07/18/2025
This was on the KWLM web page this morning:
“Minnesota's bee population has seen a significant die off in recent years, worrying beekeepers and experts alike. U of M Extension Coordinator Rebecca Masterman says in 1988, Minnesota produced over 20 million pounds of honey, but last year they produced less than 7 million. Masterman says there's great concern that this drastic bee die-off will cause commercial beekeepers to leave the business. Nationwide, between June 2024 and March 2025, commercial beekeepers lost an average of 62% of their colonies, the largest U.S. die-off on record. Minnesota is the nation's fifth largest honey producer.”
This was an interesting article and seems like it is becoming a trend. We personally know beekeepers that have given up the fight and yes it’s really hard to hear!
We talk to our bee keeping friends often during the year and ask how the bees are doing and share new ideas on how to keep the girls happy 😊
We have learned quite a bit over the last 14 years, some good, some bad.
When we started this journey we wanted to do everything chemically free- from careful site selection and the keeping of the bees, to all of our production and bottling work- This is not an easy task, but we wanted everyone that bought a jar of our honey to know that our product is safe and pure, and that we are feeding it to our family too. We love what we do and will continue to raise our bees as we always have. We will never cut corners to make a profit or jeopardize the integrity of our honey. We very much appreciate all of you who continue to support us.
Joe Bee Honey 🐝
