Harvesting Honey at Heifer Ranch

Local beekeeping associations are a community of friends who share a common interest These associations also provide training and experience in the art and science of beekeeping. The Ozark Foothills Beekeepers Association is conducting training in practical beekeeping techniques. Following their beginning beekeeping classes, demonstrations at the bee yard of one of the group’s sponsors, A Bee’s Closet, and presentations at the association’s regular meetings, the association conducted a hands-on training session on harvesting and handling honey at the honey house and bee yard of Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas. One of the Ozark Foothills’ experienced beekeepers, demonstrated methods of handling and marketing honey.

Everyone got a chance to actually handle the honey. Starting with frames of honey that had been previously taken from the hives, beekeepers removed the beeswax cappings to expose the honey using cold serrated knives. Next, frames were spun in extractors to remove the honey. The group got to use both tangential and radial extractors. The honey poured from the extractors through strainers to remove solid impurities, such as chips of beeswax from the cappings. Beekeepers used a refractometer to measure the moisture content of the honey. Beeswax cappings were left in the uncapping tanks to drain, recovering additional honey. The group bottled and labeled honey held in the bottling unit at 100 degrees Fahrenheit for easy pouring. The raw, unfiltered honey had been maintained at hive temperatures below 120 degrees.

After passing through strainers, honey is allowed to settle in stainless steel or food-grade plastic containers. Since honey is heavy, bubbles or any remaining hive debris floats to the top of the honey where they may be skimmed off and discarded. After frames are spun in the extractors, some honey remains on the combs, and these “wet” frames may be returned to the hives for the bees to refill with honey. After the last honey harvest of the season, supers of “wet” frames are stacked outside for the bees to lick the combs clean for winter storage.

--Richard

Inspecting a frame of honey from adjacent to the brood nest.

Bottling honey in Heifer Ranch's honey house.

Lizzy Parker of Heifer Ranch and Heath Thomas of Ozark Foothills Beekeepers Association

Jana Miller (left) of Bemis Honey Bee Farm and Lizzy Parker (right) of Heifer Ranch