ROTATIONAL GRAZING OF SHEEP HELPS WITH HONEY PRODUCTION

There is a special feeling one has when one good thing leads to another good thing, and then another...

Four of our hives are located on a small farmstead just SE of Northfield MN.  The nice folks who live on this beautiful place have a large family and raise a whole lot of their own food.  About 6 years ago I was fortunate to become their beekeeper. They also have a passion for sharing their way of living with others, holding large gatherings of like-minded families several times each year.  Attendance at these gatherings is increasing.  They are really on to something.

It has been a true joy to be a part of what they are doing, and we have been fortunate to produce quite a bit of surplus for sharing and for sale to others. 

The oldest son has responsibility for the care of the family flock of sheep.  And he is really good at it! In recent times he has started an 'old school' rotational grazing program which has resulted in clover and fresh pasture being available to the sheep and the bees all season.  Hey!  More forage helps make more honey!  This is a throwback to earlier times in the 20th century when bees could find pasture all thru the growing season and honey crops were much larger, on average, than they are today.  The young man is thinking about adding chickens to the pasture rotation to add more fertility and productivity to the equation. It is more work, but it adds to the operation and requires less equipment and fuel.

A real family farm may be the finest example of what humans and nature can do when they truly work together.

It turns out that one good thing often does lead to another, and another, and another.