Brown County Beekeepers Association

08/25/2026

08/22/2026

🐝 BCBA MEMBERS-JOIN US SUNDAY MORNING — HANDS-ON HIVE WORK!

Want to get some hands-on fall hive management experience? Join Carl Fisher and Dave Elsen of EF Honey tomorrow morning as they work the colonies near the Green Bay Botanical Garden.

🍯 Honey Harvest — See how they pull honey frame-by-frame, shake and brush the bees, and use a refractometer to check frames that are close.

🐝 Varroa Management — If we have enough members join us, we’ll plan to conduct a mite check, followed by OAV treatments.

❄️ Winter Prep — They’ll also be bringing out the quilt boxes, insulated top covers, entrance reducers, mouse guards and robbing screens as they start getting the apiary ready for winter.

NEW BEEKEEPERS ARE WELCOME!
Don’t have your own gear yet? We’ll have bee suits available to use. Come watch, help, ask questions and get into the hives with experienced beekeepers.

📅 Sunday, August 23
⏰ 8:00 AM
📍 Hives across from NWTC, just past the Green Bay Botanical Garden
🚗 Park in the NWTC parking lot, walk across the road and through the large wire-fence gate. We’ll be down by the greenhouses.

☕ And when the work is done, we’re heading to Starbucks on Military for coffee and a little more bee talk.

No classroom. No PowerPoint. Just beekeepers, bees and hands-on learning. 🐝

08/19/2026

TONIGHT — Get Your Bees Ready for Winter!

The honey may still be coming in, but **winter preparation starts now.**

Tonight, experienced BCBA beekeepers Dave Elsen from EF Honey and Jim Sharp, are taking over our August meeting for a practical, beekeeper-to-beekeeper discussion on **Fall & Winter Hive Management.**

They’ll dig into the stuff that can make the difference between a colony that simply goes into winter and one that’s actually **prepared for it** — feeding, Varroa management, winter stores, pulling and cleaning honey supers, wrapping and insulation, ventilation, moisture control, and some of the products and tricks they’ve learned to rely on over the years.

And this won’t just be a lecture. **Bring your questions!** Dave and Jim want this to be a conversation where members can compare methods and learn from each other.

🐝 **MEMBER SHOW & TELL:** Got a feeder, winter setup, insulation method, favorite product or homemade trick that works in your apiary? **Bring it tonight and share it with the club!**

🍯 **PLUS — come early!** Lucas and Liam Ford will kick things off with our **Honey Extraction Demo & Discussion from 5:30–6:30 PM.**

📍 **Green Bay Botanical Garden**
📅 **Tonight — Wednesday, August 19**
🍯 **5:30–6:30 PM — Honey Extraction Demo**
🐝 **6:30 PM — Fall & Winter Hive Management**

**Two great sessions. One night. A whole lot of beekeeping.**

Come with questions — **leave with a game plan for winter!** 🐝❄️

08/19/2026

BCBA Member Spotlight — Dick Sturm at the Wisconsin State Fair!

We love seeing our BCBA members out there representing Wisconsin beekeeping!

Our own Dick Sturm from Dick's Bees joined **Wisconsin Honey Producers Association Booth Manager Michael Dick** for an interview on **Newsradio 620 WTMJ** during the Wisconsin State Fair. Dick has been a longtime member of the Brown County Beekeepers Association and serves as a **Member at Large on our leadership team**.

They talked bees, honey, and some **State Fair sweetness! 🍯🐝**

🎙️ **Want to listen?**
Select the **3:00 PM segment on August 14th — “Brewers Magic, Packers Lessons & State Fair Sweetness”** and jump ahead to about the **24:00-minute mark** for Dick’s interview.

Way to represent BCBA and Wisconsin beekeeping, Dick! 👏🐝

08/19/2026

🍯 MEETING BEFORE THE MEETING — HONEY EXTRACTION!

Come early to our August BCBA meeting and see honey extraction from start to finish!

