Youth Hive Applications Available!

Have you always wanted to get bees, learn about the art of beekeeping, and are between the ages of 12 and 18? This is the opportunity for you! Youths that live in Brown County, Ohio and the surrounding counties are eligible for a youth hive, education, and materials to begin your beekeeping. To see the application, eligibility requirements, and criteria, click here or use the Youth Hive Tab at the top of this page.

Once completed, the application can be sent electronically to: contact.us.bcba@gmail.com.

All applications are due by the end of the the February meeting of the Brown County Beekeepers Association, February 11, 2025.  The finalists will be selected and notified prior to the March bee club meeting. Selected applicants will receive all the equipment, tools, and bees needed to establish a beehive. Applicants will be required to provide their own personal protective equipment.

All applicants are strongly encouraged to attend the January 14, 2025, program on “An Introduction to Beekeeping”. The program will at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Room of Western Brown High School. The Community Room is located on the northwest side of the school across from the tennis courts. In this presentation the equipment, tools and procedures required to get started in beekeeping will be covered. Applications for the scholarships will be available and completed applications can be dropped off at this time.

Fun, Food, and Fellowship Meeting Nov 12th- Last Meeting of 2024

The Brown County Beekeepers Association will meet Tuesday November 12 at the Western Brown High School’s Community Room located on the western side of the school across from the tennis courts.

We will be holding Officer elections for 2025

This is a potluck social meeting, so no education program is scheduled.  Be sure to bring a dish to share!

At 6 p.m. members will be available to answer questions and share information on beekeeping. The meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. The November meeting is the last meeting of the year, so we reserve this time for our ” Fun, Food and Fellowship” event. Those attending are asked to bring a light snack to share with others and a bee related item to enter into the end of year raffle. Funds from the raffle help to cover our yearly expenses. The club will resume our monthly meetings on
February 13, 2025.
A special meeting will be held on January 9, 2024, in the Western Brown High School Community Room for individuals interested in beekeeping. The program, ” An Introduction to Beekeeping”, will
discuss what’s required to get started in beekeeping. Handout material on beekeeping will also be available at this time.

Monthly Meeting October 8th: Preparing Your Hives For Winter Part 2

Join Brown County Beekeepers Association for this month’s educational program.
Preparing your hives for winter, part 2
October is an important time to finalize your bee hive’s winter preparation. This program will cover a wide range of topics to help insure the survival of your bees this winter. Bring all your questions and we will see you there!

Social Hour begins at 6 for non related questions and chatting. Education program begins at 7 and is open to the public, no membership required. Business meeting to follow educational content.
We meet at Western Brown High School’s community room in Mt. Orab. Entrance located on the western side of the school across from the tennis courts.

Monthly Meeting Sept 10 at 6PM: Gardening for Pollinators

The Brown County Beekeepers Association will meet September 10th at Western Brown High School’s Community Room located on the western side of the school across from the tennis courts.

At 6:00 p.m., members will be available to answer questions and share information on beekeeping. The educational program will begin at 7:00 p.m. followed by the business meeting.

The educational program will be “Gardening for Pollinators”. The program will be presented by Jennifer Smith. Jennifer has earned silver awards from the Ohio Green Industry Association in 2023 for her designs. With a Horticulture and Landscape Design degree from the University of Cincinnati, she has a background in writing for Horticulture magazine and was a garden writer and photographer for the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati.

Field Day on Aug 24: Preparing your Colonies for Winter

The club is having a field day on August 24 at 10AM to review preparing your colonies for winter.

We’ll be meeting at HappBee Acres, 2694 Bergen Rd, Batavia, OH 45103. Please bring protective equipment for the hive inspections.

Cold Soft Drinks, Lemonade, and Water will be provided; we’ll work on a snack plan in the coming days.

Note: if you were at the August meeting, it was announced that the field day was cancelled. It is back on with a venue change. Thank you Kevin and Liz!

If you have questions, please call (937)483-1244

Monthly Meeting: Rendering Beeswax

The Brown County Beekeepers Association will meet on August 13 at the Brown County Educational Service Center located at 9231-B Hamer Rd., Georgetown, Ohio.
At 6PM, club members will be available to answer questions and share information on beekeeping.
The educational program will begin at 7PM followed by the business meeting.
The educational program will be “Rendering Your Beeswax”. Do you have old comb, wax cappings, and lots of little pieces of dirty, sticky wax sitting around? Cleaning wax is called rendering. In this program we will cover how to process and clean your wax to produce a solid chunk of wax ready for candles, lotions and other crafts.

Monthly Meeting July 9: Preparing Your Hives for Winter

The Brown County Beekeepers Association will meet on July 9th at the Brown County Educational Service Center located at 9231-B Hamer Rd., Georgetown, Ohio.

At 6 PM, club members will be available to answer questions and share information on beekeeping.
The educational program will begin at 7 PM, followed by the business meeting.

The Educational program will be “Preparing Your Hives For Winter, Part 1”. The month of August represents the start of an established beekeeper’s year. What you do in August will strongly influence how well your bees do next year, and how well they overwinter. This program will cover a wide range of topics to insure the survival of your bees this winter.

Join Us For Lunch on 7/6!

Come join us for lunch on July 6, 2024! From 10AM to 2PM, the Brown County Beekeepers Association will be at the Kibler Lumber Store participating in their weekly program supporting nonprofit organizations in the Brown County area. The address is 665 East Main Street, Mt. Orab, Ohio.

Soft drinks, hot dogs, and hamburgers with all the trimmings will be available for a donation to the Brown County Beekeepers Association to support their ongoing work to educate the public on the importance of bees to our ecosystem. One in every three bites of food we consume requires pollination services provided by bees.

Information on beekeeping and gardening for pollinators will also be available.

OSBA Needs Volunteers for their Booth at the Ohio State Fair

The Ohio State Fair is just a month away and OSBA has a convenient way to volunteer for it. The shifts are only 4 hrs and you can receive up to 3 additional tickets plus free parking to bring friends and family to enjoy the fair with you. They’re using SignUp (the leading online SignUp and reminder tool) to organize the upcoming SignUps.

Here’s how it works in 3 easy steps:
1) Click this link to see the SignUp on SignUp: https://signup.com/go/WibHUmY
2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
3) Sign up! It’s Easy – you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.
4) be sure to include your mailing address and a contact phone # so they can get your tickets and parking pass in the mail for you

Note: SignUp does not share your email address with anyone.

You do not have to be an OSBA member to take advantage of this opportunity! You do need to be a beekeeper.