American Beekeeping Federation Conference was held this year in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on January 8th to the 11th. I was truly lucky to attend this meeting and was looking forward to some warm weather but as Mother Nature would have it, the temps there were colder than had been seen in a long time.
Just getting to Baton Rouge proved to be a challenge with flying into the Atlanta airport and not having a flight out till the next day. What started out to be an exciting flight with wind shear got worse with cancellations, no hotels, no food vouchers and then a sleep-over in the airport. Atlanta does pose some challenges! I almost missed the tour of the bee lab completely!
The tour of the USDA Bee Research Lab in Baton Rouge was a delight in itself. After a small group of us conned the hotel shuttle bus driver to take us there late (we missed the tour bus) the Cajun lunch was superb. Even ate the alligator picante sauce on rice. (tasted just like chewy chicken) An overview of the breeding of Russian bees, the queen rearing efforts along with the insemination practices and a look at one of the bee yards was enlightening to say the least. So much to see there and so little time! I could have spent my week there.
Meetings were informative and breaks offered time to visit with vendors that were located in the lower level. Wonderful displays offered beekeepers new products and the vendors were on hand to discuss benefits. I had the opportunity to talk to vendors from Australia and Montreal! Vendors from all over the world were present.
Even custom made jewelry adorned the visitors – this picture showed a ring made for an anniversary present! (I forwarded the picture to my husband for future reference)
All taken into account – a good conference.
I am ready to ride to the next conference!!!!