Through the Kentucky State University Small Farm Project and Beginning Farmer Grant and a collaborative program with the University of Kentucky Extension limited resource farmers Beginning Beekeeping was taught to inmates in the prison system.

Upon the request of several correctional facilities for honeybee classes, 64 inmates in Kentucky now understand basic beekeeping. Three different basic beekeeping series were completed each with 5 different classes. These Classes covered “Sustainability and Pollination”, "Wooden Ware", "Bee Diseases", “Harvesting honey and what do we do now?”, and "Marketing Honey".  

The correctional facilities realize there are few job offers for inmates upon release therefore in an effort to rehabilitate them they find it important to teach skills. For this reason the facilities asked for help with classes on beekeeping.

Although beekeeping is viewed as a hobby in the eyes of most americans it can acutally be a very profitable business.  A new colony of bees can cost as little as $150, however they will produce over $500 dollars in honey alone. A quart of honey produced from a hive can sell for $20 to $35 depending on the location of the honey,  the average amount of honey produced by colony in 2017 in Kentucky was 55 pounds, One quart of honey weights 2.5 pounds thats over 22 quarts of honey. The amount of money a beekeeper can earn does not stop here. With pollination services beekeepers can increase their income.

Almonds are grown in California and they require honeybees for pollination, there are 411,000 acres of almonds produce. With on average 88 trees per acre. There is a requirement of at least two hives per acre of almonds. Due to this need honeybees are transported to California from all over the country.Several of the inmates have commercial driving license. Therefore they could full fill a need of a commercial pollination beekeeper. The need is of transportation of the colonies from Kentucky to California. Two to three weeks later to another state then at some point back to Kentucky.

Amount of money paid for Pollination by honeybees of the almond orchards in California has risen. Price was $165 per colony in 2016 to $185 per colony in 2018. This is in comparison to $55 per colony for other crops, such as apples, blueberries, etc. which also need pollination.  Commercial beekeepers can has as few as 400 hives to several thousand ready for placement. 

Moreover there is a need by several of the commercial beekeepers to hire beekeepers to help work their hives. Beekeepers who would understand what the hive needs and when to do what ever are required by the hive. In order for the survival of the bee hive.

Seventy-five percent of the inmates in these programs had no previous contact with Extension. Eighty-five percent had never worked with honeybees before. In each program three to five inmates stated they plan on working with honeybees after their release from the facility. Ninety percent stated they had a better understanding of the chemistry of bee hives after the classes.

Everyone stated after the classes they now would use Extension services when needed. This is a one-hundred percent success rate.One facility is working on placing two colonies at their location. Once this happens their goal is for the inmates to work with the honeybees hands on.

Finally inmates at correctional faculties with in Kentucky are paying debt to society. At the same time they are learning a skill that can open doors for them all over the United States. Aiding them in their transfer from a prison life to productive live.