Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund
Beekeeping
2011 Projects:
Organic Bee Growing
Julian has been raising bees since he was 15, and concern for ongoing loss of honeybees has motivated him to avoid using chemicals on his bees, and instead breed hygienic queens. He now has 275 colonies and will use grant funds to increase his capacity for pollination, honey production, and sales. Read his articles in Bee Culture, www.culture.com, and the American Bee Journal, www.americanbeejournal.com.
Crop Pollination, Honey Bees
Fenton saw the need for pollinators for his crops and began breeding honeybees, eventually expanding to rent his hives to area farmers to boost their pollination. He also harvests and sells honey from the 50 hives which he rents out. Increased demand for his services has necessitated further expansion, and grant funds will allow him to outfit a custom trailer to haul his bees.
Growing a Honeybee Business
John is a beekeeper who will be expanding his pollination and honey business to become commercial size beekeeping operation. This grant will be used on supplies and materials to raise over 300 beehives.
2010 Projects:
Hygienic Honeybee Breeding
Ryan will create his own breeding program of hygienic queen honeybees in his area. He hopes that this will relieve pressures facing beekeepers and farmers alike, while building his own business. (Information: 919-323-7587)
Honey Bees,
Wrenn is a 16-year-old Bee Keeper and a fourth generation farmer. He plans to expand his operation so that he can rent bees for pollination. The potential for profit looks good as there are only a few other people in this state renting bees, and he has the support of his family. (Information: 919-259-4101)
Outer Banks Bees
As the only commercial beekeeper in Hyde or Dare counties, there is a great demand for crop pollination in the area. The Smiths plan to build a 28x30 foot facility for honey extraction, bottling, and storage; this will allow the current operation to expand from 150 hives to 300 and will also increase the queen rearing operation. (Information: 919-545-4847)
Queen Honey bees bred for pest and disease resistance
Jeff is an apiarist in Burke County with five years of experience selectively breeding honeybees for pest and disease resistance. His project is for further development of his breeding program, which he expects to earn him significant income, while aiding the area’s honeybee shortage. (Information: 919-323-7587)
Past Projects:
2009
Bee Hives & Blueberries
Steve Rivers has worked in a factory his entire adult life, and was introduced to the idea of growing blueberries a few years ago by his neighbor, who was a retired blueberry farmer from Florida. He quickly gained an appreciation for it and has since built a u-pick operation into his fresh market berry business with hopes that it will provide an income to support himself and his college aged son in the near future. In the process of transitioning to organic, he learned about the benefits of keeping honeybees on site to help pollinate the plants and get a much larger yield. When he applied to RAFI, he had already experimented with bees and learned the great benefit to his blueberry crop, but had to overcome the nuisance the honeybees caused to his u-pick customers. Working with his son, the two have now come up with a model for combining the two with the added benefit of marketing blueberry honey along with his berries. Last year they sold berries in the Weaver street market in Carrboro NC, and are looking forward to the added business potential the bees bring. (information: 919-621-0534)
2007
Beekeeping for Our Future
This grant enabled the development of a pollination business to better fill market demand. Difficulties in the beekeeping industry, transition of tobacco farmers to vegetable production, and an increased awareness of the need for pollinators by farmers have led to a huge demand for pollinators. Currently there are not enough hives locally to meet the demand. (information: 919-621-0534)