Vigo County 4-H alpaca show

It’s fair week in Vigo County, Indiana and that's a big deal to hundreds of 4-H'ers who have been working hard on their projects all summer (or longer).

White Violet Farm Alpacas is proudly sponsoring the Vigo County 4-H alpaca club this year.

The alpaca show was this morning and we’re glad to report it was a big success.

Read the article that ran in the Tribune Star on Friday about the alpaca program.

Here are some photos from today.

The obstacle course is fun for the 4-H'ers and audience. It was the last portion of the Vigo County Fair alpaca show this morning.

The 4-H'ers lead White Violet Farm Alpacas through the obstacle course this morning to complete the 2012 Vigo County Fair alpaca show.

Anna and Lady Isle jump together during the Vigo County Fair 4-H alpaca show this morning in Terre Haute. White Violet Farm Alpacas is the proud club sponsor.

Harlie takes a moment to get a close look at her 4-H alpaca show ribbons right after the Vigo County 4-H alpaca show this morning.

Anna received grand champion showmanship is her age division. She is pictured with White Violet Farm Alpaca's Lady Isle. Congrats Anna!

Jia earned grand champion in showmanship for her age division. She is pictured with White Violet Farm Alpaca's Mariah. Way to go, Jia!

Mariah and Hilde visit with these youngsters at the petting zoo at the Vigo County Fairgrounds this morning after the alpaca show.

Bees in Vigo County, Ind.

We've learned through the grapevine that plans are in place to propose an animal control ordinance for Vigo County, Ind. that would restrict beekeeping to parcels of land that are more than two acres and would limit one hive for every 10 acres of land owned unless the land is zoned agricultural.

This means that countless backyard and hobby beekeepers would no longer be able to keep their hives legally. White Violet Center for Eco-Justice is urging county officials not to include these restrictions in the ordinance for they would be a detriment to our local bee populations.

As many people are well aware, honeybee populations have been in extreme stress over the past six years or more and have been in rapid decline due to pressures from pesticides, parasites and Colony Collapse Disorder.

Honeybees are a crucial link in our food system and without them to pollinate our crops, much of our agriculture would suffer greatly or collapse altogether. Bees are essential pollinators for many crops, including a few that are of economic importance in Indiana; melons, squash, cucumbers, pumpkins, apples, and more.

Now is not the time to limit the number of backyard and hobby beekeepers. In fact, it's quite the opposite! Now we need beekeepers more than ever, to help keep bee populations from collapsing, and that means that every hive counts.

In a time when the popularity of hobby beekeeping is finally on an upswing, it would be a shame to see Vigo County set back this exciting trend. We would like to see Vigo County at the forefront of this trend, allowing it to become an example of beekeeping for neighboring counties.

We hope county officials will reconsider including these restrictions on beekeeping.