Grade 2 Beekeeping Program - Pilot Scheme Now Live

Welcome to the Program

We are very pleased to announce the launch of our long-awaited Beekeeping program. This is a pilot project and will be delivered on this one-time-only discount basis at €10.

This will include the cost of the Multiple Choice Questionnaire (MCQ) exam at the end of the course and a Grade 2 Certificate that can be achieved after the practical element of the course is completed, starting with the active beekeeping year from spring onwards.

There are limited spaces available, and we are offering these places to a cross-section of attendees from all the IBF member branches and associations.

You can register for your place using the link sent directly to your email inbox from IBF or reach out to info@irishbeefoundation.ie 

Grade 2.1: Sitting & Sourcing Bees
  • Siting Bees
  • Sourcing Bees
  • Essential Equipment
  • Costs
  • Moving Hives
  • Collecting Swarms
  • Hiving a Swarm
  • Good Practice
Grade 2.2: Practical Techniques for Confident Beekeeping
  • What is Swarming
  • Swarm Prevention
  • Swarm Control
  • Artificial Swarm: Step-by-Step
  • Swarm Control
  • Artificial Swarm (aka the Pagden method)
  • What if I can’t find the queen?
  • Queen Marking
  • Queen Clipping & Tools Required
  • Q&A + Resources
Grade 2.3: Bee Health and Disease Management
  • Why Bee Health Matters
  • An Overview of Common Bee Diseases
  • What does ‘good’ look like?
  • Identifying Disease
  • Varroa
  • Varroa Life Cycle
  • Damage done by Varroa
  • What to do about Varroa?
  • Sugar Shake Method
  • Treatment Options
  • Deformed Wing Virus
  • Chalkbrood
  • Sacbrood
  • Nosema
  • American FoulBrood
  • European FoulBrood
  • Asian Hornet (YLH)
  • Bee and Brood Samples
  • Pests & Pest Management
  • Good Practice
  • Q&A and Resources
Grade 2.4: Bee Husbandry, Bee Inspections & Hygiene
  • Beekeeping Hygiene
  • Weather conditions
  • Preparing for an Inspection
  • PPE & Equipment
  • Approaching the hive
  • REDDS
  • Test Frame
  • What a good frame looks like
  • What a Problematic Frame Looks Like
  • How well is the colony developing?
  • Disease Maintaining Hygiene
  • Record-Keeping
  • Apiary Hygiene & Why It Matters
  • Personal Hygiene and Clothing
  • Hive Tools and Equipment
  • Hive and Apiary Site Management
  • Inspections & Disease Awareness
  • Beekeeping Hygiene
  • Maintenance
  • Good Practice
  • Q&A and Resources
Grade 2.5: Harvesting and Feeding
  • Products that are Harvested from the Hive
  • Beeswax
  • Working with Beeswax
  • Working with Honey
  • When to know when to Harvest & when Not to Harvest?
  • Removing Bees from Super
  • Honey Extraction Setup
  • Uncapping Equipment
  • Honey Extraction Techniques
  • Straining your Honey
  • Jarring & Storing Honey
  • Storing Supers
  • Labelling Honey for Sale
  • Good Practice
  • Q&A and Resources
Grade 2.6: Yearly Management
  • August
  • August/September Treatment Options
  • September / October
  • November, December, January
  • February
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • Good Practice