Honey
Our beekeeping adventure started when we were looking for ways to increase pollination thus increasing production. A friend of Austin's is an avid beekeeper and offered to bring a hive over. He brought it over during the summer of 2019 and took care of it. We found ourselves watching the girls for hours and became very interested in hives of our own. We learned of a program through the Iowa Honey Producers Association that provided scholarships for youth to get involved. One of our children applied and was accepted, thus starting the bee adventure on the farm. Our beekeeper friend split his hive 3 ways, giving our daughter her hive of bees, plus each of our other 3 children a hive to learn from. The adventure for 1 child led to an enjoyment for the whole family. In the summer, we have been caring for up to 9 hives in 3 different locations. We are so thankful for the honeybee!
This is a picture of the top of the frames in a box. I can't tell if it is a super box where the bees make honey or a brood box where the bees raise more bees. The bees were loving the broken comb because it spilled out honey. They would eventually clean this up and store it again or use it for food.
This is picture of a frame from one of the two lower brood boxes. The queen bee is in the bottom right corner with the yellow dot. She is much longer than the rest of the bees. This frame has eggs, young larvae, and capped brood. The queen bee is one busy lady once the temperatures warm up.
This is a super frame from one of the honey boxes. This frame is almost fuly capped and was harvested the day we extracted honey. To extract honey, we use a serrated knife to cut the cappings off, place in a honey extractor, and spin. Centrifugal force causes the honey to fly out, hit the sides of the extractor, and run to the bottom. When we open up the honey gate, it runs out into a strainer where it flows through into a bucket.
This final picture is of our 2020 honey. We are currently offering honey in 6 oz jars, 12 oz jars, 20 oz (1.25 lb) jars, and 44 oz (2.75 lbs) jars. Our honey can be purchased from us at our farm or from a local business, The Bakery, on main street in Radcliffe.
We are also able to fill up a container you bring to us for $8/lb.
Each beekeepers honey is different because the flavor is determined by the type of pollen and nectar brought back by the bees. We would love to have you try ours. Contact us today to grab some honey!