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2023-12-31-accounts

Bedfordshire Beekeepers Association Trustees’ Report for the 2024 AGM

In this report, the trustees provide a critical review of the work of the Association over the last year in relation to its objectives (objects), which are:

“To preserve the honey bee by furthering the craft of beekeeping and educating the public of the benefit of bees in the environment.”

These objectives translate to services to bees, beekeepers (members and beginners) and the public.

Summary

Some great highlights - how best to go forward? The centenary AGM went with a bang - with cake, balloons and decorations to celebrate. The intermediate training day, first aid training, the healthy bee day, Bedfordshire activating against the Asian hornet threat, honey show and festival and many other events demonstrating some of the best of what the Association offers members for a very low subscription.

What do members want? The end of 2023 found the committee perplexed. The trustees are puzzling over the best way to serve the needs of our members. Many events were not well attended despite those attending stating that they were excellent. The trustees would very much like to understand this better so that precious effort and time spent is aligned to what members want.

Bees and beekeeping. After the sunshine of 2022, 2023 proved to be very wet during the late summer which impacted the beekeeping season. It may have been one of the hottest years on record worldwide, but in the UK we experienced a lot of rain when we least wanted it. Notably, the reported honey harvest was 41% lower than in 2022.

Education . In-person training and online training continued strongly, totalling 18 events.

For the public . Our contacts with the public continued including a well attended Honey Show and Honey Festival at Stockwood Park, with a reported footfall of just under 1,000.

Finances and Assets. The Association’s assets and finances remain in good order, although finely balanced with £648 surplus. There were increased costs in the year with the Centenary publication in addition to our ever popular yearbook.

Membership . The numbers of members remain high at 540 (which is one more than 2022).

Insurance . Our new cover now renews at the end of January for administrative ease. The cost of the insurance increased by c8.3%. This is due to us increasing the overall turnover for our beekeepers from £385,000 to £425,000 in line with inflation of 10%.

Yearbook. This is one of the proudest productions of the year and treasured by many. However, the autumn survey showed that 49.2% members would be happy with an electronically accessible yearbook only. The trustees will consider how to take this forward during 2024.

And now in more detail…

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Bedfordshire Beekeepers Association Trustees’ Report for the 2024 AGM

Services for Bees and Beekeeping

Preserving the honey bee. The Beds BKA Annual Beekeeping Survey each Autumn provides a very helpful guide to how well the bees are doing.

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Year Number of Losses Colonies Colonies Swarms Honey Nucs
responses over within outside dealt with harvest in going into
previous Beds Beds lbs winter
winter
2023 70 164 673 125 11,840.8 81
2022 71 111 322 278 169 20,709 68
2021 75 91 282 224 213 14,300 50
2020 132 166 780 489 286 39,759 188
2019 127 84 586 319 348 38,630 108
2018 111 174 448 240 154 29,982 ?
----- End of picture text -----*

** figures taken from Spring pulse survey with 81 respondents

Key points from the Survey include:

Weather and its effects. Very interestingly, despite a few weeks before Christmas 2022, there being an extremely cold week with temperatures at minus fifteen sustained for nearly a week, winter losses reported were slightly BETTER than that reported the year previously. After the sunshine of 2022, 2023 proved to be very wet during the late summer which impacted the beekeeping season. It may have been one of the hottest years on record worldwide, but in the UK we experienced a lot of rain when we least wanted it. Notably, the reported honey harvest was 41% lower than in 2022.

Nucs. From the Survey, the average is one nuc for every beekeeper, but this is misleading. Half of the respondents did not have any nucs going into winter. There are two schools of thought on overwintering nucs. The first is to strongly encourage nucs as insurance against winter losses and early queen failure. The second is to overwinter strong fully sized hives to increase the overwintering success, and to use nucs during the year for queen rearing.

Wasps. Many beekeepers have reported more wasps than usual, with wasps plaguing the bees at the end of season.

Health. The incidence of varroa seems to have been generally low, though we were still encouraged to treat in line with NBU policy. 92.6% beekeepers treat for varroa, with 42.6% treating both in summer and winter.

