When Susan and William Palmer of East Troy Honey researched why their fruit trees failed to produce much fruit, they found there was a lack of bees—nature’s best pollinators. They started with one hive, and the Palmers soon noticed a difference as the bees did their jobs pollinating the trees, which yielded an abundance of apples.
The Palmers attended the Beekeeping in Northern Climates class at the University of Minnesota and, at one time, William had more than 100 hives. He also offered pollination services to other farmers. The Palmers have since simplified, and today, they have about 10 hives they place in a basswood forest. “Basswood makes a very light, sweet, soft honey—not too biting, and very gentle on the taste buds,” Susan said.
In addition to basswood, the Palmers obtain honey from other trusted local beekeepers. The wildflower is an all-purpose honey with a very sweet, classic honey taste. It comes in two forms. Raw honey is straight from the beehive to the jar. “We do not filter it or do anything to it, and because of that, there might be a bee’s wing or a leg in there,” Susan said. “The other wildflower we offer is filtered once, very lightly, to take out any wings or legs, but it still has the beneficial pollen and enzymes.”
Their buckwheat honey is very robust, dark and thick, and best used for recipes like barbecue sauce because it holds up well and maintains the honey flavor.
Susan said commercial honey is pasteurized or pressure-filtered to prolong shelf life, but that removes beneficial enzymes. “If you have honey on a shelf for a year and it never crystalizes, it’s not really honey; there’s corn syrup or additives in there, or it’s been pasteurized,” she said. She added that it’s unrealistic to claim honey is organic, since bees can fly up to six miles from their hives, so nobody can be certain the bee pollinated organic or non-organic plants.
Despite bees’ intelligent social structure and importance in pollinating our nation’s cucumbers, tomatoes, squash and fruit, bees are in trouble. “Colony collapse” made headlines a decade ago, and East Troy Honey lost half of their hives. “Nobody has really been able to determine what caused that. Colony collapse is not gone, but it’s not as severe as it was. Today, the severe threat is Varroa mites,” Susan said.
An invasive species, Varroa mites bite bees, causing infections and other diseases. Due to this new threat, beekeepers must remain vigilant about using treatments, Susan said. “All treatments are licensed by the State of Wisconsin, and there is one licensed treatment, oxalic acid, which is a more natural way to treat the mites.” She added that many people want to be natural backyard beekeepers, but just letting bees do their own thing might not always work. With the invasive Varroa mite, human intervention is necessary.
Since many farmers have switched to soybean and corn crops—plants that Susan said do nothing to encourage bee populations—there’s now a lack of floral pollinators. Genetically modified crops, and crops sprayed with pesticides, are also leading to bee deaths.
The Palmers attend the annual Harvest Fair at Wisconsin State Fair Park to talk to people about bees and honey. Their honey can be found at Outpost Natural Foods, West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe, Woodman’s, Mars Cheese Castle, Good Harvest Market and soon in area Meijer stores.
For more information, visit easttroyhoney.com.
