Americans consume about 1.3 pounds of honey per person per year. Children love honey candy, honeystix, flavored honey straws and honey bears. Adults have become aware of the health benefits of eating honey on a regular basis. Honey is technically an acid, with a pH between 3.2 and 4.5. That is low enough to inhibit the spread of some bacteria. Unfortunately, since 2006, the retail price of honey has almost doubled.
Perhaps you are thinking of becoming an organic beekeeper. Whether you live in a rural or urban area, bees are always in demand. You can become a beekeeper in your backyard or on the roof of your apartment. Many people raise bees to help their own gardens and those in their community. Some beekeepers have made quite a name for themselves with the unique taste of their honey. Others do it as a hobby.
Imagine having your own delicious raw organic honey to gift or sell and the increased pollination of your fruit trees and vegetables in your garden. Bees are pollinators and are responsible for cross-pollination. This helps at least 30% of crops and 90% of wild plants thrive. Bees pollinate more than $15 million a year in crops in the United States.
You can purchase a beekeeping kit that includes all the beekeeping equipment you will need. A simple essential beekeeping equipment kit includes a helmet, gloves, hive tool, bee brush, smoker and feeder. These are the basics you will need to be successful in your beekeeping.
Bees work very hard to make honey. In fact, just to make one pound of honey, a bee would have to fly 90,000 miles, or three times around the earth. On average, a honey bee will produce one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime. If you provide the bees with the proper beekeeping equipment, they will reward you with fine raw honey.
The USDA tracks honeybee colonies in the United States. In 2014, there were an estimated 2.7 million honeybee colonies. You can become the best beekeeper in your neighborhood with the right beekeeping equipment and your desire to increase the bee population.
