Ontario Beekeepers’ Association News

 Only a few days left until Day 1 of the Spring Meeting. The Spring 2021 Conference will take place Saturday, March 27th & Saturday, April 3rd, 2021. The meeting will begin at 9:30am each day and end around 1:30pm. Everyone Welcome Meeting Information HERE

We are seeking a new Lead Specialist for OBA's world-class Technology-Transfer Program.Position HighlightsEducationGraduate degree or Bachelor of Science, with coursework in apiculture, entomology, biology, and/or agriculture.ExperienceThree years or more of experience working with honey bees. Experience with project management, applied research in the field and experience in laboratory work.KnowledgeThorough knowledge of the business of beekeeping and general beekeeping practices, including honey…

 In order to to seek feedback on the beekeeper registration experience, the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association (OBA) is looking to survey beekeepers who have, ideally within the last two (2) beekeeping seasons, successfully or unsuccessfully renewed their beekeeper registration with OMAFRA, primarily through the Ask OMAFRA Bees Portal.Data collected from this survey will be summarized and shared with OMAFRA, but your participation is…

Every year at the Annual General Meeting, a silent auction is held to raise money for the OBA Tech-Transfer Program. Generous donations are provided by members, suppliers, advertisers, community partners and more!This year the Auction is online and accessible through the OBA Facebook page.https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=471022232933063&set=a.3415227...Don't have a Facebook account? Perhaps your kids do! Use theirs ;)You can still view all the…

Check out the winners at the 2020 Virtual Royal Winter Fair.Winners ShowcaseFull Listing - Full Listing of Royal WinnersVideo with winners, behind the scenes shots, and more

Hosted by Growing Forward 2, beekeepers are invited to attend this free Bee Biosecurity Workshop to learn more about on-farm biosecurity best management practices and key areas of your farm to evaluate when developing a biosecurity plan as well as potential cost-share opportunities. Taking a workshop is a first step in creating a Biosecurity Plan for your operation and identifying…

The OBA Annual General Meeting will take place on Friday, November 20th and Saturday, November 21st.The event will take place exclusively online. See our meetings page for more information.

The Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists conducts an annual survey of Canadian beekeepers' overwinter losses.  The Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA) and Provincial Apiarists coordinated the annual honey bee wintering loss report for 2019-2020. As in previous years, the survey consisted of harmonized questions based on the national beekeeping industry, with Provincial Apiarists collecting survey data across all provinces.Respondents collectively…

The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs recently confirmed a new Small Hive Beetle positive yard in the City of Ottawa area from live bees purchased in 2020. This is the first Small Hive Beetle positive yard confirmed in this area of the province. This new positive case raises a concern that other live bees purchased and distributed…

It is important for beekeepers in Ontario to understand the signs of poisoning and the process for reporting in the event of a possible exposure and/or subsequent bee kill. Symptoms of acute pesticide poisoning of honey bees may be much easier to recognize than chronic symptoms. Provincial Apiarist, Paul Kozak provides the following list of symptoms for most types of insecticides,…