Vandiver's Honey

  We bought a beehive in 2012 as a way to pollinate some fruit trees and caught the bee bug so to speak. Like all new beekeepers, we had our trials and tribulations, but after a while, we have developed a working relationship with our bees, developing low maintenance, productive, and population sustaining hives. We do not use harsh chemicals in our hives to improve production or save ailing hives, in the long run it doesn't really help produce good bees or products.

  Our hives are located in southwest Missouri, surrounded mostly by grazing cattle and some agriculture, mostly corn, soy, and winter wheat. Fortunetly, we have several acres of trees and assorted wild plants, that creates a unique tasting honey. Honey extracted in the spring will be lighter and have a milder flavor, while fall extractions will be darker and stronger. Extractions after Goldenrod blooms in the fall, honey will have a very strong flavor and some folks describe it as having a dirty sock smell. We are not a commercial operation per se, but do sell our honey primarily wholesale either in 5 gallon pails or under our own label to retailers. We do sell different sized containers, comb honey, and wax as available to individuals who request it. Honey shipping is generally cost prohibitive and therefore we do not sell online.

  We do not do cutouts or sell bees on a regular basis, but we do sell off excess swarms and splits that we do not need. This is generally in April or May when we evalulate our hives for the coming year. We try to limit our hives to around 10 hives, because frankly, it's far too much work for the two of us to harvest honey from any more hives without hiring some help.