Other Pests. The yellow legged Asian Hornet may be in Bedfordshire in 2024, with the nearest nest destroyed a mere 2 days flight from the county border– in Hackney.

Support for beekeeping research. Our support for the Eastern Associations Research Studentship (EARS) continues with £2,000 donated to work related to CBPV.

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Bedfordshire Beekeepers Association Trustees’ Report for the 2024 AGM

Services to Members and Beginners

Yearbooks. Our 2023 Yearbook was beautifully produced - an outstanding achievement as this was completed alongside the production of the very special one off centenary booklet. Thank you to Andrew Ulyett and Chris Jenkins - both worked tirelessly on these outstanding productions. As you can imagine, it was a huge workload and trying to produce two at the same time was complicated. We are very grateful to them for their contribution.

We know that our yearbooks are a marvellous record of the Association and a mine of information. However it is also a significant cost. So the trustees will consider the following feedback from the annual survey

Talks . Six excellent talks (open to members and the public) were hosted by BedsBKA during 2023:

Events. There were some excellent events in 2023 with many commenting on how informative or helpful they were. Events included an Improvers day at Flitwick village hall; a Healthy Bee Day at Bedford University; the Honey Show and Festival at Stockwood Park and a First Aid and Anaphylaxis course run at Maulden Church Hall. Sadly, the summer picnic was cancelled due to poor weather.

Beginners Course . Two in-person courses took place, one led by Mike Niemann (and team) ran successfully at Stockwood, attracting around 13 participants; with the second run by Matt Alabaster (and team) at Bedford with 19 participants. Around 9 people attended the online course.

For Improvers and more established beekeepers . Trustees recognise that they are unsure as to whether they are meeting members' needs. Carly Jordan kindly offered to run training for one of the BBKA modules. However she received a very low response from members as to which module they wanted with almost none committing to attend.

Wally Thrale organised an expert panel to be present for six intermediate improver sessions held monthly by zoom during the active beekeeping season. They were relatively well attended with between 20 to 40 attending on each occasion. Practical topics that beekeepers were encountering were discussed.

The Healthy Bee Day was incredible. We heard from bee inspectors who had been tracking, tracing and destroying Asian hornet nests. They brought along diseased combs so beekeepers could see exactly what AFB and EFB looks like. It was a pleasure watching and listening to the inspectors as they opened and examined the hives at our Association apiary.

Honey Show .The 2023 Honey Show and Festival was held on Saturday 7th October 2023 at Stockwood Park Discovery Centre. Well done to Sue Lang for her herculean efforts to make this a wonderful event for the Association. We were grateful to Stockwood Park for allowing us to use the venue again for free. Overall, just under 1,000 public attended - double that of the previous year - so a great success. However, numbers of entries to the honey show were slightly down versus previous years. Disappointingly, there were no entries in the dipped candles; wax models or Junior / Schools categories. The entry quality was good though, and the judges (Fiona Dickson from Norfolk and Mike Duffin from Hampshire) were very complimentary. Large numbers of entries in the Honey Cake and Limerick Classes made judging difficult! Congratulations to all the Trophy winners, and to Colin Hall who won ‘Best in Show’ for his entry in the Medium Honey class. Some of the winning entries were then put forward to the inter-county Federation Cup which is hosted by the National Honey Show. Bedfordshire came a very credible 2nd place, thank you to all the members who allowed their entries to represent Bedfordshire. Thank you to Karen Glasse and Mark Bolan who acted as Stewards, and

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Bedfordshire Beekeepers Association Trustees’ Report for the 2024 AGM

all the volunteers who helped set the show up the day before, and to clear the room (in record time!) at the end of the event. Thanks also to Andre Cardona and Roger Trudgehill for storing the Show staging which is quite bulky. The 2024 Honey Show and Honey Festival will be held on Sunday 22nd September at Marston Vale Forest Centre, Marston Moretaine, MK43 0PR. Please put this in your diaries now!

District Advisors (DAs) services. We had the benefit of DAs in post for every area of the county. They are so important for members in terms of advice and support as need arises.

