Beekeeping in Nelson County has been embraced by many in our community for generations. Some seek it as a hobby and some look at it as a viable way for additional on farm income. Either way the Nelson County Bee club can help you learn more about the art and science of keeping bees.

In the fall of 2012 a group of interested beekeepers with varying backgrounds began talking about the formation of a bee club to help disseminate information and to learn from one another. In December of 2012 the first meeting was attended by 18 folks interested in beekeeping at some level. Flash forward to 2017-18 and you will see that the club now has about nearly 100 paid members and an average attendance at the monthly meetings of around 45 folks.

The leadership committee of this group has done a wonderful job of filling each month with an educational opportunity and sharing of experiences for all levels of understanding. In the In the spring of 2017 and 2018 the club used their collective size to add over 200 hives to the county at a reduced cost to each member that participated. The group has excercised its strength in numbers by combining on purchases for items like Nucs (85) at a twenty five percent discount, and on sugar for feeding.   In the last year they have explored the topics of:

Honeybee Legislation
Marketing
Planting for Honey bees
Honeybee Communication and what makes them aggressive
Natural Beekeeping
Drone Yards
Feeding and care
Disease Control
Making Splits
Swarm Catching