Beehive adoption update

It’s been a whole year since we adopted our beehive at SW Honey Farms, a family business established in 2019 with apiaries located on the south coast from West Sussex to Hampshire.

With our first beehive adoption coming to an end on 9th August we were excited to receive an update from Stuart Weekes outlining how much of an impact adopting our beehive has had in the first year, so we’re going to sign up again!

Assembly Manager Val Chandler shows off our very own honey.

Providing regular detailed updates throughout the year, Stuart Weekes of SW Honey Farms recently thanked us for our support and contribution towards the adoption scheme, inviting us to re-adopt: “The queen in your hive has produced between 100,000 - 200,000 honey bees. The maximum number of honey bees in the hive at one time this year was around 80,000 bees. The amount of flowers that were pollinated based on the amount of honey produced are around 140 million flowers! This is just based on how much honey has been produced and this number will be far greater as some flowers only produce usable pollens. This is an incredible number and all because you helped support the adoption program.

“Your hive also contributed to creating two new colonies of bees. This is called splitting and the process is taking two frames of brood and a frame of food. They are then moved over three miles away so the flying bees do not fly back to their original hive location and a new queen is introduced. They are then fed and are now full working colonies this season! Your colony also contributed towards pollinating a crop of field beans which will be in your spring honey that you will receive very soon!”

A new year brings us new benefits where we get the following:

• A certificate of re-adoption.
• Name your hive’s queen - which we’ve decided to name after our Assembly Manager Val!
• Four jars every time your hive is extracted.
• Custom honey labels.
• Beehive updates with a structured look into the beekeeping year.

We’re looking forward to our second year!

Discover how to adopt a beehive at swhoneyfarms.com/adopt-a-beehive