• Unlike beekeepers that use chemicals to aid the process of honey, we keep it natural

• By keeping it natural we leave about 70-80 pounds of honey per hive so the bees have enough for the winter

• Our hives start as purebred Russian bees and queens from the original three  master breeders in the USDA. Our bees have a natural resistance to varroa and tracheal mites and are hardy enough to survive Northern Illinois winters

• We are committed to doing what is right for our local ecosystem. And are continuously converting farmland into native habitats

• Our beekeeper has 35 years of experience with a great love and respect for the bees and everything they provide

About F|B

When beekeepers use chemicals to aid the process of honey or to save their hives a general practice is to use different forms of chemicals. While it does help honey production in the short run, those chemicals are absorbed by the honey comb and slowly leach into the honey. Which in turn you then CONSUME. This is a big factor of why our honey is more expensive. For Example:

in 2019, despite our hives over wintering very well, come spring we had a fungal infection, Nosema. This fungal infection does serious damage to adult bees. The traditional and most effective method of treatment is to use chemicals. However, given our natural approach, we feed the bees a low pH sugar water. The low pH is fine for the bees but the Nosema can't live in the bees gut at such a low number. While this is the most natural approach for the bees it's not nearly as effective as the chemicals. We lost an additional 6 hives out 11 remaining and many fully comb built frames. Losing 58%, 7 out 12 hives, before the bees start producing honey is a big hit for any small business but it ensures we have the most natural and chemical free product.

The good news is while we lost a majority of our hives we are hopeful that those 5 hives left have developed a strong immune system and will be better prepared the next time this fungal infection comes around.

Stewards of the Land

We are committed to doing what is right by mother nature. Our farm consists of 150 acres of tillable farm land. We have planted over 250 fruit producing trees, 50 for our consumption and 150 for small game animals and deer. We also have planted 200 chestnut trees to help support the local animal population. Over the years we have slowly transitioned about 40 acres to native grasses and pollinator mixes to help the local ecosystem become more diverse with native flora and fauna all while helping regenerate soil and capture carbon. With every bottle purchased we are committed to buying more farmland and returning it to its natural habitat.

Our Bees

They are Russian! While our bees are not a local variety to start with they have some great advantages to the keeping of natural bees. A suspected leading cause of a drastic loss of beehives is the varroa mite. This devastating parasitic mite can do massive damage to beehives by spreading diseases, feeding off adult bees and eating the bee larvae. The most effective treatment? You guessed it, chemicals. This is why we start our hives with pure breed Russian bees/queens from the only 3 original master breeders in the USDA program. The Russian bees were imported in the 1990s after showing a high resistance to varroa and tracheal mites. Over the next decade the USDA studied and then developed a breeding program for the Russian bees to isolate the genes responsible for the Russian bee's natural hygienic tendencies. The other advantage of Russian bees is their ability to over winter and have less losses come spring.  These purebred lines are not cheap and only a certain amount are produced each year. Just like you there are only a certain amount of hours in each day and the Russians spend more time than your typical Italian bees being hygienic and grooming each other than producing honey. However, we believe that the greater hygienic tendencies of the bees far outweigh the initial cost and potential loss of production to have healthier, more stable hives. 

Over time while our Pure Russian queens/drones breed, swarm, and get naturally replaced, they mate with the local population and create a hybrid. In the long run our hope is the recessive genes that make Russians more hygienic and winter hardy will slowly permeate into the local/wild blood lines and make all the bees in the area stronger and healthier.

Our Bees Come First

We don't  cut corners, we don't stretch our production level, we don't feed our bees, unless it's absolutely necessary, see above. 

To help the bees survive the harsh winters of North Illinois we purchase cypress  bee boxes and supers. The cypress boxes are more insulated, stronger, and have better natural resistance to decay. While it is a costly investment upfront the cypress hives will be better in the long run from a cost standpoint and for the bees to help them survive the winters.

The most common practice you will see for honey production, especially with forgien honey products, is to constantly feed bees sugar water. By placing feeder frames into the hives the bees can easily collect the faux nectar and produce a drastically inferior honey product. This honey is nothing more than glorified sugar water. All the health benefits you have heard about honey are nowhere to be seen in a product like this. It is also bad for the bees. While true nectar and pollen are essential for a healthy bee diet, sugar water feeding is just empty calories/nutrients and worse for the bees in the long run. To promote healthy, stronger bee hives they need a rich diverse diet. There is no better food for them than the honey they make from our diverse collection of wild flowers in the Illinois River Valley.

To stretch that extra amount of honey from the hives many large scale producers will take every drop of honey from the bee in the fall right before you need to start getting your bees ready for winter. To compensate for that lack of food the hives need for overwintering they start feeding the bees sugar water and usually add extra food during the winter via candy boards (processed sugar), foundant (processed sugar), and pollen substitutes. By keeping it natural we leave about 100-120 pounds of honey per hive. By doing this the bees have enough quality honey for winter and to start building up in the spring before the flowers and trees start to blossom. This may not seem like a lot to the average person, however when you have 24 hives and leave approximately 2400- 2880 pounds of honey in the hives for the bees that is a lot of lost potential revenue, but the bees come first! 

The bees knees! This is where pollen comes from and we don’t collect pollen! Sometimes you will see beekeepers sell 100% natural pollen. Pollen can be a great revenue source for beekeepers and it’s also a tasty healthy treat to eat raw or in smoothies. However, by collecting pollen and selling it raw, that pollen does not get into the final honey product. The pollen varies by season and it's a big component of what makes raw, unfiltered, unpasteurized honey so special!