Lucas and Liam Ford, our 2025 BCBA New Beeks of the Year, will demonstrate how to take those beautiful capped frames and turn them into fresh honey. 🐝🍯

They’ll walk members through the extraction process, equipment, and a few tips they’ve learned along the way.

Perfect for new beekeepers getting ready for their first harvest — or anyone who wants to see how others do it.

🍯 Come early, ask questions, and see honey extraction in action!

08/07/2026

🌼🐝 A Special Invitation from Ken Sikora! 🐝🌼

BCBA Past President and longtime legacy member Ken Sikora is opening up his 5-acre pollinator gardens to fellow BCBA members this Saturday morning, August 8, from 9:00 AM–Noon.

And judging by these pictures…there is a LOT to see! 🌻🌸🐝

Ken has an incredible variety of blooming wildflowers and pollinator plants and is inviting members to walk the property, take pictures, identify plants, and see firsthand what’s providing forage for honey bees and our native pollinators this time of year.

📍 978 Lakeview, Howard
⏰ Saturday | 9:00 AM–Noon

Interested in going? Please comment below so we can give Ken an idea of who plans to stop by.

A big thank you to Ken for opening his property and sharing his years of knowledge with our members! 💛🐝

07/17/2026

🐝💛 The Next Generation of Beekeepers Has Arrived! 💛🐝

One of the highlights of our Summer Picnic had to be seeing Chris and Krista DeWolfe’s future beekeepers stealing the show!

Big brother Bennett was the lucky winner of the youth beekeeping suit, generously donated by Ed Poillion, and we think it’s safe to say he’s ready for his very first hive inspection. 😍🐝

And with the recent arrival of baby Colton, the DeWolfe family has officially expanded their queen-rearing program into beekeeper rearing! 😂

Congratulations to Chris, Krista, Bennett, and Colton. We can’t wait to watch these young beekeepers grow up alongside the Brown County Beekeepers Association. The future of BCBA is looking pretty bright! 💛🐝🌻

07/15/2026

🐝☀️ **Today's the Day BCBA Members!** ☀️🐝

The wait is over! Grab your family, bring your favorite dish, and join us tonight for one of the best evenings of the beekeeping season.

Whether you're a brand-new beekeeper or you've been keeping bees for decades, this is your chance to relax, enjoy great food, catch up with friends, swap bee stories, and make a few new ones.

📍 **Green Bay Botanical Garden Outdoor Patio** *(inside if it rains)*
🕠 **5:30–8:30 PM**

# # # Tonight's Highlights:

🌭 Great food and fellowship
🐝 Bee talk with fellow members
🎟️ Our biggest raffle of the year featuring dozens of fantastic prizes—including a Hansen Honey Farm ventilated beekeeping jacket!
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family-friendly fun for all ages

**Don't forget!**
🎁 We are still accepting **new or unused raffle donations**. They don't have to be beekeeping related—homemade crafts, gift baskets, home décor, kitchen items, gift cards, and other unique items are all appreciated and help support BCBA education and outreach.

If you haven't RSVP'd yet, there's still time! Text or call **Dick & Carol Sturm** at **920-475-7301** with:
✅ Your RSVP
✅ How many will be attending
✅ What dish or raffle item you'll be bringing

Let's celebrate another great season of beekeeping together. We can't wait to see everyone tonight! 🐝💛🌻

07/13/2026

The 2026 **Tom Cashman Grant Team** is pleased to offer a limited number of **Lloyd Street VSH queen cells** for sale at the **BCBA Summer Picnic** on **Wednesday, July 15**.

**Details:**

🐝 **6–8 queen cells available**
💲 **$10 per cell**
📍 **Available beginning at 4:00 PM** at the Green Bay Botanical Garden
📱 **Reserve yours by texting Dick Sturm at 920-722-5141**

Please note that queen cells should be placed into a **queenless mating nuc as soon as possible** after pickup to maximize their chances of success.

Supplies are limited and will be available on a first-reserved basis. If you've been thinking about raising your own locally adapted VSH queens, this is a great opportunity! 🐝