Annual Honey Harvest

Once a year, in late July through early August, we pull the honey boxes from our beehives. The bees are left with plenty of food, and they are fed and treated for pests going into the winter; one great thing about beekeeping this way is that our product is simply the surplus, and the animals continue living their best lives.

Apiary locations are marked on the boxes, so that you can receive honey specifically from your farm, garden, campus, etc. Honey is then extracted at our central location, with no heat, chemicals, or anything used aside from centrifugal spinning and a filter to remove wax and other particulates. Honey is naturally anti-microbial and stable, anyone can feel safe eating raw honey, other than those with allergies or children under 1. More information on raw honey, especially its huge health benefits, can be found here or all over the web.

Once honey is extracted we’ll get a total weight, and then honey will be distributed on a share system. Yields can vary wildly, some of our first year hives have produced nothing, but some have given over 100 lbs, and second year hives fare even better. Every hive counts as one share, regardless of hive performance: each hive placed in the spring is one share, even if the bees underproduce, abscond or die. In addition, we have some apiaries without an official host, and that honey is added to the total. Bee KC will retain a small percentage for nonprofit use—mostly in exchange for donations, or to give to restaurants for promotion, etc.

Ideally we can get all of the honey in buckets by late August for you all to have it as soon as possible, but that is also determined by the amount being processed and how much help we can receive.