Newbattle Beekeepers Association

Spring 2026 Sample Pack Requests Reopen Soon! Sample pack requests for the 2026 season will reopen on Wednesday 25th March around 9.30 a.m.  Requests will close once they receive 300 submissions, and packs will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. There will be another opportunity to request a sample pack in July of this year.  ❓How do I request a sample pack? Log in to your National Honey Monitoring Scheme account Head to the "Taking Part" page and follow the instructions.  Important: Sample Packs & Eligibility You can only order one sample pack at a time (limited to one pack per beekeeper and per household). If your Sample History (on the “Taking Part” page) shows a status of “Pack Sent”, you will not be able to request a new one just yet. This might be because:  You received a pack in a previous year, but have not returned it. You returned your sample, but it has not been marked as “received” or you requested a pack and it never arrived (unfortunately they go missing in the post very occasionally). If you have a pack from a previous year, you can use this to send in samples for 2026. If you have misplaced your pack, or fall into category (b), then please contact us at Honey@ceh.ac.uk so we can update your sample status and ensure you're eligible to make a new pack request. Please note: The inbox will be monitored from Tuesday 24th March onwards, so you may not receive a response before this date.  ️ Coverage Areas for 2026 To ensure we produce the highest-quality scientific outputs from the resources available to us, we need to focus on areas where we have up‑to‑date, fine‑scale, satellite‑derived habitat and land‑cover data. While we would love to include every hive, unfortunately we are unable to analyse honey from locations outside the areas covered by our Land Cover Maps. We completely understand this may be disappointing, but we hope the situation will change in the future. This year we are therefore unable to send sample packs to the following locations: The Channel Islands The Isle of Man The Isle of Wight      ⏭️What Happens After You Make a Pack Request: You will receive an automatic email stating “pack requested”.  We will review all the submissions to remove any duplicate requests and ensure an even geographic spread across the UK. You will receive an automatic email stating "pack sent" once your request has been approved and your pack has been dispatched. If we are unable to proceed with your request, we will get in touch with you directly.  If your pack does not arrive within three weeks of the "pack sent" notification, please contact us at Honey@ceh.ac.uk (after checking your email address is correct on your account).  Please review our FAQ page if you wish to find out more about the results you will receive and when you can expect them. You can also learn more about the analysis process on our “How it works” page.

the walrus and the honeybee - don't overlook honeybee nutrition

click on the link above to read the blog post

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of BIBBA will be held on:

Date: Monday 23 March 2026 Time: 19:00 GMT Location: Via Zoom

If you are a member:

**You must register in advance if you wish to attend the Zoom AGM - **Register Here

You will be able to ask questions about the Trustees Report and Accounts during the meeting and there will also be the opportunity to ask questions or offer suggestions at the end of the meeting. You are invited to submit any questions to the Committee (via email to secretary@bibba.com) by no later than** Sunday 22 March**. You may also submit questions via the chat facility during the meeting.

March Webinar

Our last winter webinar of this series is with our webinar host Dr Gino Jabbar. On Tuesday 10^th March at 7.30pm (GMT), Gino will talk us through the different systems of honey judging. The UK and Irish, Italian and French systems of honey judging will be summarised, and the philosophies of each discussed.

To book your place, please click on the image above or the link below

BOOK PLACE

Dr Gino Jabbar is a Physicist, Bee Farmer, and Honey Sensory Analyst with a small bee farming business, Simply Honey, based in Edinburgh and the Lothians. He is a Scottish Expert Bee Master, Scottish Honey Judge, and a member of the prestigious Italian National Register of Experts in the Sensory Analysis of Honey. He is an International Honey Judge for Le Concours Des Miels De France, Tre Gocce D’Oro Grandi Mieli D’Italia, and the International organic honey awards Biol Miel. In addition, to Show Judging closer to home in Scotland. He is actively involved with Honey education and contributes to new science as a member of the International Honey Commission. He serves as a trustee for The Scottish Beekeepers Association, is the director with responsibility for Scotland for the Bee Farmers Association, and most recently Co-founded and is Chairman of the Honey Guild of the United Kingdom. A honey organisation with the aims of characterising UK honeys, providing professional training in Honey Sensory Analysis, and driving a Honey culture within the UK. 

These beekeeping webinars are free to SBA Members, you just need to register your attendance beforehand for access on the night.

Honey is frequently among the most common foods that are faked.

Read the news article on the BBC website

Malwarebytes - News - click Here

Do you want to sit any of the Scottish Beekeepers Association  Module Exams in March?

You must register and pay the exam Fee (£42) no later than 9 February.

Also to sit the module exams you must be a current member of the Scottish Beekeepers Association.  

Register and Pay Online - Click Here

Here are the links to four magazine websites, two American and two British.

American Bee Journal

Bee Culture

Beecraft

Beekeepers Quarterly