Stockists for our Bulk Purchase Scheme (BPS). Our BPS Manager, Simon Cockle, continues to organise this large-scale operation on behalf of members in terms of containing high costs and thus making beekeeping more affordable. Our stockists as ever continued to provide an excellent service, storing goods and supplying members with basic equipment at much reduced prices. The wax exchange ran very successfully again thanks to a small, hardworking team of members, in concert with Maisemore, our new supplier.

Facebook Chat Page . The Facebook chat forum continues to host lively debates and opportunities for beekeepers to ask questions and provide advice on a daily basis.

Teaching apiaries. Our two teaching apiaries continue to thrive under the guidance of our apiarists and their teams who give so much of their time and expertise (one apiary is at Stockwood Park in Luton managed by Mike Niemann and team, the other at Priory country Park in Bedford run by Matt Alabaster and helpers). Honey sales from both teaching apiaries continue to provide the Association with additional funds – our thanks to both Matt and Mike and their teams for their continuous efforts and sharing their knowledge with beginners.

Services to the Public

Swarm-collection. Our free swarm-collection service to the public remained operational. Reports from Sandy District and nearby were that it was the swarmiest year they had ever seen. However this was not mirrored through the whole county. Although it seemed a quieter year for the scheme, many queries from the public about bees (not only honeybees) and beekeeping were addressed. This is a vital service to our bees as many swarms would die if left to their own devices.

Talks and Visits. Several visits to classes in primary schools took place in 2023. Members may have given talks to schools or other groups that we do not know about. Do please contact the Education Liaison Officer (Stephen Edwards) to keep Trustees informed about this important work that is a fundamental part of our mission as a charity.

Attendance at outside events. Attendance at outside events continued, with stalls at Bromham Apple Day and the Bedfordshire Young Farmers Rally.

Honey Festival . The Honey Festival, excellently organised by Dawn Talats, that accompanied the Honey Show at Stockwood Park was well received with approximately 1,000 members of the public visiting. Activities included honey tasting and sales, face painting, yellow legged Asian hornet stand, virtual hive and beekeeping equipment display, trying on bee suits, candle rolling, children’s colouring in activities, and apple pressing. We were honoured to have a demonstration table of wax flowers this year by Elizabeth Duffin as well as stalls of books, trying on bee suits, hive and equipment demonstrations. A big thank you to all involved in making the day such a special highlight of the beekeeping year.

Beds BKA Operation

Trustees and Officers. Trustees continued to meet throughout the year to monitor the state of the Association and to guide its activities. The Secretarial Team continued to work “behind the scenes” on the detailed management of the Association.

The committee of Trustees has had some changes over 2023, with four new trustees joining through the year. Nick Arter joined as NE Beds District Advisor; Graham Canford joined as Assistant Apiarist (Bedford); Mary Marriott joined to assist with training and Phill Howes as Asian hornet coordinator. In addition, Gemma Keys kindly runs the photograph of the month competition, Stephen Edwards assists the Association as Education liaison officer and Sue Lang as honey show coordinator.

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Bedfordshire Beekeepers Association Trustees’ Report for the 2024 AGM

So much is done by our various officers to provide key services for which we are grateful.

Membership numbers. 2023 membership totalled 540, 1 more than last year. In 2023 there were 488 Full Members, 37 Associate Members, 13 Student Members and 2 Honorary.

Insurance. Thanks to the sterling effort of our Treasurer, we have changed our insurance to one renewal at the end of January. The cost of the insurance increased by c8.3%. This was due to us increasing the overall turnover for our beekeepers from £385,000 to £425,000 in line with inflation of 10%. Whilst the overall price is still good value, this meant that the premium increased by 8.3% compared to the previous year. With underlying rates having increased by 4.5% the further increase is due to increasing the turnover limit. We will be investigating over the year any additional cover that may be required by Asian hornet action teams which currently is not covered.

Policies. Last year the Safeguarding Policy, Equal Opportunities and Health and Safety policies were reviewed.

And Finally

Overall it has felt like a very busy year. Many have contributed and given their time, effort and expertise for which we are deeply thankful.

Sadly the yellow legged Asian hornet has come close to Bedfordshire - with the nearest nest destroyed in Hackney which is two days flight from Bedfordshire. Seven members of parliament have been contacted to highlight the urgent need for action. Four of these have tabled parliamentary questions to the “Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Environment” Secretary. Whilst responses have largely confirmed what we already know, the mere act of asking the question raises the profile of this urgent matter.

