Saturday, September 5, 2026

 Support the VBA by Selling your Honey!

The VBA Fair Committee is once again soliciting honey and other bee-related products to be sold at the Tunbridge Fair, Sept. 17-20. This activity is the largest annual fund-raiser and promotional event for the VBA.  Last year over 30,000 people were in attendance, and our booth is very popular with fair goers.


Check the VBA website for details and drop off locations or contact Mary Stoddard for any questions.


Many thanks,

Tunbridge Fair Committee

 

Prepping the Colonies and Hives for Winter

Online Workshop

September 8th, 2026

7:00 to 8:30 pm

via Zoom






Hosted by Fred Putnam Jr. and Andrew Munkres, this workshop will teach you how to:

  • Weigh hives and target hive weights

  • Feed for winter weight gain

    • how to know if feeding is really needed or when to stop feeding.

  • Hive winterizing basics - wraps, insulations, windbreaks, etc.


Register on the VBA website calendar.

VBA membership and login are required.

Monday, August 10, 2026

August BCBC Meeting 8/13/2026

Good day Beekeepers,

The August meeting of the Bennington County Beekeepers Club will be held at The Canfield Library in Arlington. 

We are excited to host Brooke Decker who will be updating us on the Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets' Apiary Program. We will meet at 6:30 for a potluck and at 7:00 have a brief meeting before the  presentation.

Best regards, Liz Baker

Best regards,
Liz Baker

 

 Tunbridge World’s Fair

September 17-20, 2026


The VBA Fair Committee is once again soliciting honey and other bee-related products to be sold at the Tunbridge Fair. This activity is the largest annual fund-raiser and promotional event for the VBA.  Last year over 30,000 people were in attendance, and our booth is very popular with fair goers.


Please consider selling some of your honey or honey related products at the fair for an 80/20 percent split with VBA.  We will be selling one pound jars for $15 retail.  That means $12 for you and $3 for the VBA.  It’s excellent exposure for your products and helps VBA cover Fair expenses, promote Vermont honey and make a slight profit. You can set your price for other honey related products you may wish to sell. Check our website for details and drop off locations. It’s a long article but please read through it. Please contact Mary Stoddard for any questions.


Many thanks,

Tunbridge Fair Committee

Monday, August 3, 2026

VBA workshops and events for the month of August 

Join the Vermont Bee Lab

to learn about UBeeO

August 4th, 2026

4:30 pm to 5:30 pm

Burlington, VT





Join the Vermont Bee Lab to learn about UBeeO, a way to measure hygienic behavior in bees! In this workshop, we will demonstrate how to perform UBeeO assays and hopefully find some high-scoring colonies.


We will discuss guidelines for reliable testing in the Northeast and discuss our experience using UBeeO in various selection programs.



Register by sending Deb Rubin an email directly from the VBA website


VBA Board Meeting

August 5th, 2026

7:00 to 8:30 pm

via Zoom




The VBA’s monthly Board Meeting is open to all. Zoom info is available on the VBA website.





Harvesting the Crop Workshop

August 8th, 2026

10:00 am  to 1:00 pm

Cornwall, VT






Hosted by Andrew Munkres at his beeyard, in this workshop you will learn how to:

  • light a smoker

  • remove bees from supers

  • uncap frames

  • extract honey

  • properly label honey

  • and more…


Register on the VBA website calendar.

VBA membership and login are required.


Vermont Women in Beekeeping Workshop

Open Hive

August 23rd, 2026

1:00 to 4:00 pm

Shelburne, VT







The VBA Women in Beekeeping enthusiastically invite you to join Kathy at Bee Tender Farm in Shelburne for a hive inspection and honey spinning demo. We will have a chance to observe the basics of late summer hive management and spinning frames for honey extraction. This will also be a great chance to network and connect.

Beekeepers of all genders and experience levels are encouraged to attend.


Register on the VBA website calendar.

VBA membership and login are required.



 Join Vermont Honey & Help Showcase Vermont Beekeeping

Dear Vermont Beekeepers Association Members,


If you are producing honey in Vermont, we’d like to invite you to join VermontHoney.org, a platform developed by VBA to support Vermont beekeepers and strengthen public awareness and access to locally produced honey.


By creating a custom profile on the site, you will be able to:

  • Showcase your apiary or honey operation to the public

  • Add a pin to our interactive map, helping consumers find where they can purchase your honey products (if you sell honey)

  • Contribute to broader efforts to increase public awareness about honey production and the importance of beekeeping in Vermont


Whether you're a hobbyist, sideliner, or commercial beekeeper, your participation strengthens the visibility of Vermont's honey industry. If you sell honey or other hive products, your profile can help customers discover your business and connect with local producers.


Even if you do not sell honey, we strongly encourage you to create a profile on Vermont honey.  It helps the public connect faces and stories to the important work beekeepers are doing across the state, while elevating the beekeeping industry in Vermont.


**Fill out our annual Vermont Honey questionnaire on our website VermontHoney.org

This questionnaire collects all information needed to create your new profile on VermontHoney.org and helps us share the story of Vermont beekeeping with consumers across the state. Your responses may be used to create a feature about you and your operation on Vermont Honey's social media. These posts highlight Vermont beekeepers and promote locally produced honey and hive products.


The survey should take about 5-10 minutes to complete. Please provide as much information as you're comfortable sharing.


Additionally, we are always looking for original written articles about Vermont honey to feature on our website. We welcome submissions on topics such as recipes, personal beekeeping stories, the importance of bees, the benefits of honey, and other insights from knowledgeable contributors like you. If you are interested in sharing your ideas or submitting an article, please send your proposals and/or completed pieces to markets@vermontbeekeepers.org.


Thank you for your participation. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.


Warm regards,

Vermont Beekeepers Association

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

BCBC Monthly Meeting Location Change for Thursday July 9th

Good day beekeeper,


Due to a miscommunication we have just found out that the Bennington Library is not available for our meeting Thursday.  The club officers have decided to change the agenda to a BBQ and hold the meeting at Shaftsbury State Park at 5:30 PM! Burgers, hot dogs and charcoal have been donated. So we ask that you bring a dish for the pot luck as you so generously do for our regular meetings. Unfortunately, the admission for Vermont State Parks has been increased to $5 per person.

Apologies for the last minute changes. Weather permitting this will be a great opportunity for members to socialize and still talk about bees in the place where bees live, outside.