East Kentucky Beekeeping School was held virtual in January 2023 and the Harlan County Extension Office held it in a hybrid format.  

The committee, made up of local Beekeepers, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture state Apiarist and Extension Agents from Perry, Harlan, Floyd and Letcher Counties.

More than 150 people registered for the school with over 100 people online at any point during the day. Based on registration, those that attended represented several counties in Kentucky. 

Attendees had the opportunity to provide feedback from the school through an online evaluation. Those that responded stated they didn’t have a preference for the school being virtual or in-person, just as long as we had one. The evaluations showed the majority of attendees have never been involved in beekeeping or have just been involved for 1 to 5 years. This shows the school and beekeeping has continued to be a great influence on beginners. The evaluations showed an overwhelming positive response for the school with the majority of respondents rating the school as excellent. 

Classes this year included, Timely Topics, upcoming events and programs; Beginning beekeeping, hive health, honey testing, and bee genetics.   On a 1- 5 scale, these classes had an overall rating of 4.6.

The Cooperative Extension Service continues to be seen as playing a vital role in resources for bee production and to beekeepers. This school continues to provide valuable education to beekeepers and is a platform to increase public awareness of the potential in Beekeeping in Eastern Kentucky and the entire state.