Summer… What Summer?
Well I think like most people we’ve been waiting and wondering if a summer will ever actually arrive in the UK… I fear the answer might be that we had summer for 2 weeks in June and now it’s over!
Many Bee Farmers that have been doing this for much longer than me are saying this will be the worst summer crop since 2012! It’s certainly the worst summer crop per hive that I’ve seen since I started my beekeeping journey 6 years ago. Luckily we have more hives than we have done in any previous season so will produce enough to keep us going which is the main thing.
This month has been a little quieter on the events than usual with just Planters Open Air Country Fair early in the month and Whitacre & Shustoke Show.
Shustoke show was a great day out and well supported with lots of people visiting!
We took our observation hive which is always so popular with Children and Adults and is a great way of encouraging interest in bees safely without having to get everyone suited and booted.
One of the most common questions I get asked is how do we get them there and the answer is in the passenger seat! You’ve never driven more carefully than when you’ve got a glass box full of a 1000 or so bees sat next to you. Far more effective than a speed camera I can assure you! (Scroll the image on the left/above to see them strapped in)
Paperwork… Not something that many people enjoy and probably not something that many people think of when they think of a beekeeper. In the last week we have had our SALSA audit. an extensive 5 hour audit on our food safety processes! This covers EVERYTHING from the honey coming in to the honey going out. Its a certification we choose to do which enables the products we process for ourselves and our customers to be sold in larger retailers including some supermarkets. As we offer honey packing services it’s become a crucial part of the business although it does make me nervous before hand!
I’m glad to say subject to us getting our calibration weights calibrated again we have passed our audit with less ‘improvements’ noted than last year which is a fantastic result that i’m really happy with!
The title image is Misha with a nice trailer full of honey supers ready to be extracted! That honey has been taken from the hives we are taking on to the moors in a weeks time ahead of what we can only hope if a good flowering time in the Peak District!
We’ve got a few events this month!
5th & 6th August – Staunton Harold Artisan Market
13th – Honey tasting at the Deer park farm shop
19th August – Fillongley Agricultural Show
27th August – Market Bosworth Farmers Market
Thank you as always for your support reading this blog and buying our honey
Matthew Ingram
Holt Hall Apiary