Mikayla Keen

Kevin Fulp

Participating in the Young Beekeeper of the Year Award was a great learning experience. As a first year beekeeper, it was a great opportunity to test my knowledge and learn from people who have lots of experience keeping bees. I learned a lot from attending the fall conference, and the judges even shared some of their knowledge and experiences with me during the interview process. I look forward to applying what I learned to my own hives in the future!

Jonathan (Asher) Mercer

I participated in the young beekeepers of Indiana contest.  When I wrote my submission slip the web site made it very clear on what to do, so I think the application process was easy and very clear.  I was excited when I found out I had made it to the finals.  At the Fall conference, I talked to 3 judges and answered their questions.  This was my favorite part!  A lot of the questions were about things we talked about in our 4H meetings.  The conference was very enjoyable and I met several nice people.  All my work payed off when Tony Gaudin called me up to get my 1st place award!  I am looking forward to having my new hive come Spring.  Thank you very much TBoI.

 Austin Wright

As I approach April, I am ending my first year of beekeeping.  There have been many opportunities to expand my knowledge of beekeeping.  In early October, I was very grateful my mentor was able to provide a hive body with honey in it to ensure the bees had a sufficient supply of food for the winter. My mentor and I also used an oxalic acid vaporizer to treat the hive for Varroa.  Prior to winter starting, a sugar block was placed into a top spacer I made of two by fours for additional food for the winter.  I also purchased a cozy in order to provide insulation for the extreme temperatures.  In March of 2019, I was able to inspect the hive in order to see if the bees had survived the winter thus far. Upon observation, I noted the bees were alive and in a good cluster. I also recently placed an Apivar strip into the cluster to treat for Varroa mites this spring. 

Ella Wheeler