CFFO Agri-Day: Experience Bee Farming in Niagara

August 16, 2019 | Marie Versteeg

This year, we’re celebrating Ontario’s rich history of bee farming, in coordination with the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association. On August 27, guests will visit several local apiaries that illustrate the wide range of bee farms in the province.

B-Y’s Honey Farm is a fifty-acre, family-owned bee farm with a mission of making a difference in the honey bee population. Here, guests will have the opportunity to learn more about beekeeping and the work of raising healthy honey bees for the betterment of our environment.
Charlie Bee Honey is one of the largest apiaries in Ontario. It began with a 13-year-old boy keeping a hive or two in Hamilton and is now a multi-generational farm, running almost 10,000 hives. Here, guests will tour one of the largest honey extraction lines in Canada.

Also on the tour is Rosewood Estates Winery, which produces its own raw, unpasteurized honey to make award-winning meads. Guests will tour the winery, visit the bees and learn how mead is made.
The day’s events will also include presentations and tours at Niagara College, which offers Eastern Canada’s first-ever Commercial Beekeeping Program. Niagara College is working to meet the global demand for thousands of commercial beekeepers over the next decade.

Over the course of the day, CFFO guests will learn much about the history of Ontario bee farming, challenges the industry faces and opportunities for the future. This fun-filled tour is for the whole family! Registration is open until Friday, August 23, and space is limited. You can register online at www.christianfarmers.org. Hope to see you there!

The CFFO Commentary represents the opinions of the writer and does not necessarily represent CFFO policy. The CFFO Commentary is heard weekly on CFCO Chatham, CKXS Chatham, and CKNX Wingham. It is also archived on the CFFO website, www.christianfarmers.org. CFFO is supported by 4,000 family farmers across Ontario