Finally, we would welcome any suggestions for improvement or new ideas, please do reach out to your District Advisor or any or the trustees or officers. We would genuinely love to hear from you.

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Addendum to Beds BKA Trustees Report for 2023

This addendum provides the addi�onal informa�on for the Trustees Annual Return as required by the Charity Commission in the Charity SORP (FRSSE) - Statement of Recommended Prac�ce (Financial Repor�ng Standard for Smaller En��es). (Link to SORP.)

SORP 1.9

SORP 1.19

SORP 1.26

SORP 1.28

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Trustee Note
1 Ma�hew Alabaster All year
2 Nicolas Arter From 25/2/23
3 Neil Blakemore All year
4 Graham Canfield From 25/2/23
5 David Chapman Resigned 25/2/23
6 Simon Cockle From 25/2/23
7 Fiona Cook Resigned 25/2/23
8 Anne Cross All year
9 Richard Dowse� All year
10 Karen Glasse All year
11 David Goodridge All year
12 Colin Hall All year
13 Phillip Howes All year
14 Christopher Jenkins All year
15 Caroline Jordan All year
16 Rosemary Long All year
17 John Macdougall All year
18 Mary Mario� From 25/2/23
19 Michael Niemann All year
20 Paul Rubens All year
21 Dawn Talats All year
22 Walter Thrale All year
23 Jennifer Tysom All year
24 Helen Vaughan From 25/2/23
----- End of picture text -----

Signature
Name andposi�on John Macdougall,Trustee and Assistant Secretary
Date 21stOctober 2024

Treasurer’s Report (2024 AGM)

The annual accounts for the Association were prepared by myself, for the second time and have been reviewed and examined in accordance with the Charity Commission’s regulations. The review was carried out by Caroline Rainbow, also for the second time, Caroline is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, England & Wales. She trained with KPMG as an auditor, and worked in local government as an auditor and has many years’ of experience in this field. Once again, a big thank you to Caroline for agreeing to do this review.

Overall revenue increased by £1,904 to £42,980. Membership subscriptions were £5,673, £800 lower than 2022. This was principally due to the Gift Aid receipt of £1,002 from HMRC in 2022, not received in 2023. A Return for 2023 will be sent in 2024.

Revenue from the bulk purchase scheme increased by £2,640 to £29,923 a 10% increase on last year. The margin increased very slightly to 5.5% compared to last year at 5.4%. Whilst wax costs have stayed reasonably constant, the price of jars has increased again by approximately 10% in 2023 (2022 by 30%) , accounting for much of this increased revenue again. My thanks to all the stockists, and Simon Cockle to for all their effort, in continuing to supply members with very good value products.

Training revenue was higher in 2023 by £377, principally due to the Anaphylaxis Awareness Course that was run in November 2023.

Apiary sales were £3,028, slightly down on the record year of 2022 £3,393, although 2022 included selling bees to Brewpoint for £300, not repeated in 2023, which accounts for most of this difference.

Magazine sales ceased in 2022, so there was no revenue in 2023. Events revenue was also much lower than expected, as the Centenary Dinner at the Rufus Centre was cancelled due to insufficient support. Please also note that Event costs were also significant down against budget.

Overall expenditure for the year was £14,045, a decrease of £2,640. There 4 main areas of decreased expenditure. Firstly, moving our insurance from Howden to ANSVAR saved £1,953 compared to 2022. Secondly, following a higher year in 2022, Apiary costs were £1,458 lower in 2023. Donations were £780 lower in 2023 following the £900 donation in 2022 for the 100 trees at Marston Vale to mark our Centenary. Finally, no magazines were purchased in 2023 saving £740.

Other cost changes were:

The net result was a surplus of £648, turning around a loss of £878 last year.

