Eighteen months ago, one of producers reached out to our office with a great program idea. Fresh out of the Bee School at the Perry County Extension Office, Producer A & E, met with our Ag Agent to discuss potentially starting a Bee Keepers Association here in Wolfe County.  All parties were excited about the opportunity and possibility. The ag agent reached out to an experienced bee keeper in Wolfe County to see if he’d be interested in leading the club. He reached out to a neighboring Bee Keeper who was president of his association to act as our mentor. During the first meeting Producer E was elected as the bee keepers associations secretary. During each meeting she takes minutes and accepts dues as well as helping to do any other task as needed. Starting their own Bee hive is what led them to being interested in starting this association. Learning in the classroom occurs at each meeting. Additionally, they can fellowship and share what’s going on in each other’s hives, gaining more confidence as well as knowledge. While a producer A & E had already been supplementing their farm income with produce sells at the farmers market, they were excited to expand their operation to include honey as well! This season they sold their first set of jars. Adding roughly $600 of income to their farm as of today. They anticipate an additional $1,000 of sales to come as they complete the rest of the summer rob of their hives! By diversifying their operation they have created an additional $1600 of income from the bee yard. Their goal is to include nuke (small starter bee kits) sells next year to further expand profit margins.
In today’s economy, it’s crucial to improve incomes when possible to stay in the business. After taking a leadership role with the bee keepers association, Producer E has also stepped into a role with our Farmers Market as our Volunteer Market Manager position. Producer E embraces the extension vision and looks forward to helping producers expand their operations as she has started to do to hers.