Lexington, KY - The art of beekeeping, and it is an art to those who do it, has become a lucrative business in more ways than one. Beehives are dotting the state from one end to the other, and beekeepers are finding more and more markets for their products.
Kentucky State Apiarist Phil Craft said the number of keepers is increasing, and it just isn't for the honey.
"I think in terms of the link between beekeeping and the economy, the most important thing, be it in Kentucky or anywhere else in the country, is pollination," he said. "While we don't have a huge number of crops that require pollination as compared to other states, we do have a number of things, like pumpkins, cantaloupe and watermelons, and our fruit trees."
While tobacco has taken a back seat to a more diversified farm economy, more and more farmers have turned to fruit production which, in turn, has created some of the demand for beekeepers.
The turn toward a local food economy has helped the industry as well, with consumers becoming more in tune with local products. Honey has become a hot commodity, as have other products with beehive origins including bee pollen, candles and beeswax.
Craft said there are basically three levels of beekeeping: commercial beekeepers, hobby beekeepers, and sideline keepers, who are somewhere in between.
"We have a lot of sideline beekeepers, and many of them own anywhere from 20 to 100 hives, and for those people with 100 hives, they are making some income on bees," he said. "We have hundreds of them putting extra money in their pockets, and we are continually seeing people moving up from hobby beekeepers and increasing their numbers."
Joel Schrader is one of those who, along with adding more hives, is entering the retail market while introducing others to the hobby.
"I have about five hives now and I'm getting ready to add about a dozen," he said. "We had about 150 pounds of honey last year, which we typically give away to friends and neighbors. We had 40 pounds left over and took it to a little antique mall here and sold it in about a week's time."
Schrader added that there is quite a demand for local honey, especially among people with allergies. While there is not basis to support the idea, many people believe that the local pollen still in the honey helps to serve as a natural allergy shot.
The move by customers to buy local products of all kinds, however, has most likely spurred the increase in demand.
Schrader has worked with bees for about five years, noting it is something he had wanted to do since childhood, and he is passing the knowledge along to new beekeepers in his area. Schrader has even started a collection of beekeeping books that date back to the 1800s.
"Once people get into it, there's a lot to love, and there are probably not many other subjects with as much research and study as beekeeping. We're trying to pull together people here that have gotten into it and pair them up with mentors," he said.
Beekeeping has grown so much in popularity that Kentucky hosts a series of six "schools" across the state to teach new and experienced apiarists all levels of the craft. One of those includes the Bluegrass Beekeeping School held recently at Kentucky State University.
Schrader noted that approximately 400 people attended the event, with 175 of those being beginners.
Rick Sutton of Garrard County is Kentucky's only commercial beekeeper. He considers himself a migratory beekeeper because of the amount of traveling he does with his hives and the need to take his bees south to build up those hives.
"The situation in Kentucky has been that we have not had good honey crops over the last few years, because of the droughts for three out of the last four years and the freeze we had two years ago," he said. "Basically we move from here to Florida the first of December to build the bees up on maple, which is when it starts blooming down there. Then we go to California to pollinate almond trees, then back to Florida in time to catch orange blossoms, then back to Kentucky for the trees' spring bloom."
Last year Sutton said he took 380 colonies to Wisconsin to pollinate cranberries and for honey production. All told, he said his bees travel about 8,000 miles per year, which involves picking up and placing his hives more than 40 times during that time period.
While it is a lot of work with many sleepless nights, Sutton has grown his business from two hives to the 800 he has now, with plans to expand to 1,200 colonies next year. In addition Sutton, who used to grow tobacco, maintains a cattle operation on his farm as well as runs an auction business. It is the bees, however, that give him the most pleasure.
"I would rather do this than anything. It gets into your blood," he said.