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Treasurer’s Report (2024 AGM)

BEDFORDSHIRE BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION PROFIT/LOSS 2023

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Actual Budget Actual
Full Year Full Year Full Year
2023 2023 2022
GBP GBP GBP
REVENUE
Subscriptions 5,673 6,500 6,473
Bulk purchase scheme 29,923 24,500 27,283
Training 3,039 2,600 2,662
Events 665 5,600 338
Apiary sales 3,028 2,600 3,393
Donations 145 100 184
Interest earned 507 80 108
Magazines 0 600 635
Other revenue 0 0 0
Total revenue 42,980 42,580 41,077
COSTS
Bulk purchase scheme 28,287 23,153 25,808
margin % 5.5% 5.5% 5.4%
EXPENSES
Subscriptions 992 430 418
Print & Post 3,382 2,450 2,782
Committee 495 550 358
Events 2,385 7,400 1,971
Training 1,002 300 266
Apiary 251 1,150 1,710
Insurance 2,183 4,350 4,136
Donations 2,120 1,500 2,900
Bank charges 466 550 475
Depreciation 768 925 930
Magazines 0 700 740
Total expenses 14,045 20,305 16,684
Surplus/(deficit) 648 -878 -1,415
----- End of picture text -----

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Treasurer’s Report (2024 AGM)

The key figures to point out on the balance sheet are:

Fixed assets: No purchases in the year, the book value of the assets decline to £1,306 after depreciation.

Stock finished the year slightly down at £6,759 compared to £7,063 last year. Stocks of fondant and Ambrosia were significantly less than last year.

Debtors at £4,193 versus £689 were higher. £3,180 was held by stockists at the end of December, and has since be paid into our account. £413 for honey due from Stockwood Discovery Centre has now also been paid. £299 were prepaid expenses for the venues for January 2024 Training Day and Bedford Beginners’ Training and £300 was for prepaid Wax Credits.

Creditors of £3,217 versus £4,568 in 2022 were lower. Our donation to EARS of £2,000, our ANSVAR Insurance for December was not taken until January by Direct Debit. A Speaker was owed for a Talk. The balance results from Cash taken in advance for Subs and The Improvers Day and Beginners Course.

Our cash balance is £26,693, slightly down on 2022, which was £29,828.

Our Reserves at £27,669, are just above the lower band of £26,370, and significantly below the £29,300, set at the end of 2021.

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BALANCE SHEET
2023 2022
ASSETS GBP GBP
Fixed Assets 1,306 2,073
Cash 26,693 29,828
Stock 6,759 7,063
Debtors 4,193 689
Creditors -3,217 -4,568
Total 35,733 35,085
REPRESENTED BY
Surplus b/f 35,085 36,500
Profit/(loss) for period 648 -1,415
Total 35,733 35,085
----- End of picture text -----

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•4

BEDFORDSHIRE BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION PROFIT/LOSS 2023

Actual Budget Actual
Full Year Full Year Full Year
2023 2023 2022
GBP GBP GBP
REVENUE
Subscriptions 5,673 6,500 6,473
Bulk purchase scheme 29,923 24,500 27,283
Training 3,039 2,600 2,662
Events 665 5,600 338
Apiary sales 3,028 2,600 3,393
Donations 145 100 184
Interest earned 507 80 108
Magazines 0 600 635
Other revenue 0 0 0
Total revenue 42,980 42,580 41,077
COSTS
Bulk purchase scheme 28,287 23,153 25,808
margin % 5.5% 5.5% 5.4%
EXPENSES
Subscriptions 992 430 418
Print & Post 3,382 2,450 2,782
Committee 495 550 358
Events 2,385 7,400 1,971
Training 1,002 300 266
Apiary 251 1,150 1,710
Insurance 2,183 4,350 4,136
Donations 2,120 1,500 2,900
Bank charges 466 550 475
Depreciation 768 925 930
Magazines 0 700 740
Total expenses 14,045 20,305 16,684
surplus/(deficit) 648 -878 -1,415
BALANCE SHEET
2023 2022
ASSETS GBP GBP
Fixed Assets 1,306 2,073
Cash 26,693 29,828
Stock 6,759 7,063
Debtors 4,193 689
Creditors -3,217 -4,568
Total 35,733 35,085
REPRESENTED BY
Surplus b/f 35,085 36,500
Profit/(loss) for period 648 -1,415
Total 35,733 35,085