[Jim Koenig]

I just found this site and it looks really good.:thumbsup:

I started keeping bees when I was in junior high with my Dad and my brother. I took a break from beekeeping during college and thanks to a coworkers encouragment I started again 8 years ago. I currently run two hives to mostly supply my family with honey and sell enough to buy more bees and equipment, but am thinking about expanding.

I have started to move my management practices towards the natural side. I stopped using antibiotics 4 years ago and began replacing my brood comb with natural foundation two years ago. I have noticed a positive impact on the health of my bees and the amount of honey they produce. Last summer I harvested 530 lbs of honey from my two hives.

Jim Koenig

 

[kenny61]

530 pounds from 2 hives...Thats awesome...i grew up in Illinois and have relocated to NC...ive spent many days Musky fishing up by you..i build Top Bar Hives for a more natural way of raising bees..plus my friends and i love the Comb Honey we get from the TBH's..welcome to the forum and tc..kenny

 

[Ben Brewcat]

Welcome Jim! I went to Eau Claire back in the day... many fond memories of your beautiful town. Holy crap, 265 per colony is awesome!

 

[JohnK and Sheri]

Welcome Jim, we are only about 50mi east of you. Considering you have been keeping bees for so long, it is about time you joined the board.
That is a pretty incredible harvest number, especially considering the overall lack of forage over most of the area after mid July. I think the average was more like 50#.
I did notice there was a terrific locust bloom last year over your way, does this account for your phenomenal harvest?
Sheri

 

[peacekeeperapiaries]

Welcome to the forum, I have some property In northern Wisconsin and enjoy spending time up there. Glad to have you here.

 

[Beeslave]

Welcome Jim,
I'm south of you about 40 miles. It's nice to see another Wisconsinite on board. You must have your bees close to that Chippewa River Basswood!

Shannon

 

[SwedeBee1970]

Incredible. What type of bees produced this ? You must have 10 honey supers on each.

 

[Jim Koenig]

Thanks for all the nice messages, it was a surpising year for honey production.

I am not exactly sure what the bees were working through out the summer. I had one hive in my back yard on the south side of the city, and the other hive in a CRP field about 5 miles away.

Both hives produced a very light colored honey through out the summer. I got almost identical harvest numbers from the hives, 266 for the urban hive and 264 for the rural hive. Both hives were Italians, the rural hive was overwintered and the urban hive was a 2 lb package.

In the past I usually averaged about 80 to 100 pounds per hive. The biggest change I made in my hive management was to remove the queen excluders last summer. The honey production really took off after I removed them. The hive that I overwintered only produced 60 lbs the previous summer when it had a queen excluder on it.

 

[regauger]

Hey Jim,
I am just getting ready to get started in beekeeping. I'm wondering if I might be able to come by and visit with you this fall?
I live on the Knapp Hill west of Menomonie.
Rick

 

[AmericasBeekeeper]

Welcome, you might see queen excluders referred to as honey excluders as your yield confirms.

 

[simplyhoney]

too funny

Hey Jim,
I just sent a sampler pack of our honey to some folks in
Eau Clair last week. I had never heard of it before then.

www.grampashoney.com