Jan 19th AABA Meeting
Fred and Daniel Smith:
Fred and Daniel Smith are 3rd and 4th generation commercial beekeepers in western Maryland. They operate roughly 600-700 hives doing pollination in WV, VA, MD and DE on crops like blueberries, cherries, apples, watermelons, and cucumbers. They also pack and produce roughly 2000-3000 pounds of honey every year. All this is done with Fred working a full-time job and Daniel pursuing a bachelors degree at the University of Maryland and working at the UMD Bee Lab.
Mike Halbig:
Mike Halbig has lived in Annapolis for nearly fifty years. Retiring from the Naval Academy in 2012, he started beekeeping shortly thereafter under the guidance of Lloyd and Doris Luna, with the AABA Beekeepers. He’s a lifetime member of EAS and has attended EAS annual meetings in West Chester PA, Newark DE, Hampton VA and Greenville, SC where in 2019 he made his first attempt at the EAS Master Beekeeping Exam (1 for 4). He’s has worked in Denis vanEngelsdorp’s lab at the University of Maryland and Jay Evans’s lab at the Agricultural Research Service. His readings in the immense beekeeping literature have been somewhat circuitous and elliptical; tonight he’d like to talk about his favorite books along the way. He keeps two colonies in his small backyard in downtown historic Annapolis.