennis courts, to provide lots of bee-handling opportunities.

There are beginner sessions providing an introduction to what’s involved in beekeeping, basic equipment, starting up a new hive, assessing colony health, and bee nutrition. For those with more experience, those topics are further expanded upon as well as splitting hives, spring and swarm management, queen rearing and re-queening. A diversity of presenters means the sharing of local knowledge as well as preferred methods and approaches. It’s a great way to learn, as they share decades of beekeeping experience (in many cases, both individually as well as collectively!).

Other parts of the day include beekeeping equipment sales and hardware assembly workshops, honey extracting demonstrations and even a lovely lunch! Plus, it’s interactive, so you can also bring your questions, photos and/or tales of success to share.

Be sure to pop the date in your diary. And if you’re not already on the email list for NEAA news, join the list to ensure you receive your invitation to come along this spring.