# looking for unprocessed "raw" honey



## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

...... that bees created from unsprayed flowers.

Want to buy in bulk.


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## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

There is no such thing. Since all bees travel between one to five miles every day (which covers roughly between 2,000 and 32,000 acres) collecting pollen (they don't just hang out near the hives), they will also be collecting pollen from a whole variety of plants off the site of organic plants that are on the hive owners property. 

That's also why there is no such thing as totally one type of honey. Clover, orange blossom, etc. contains other plants as well.


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## Peggy (Feb 14, 2010)

motdaugrnds said:


> ...... that bees created from unsprayed flowers.
> 
> Want to buy in bulk.


good luck with finding that!!!! like Karen said no such thing!


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## xbeeman412 (May 10, 2002)

I have bees on a 900 acre ranch that doesent spray pestacides. How Much do You want? I will have about 6000 pounds for sale in a month or so. It will be available for local pickup in Santa fe tx I wont ship. All I do is sell in 55 gallon drums.


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## thequeensblessing (Mar 30, 2003)

xbeeman412 said:


> I have bees on a 900 acre ranch that doesent spray pestacides. How Much do You want? I will have about 6000 pounds for sale in a month or so. It will be available for local pickup in Santa fe tx I wont ship. All I do is sell in 55 gallon drums.


You'd need a lot more than 900 acres to be sure those bees aren't getting any nectar/pollen from sprayed flowers.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Xbeeman, I would purchase some of your honey if I could; however, I'm just too far away. (Also, I think your keeping pesticides off your acreage does a lot more than some would want to acknowledge to keep your honey healthy. It would be quite silly to expect bees did not gather nectar from however far they travel; so in that sense, there is no way to guarantee some type of chemical has not made its way to your hives. And I don't believe you or any beekeeper expects perfection.)

I am thinking now my ignorance about terminology has permitted this thread to be turned more into something some folks simply want to poke fun about; so I'm not going to return to it again.


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## copperkid3 (Mar 18, 2005)

Don't go away in a huff . . . as far as I could see, there was no ignorance

displayed in your question or terminology . . . and the answers (for the most

part) didn't appear to be laughter at your expense . . . more of a clarification

of the facts that we do know about the honeybee's habits. I mentioned previously

"for the most part" because karen needs to be corrected on a portion of her

explanation; if only for accuracy's sake. Not ALL honeybees will be out foraging

or "traveling" everyday from one to five miles. Neither the queen nor the drones

do any of the "physical" work involved in collecting/processing nectar or 

finding/collecting/storing/feeding pollen to the rest of the hive. And if we really

wanted to a be stickler for "facts" and details, then we could also point out that

she incorrect as to how far a 'worker' will actually go to bring back nectar to

the colony. There was a well-documented study done back in the late 20's,

which showed that bees would go as far as 7 miles in search for a food source!

However of equal note, it was found that there was a point of "diminishing returns",

once the 4 mile point was exceeded. 

Read more at this link: http://www.beesource.com/point-of-view/joe-traynor/how-far-do-bees-fly-one-mile-two-seven-and-why/

In conclusion, there has been more written on the study of the honeybee than any

other animal that mankind has either tried to manage or kept for domestic purposes.

And we are then led to the understanding, that the more we discover about these

amazing insects, the more we realize how much we still don't know about them.



P.M. me if you are still interested in purchasing bulk honey and we'll see what we can do.


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## thequeensblessing (Mar 30, 2003)

I certainly hope I didn't come across as ridiculing or belittling anyone. Yes, I think its great that anyone doesn't use pesticides or herbicides on their property. However, being a beekeeper (32 hives) its a pet peeve of mine when someone suggests they have "organic" honey, or that their honey is free from all sprays and chemicals. To begin with, as has been mentioned, unless you own a HUGE chunk of ground and have your bees smack in the middle of it, you can't say your bees aren't mingling on sprayed ground of any kind. Second, do you know how many beekeepers claim their honey is from untreated fields, yet the very hive itself is treated for mites, small hive beetles, etc.? Yes, if I come across a little harsh, and I try not to, its because this is an important issue for me.


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

I don't think there's anything like organic honey anymore. Almost every beekeeper that I know of has mite medicine that in itself makes honey not be pesticide free.


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## Horseyrider (Aug 8, 2010)

There's a company that does have certified organic honey. It's also CRC and does not use any pesticides for mites or beetles, antibiotics, etc. One of the ways they do it is to have relationships with beekeepers in the middle of nowhere in Brazil, New Zealand, and other remote locations. While their honey is pretty expensive, it's absolutely the best honey hands down that I've ever tried. The perfume alone is exquisite. 

They don't sell directly to the public but they do sell through vendors like Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Vitamin Shoppe, GNC, and many major supermarkets. They have unpasteurized raw, unfiltered honey as well as organic. They will help you find a local vendor if you're interested.

http://www.ysorganic.com/index.html


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## Missourimom (Mar 1, 2008)

This has been an educational thread.


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## michiganfarmer (Oct 15, 2005)

how much per pound?


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## secuono (Sep 28, 2011)

xbeeman412 said:


> I have bees on a 900 acre ranch that doesent spray pestacides. How Much do You want? I will have about 6000 pounds for sale in a month or so. It will be available for local pickup in Santa fe tx I wont ship. All I do is sell in 55 gallon drums.



Darn!! If you did ship smaller amounts, I'd want some! =(


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## redneckswife (May 2, 2013)

:runforhills:My father's a beekeeper and member of the Tennesse Beekeepers and NE Arkansas Beekeepers Associations. He ships all over the U.S. up to 5 gallons, most people don't want to pay shipping on more than that 

Your best bet for local fresh honey(especially for allergies related to your area plants/trees) are your area's Beekeepers Associations. However, from bees collecting from non-pesticide sprayed flowers....probably not. Sometimes beekeepers collect unwanted hives from local areas and who knows what the bees have collected from.

Completely organic raw honey without any human help, involvement or disease control, hummm...It would be interesting to find as long as those bees don't chase me


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## michiganfarmer (Oct 15, 2005)

xbeeman412 said:


> I have bees on a 900 acre ranch that doesent spray pestacides. How Much do You want? I will have about 6000 pounds for sale in a month or so. It will be available for local pickup in Santa fe tx I wont ship. All I do is sell in 55 gallon drums.


how much per pound?


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## DarleneJ (Jan 29, 2012)

There are natural methods for beekeeping that do not utilize chemicals. Like earlier posters have said, that does not keep our bees from attempting to pollinate someone else's sprayed crops, unfortunately.

However, there are people who are not utilizing chemicals to manage their hives. Some use essential oils, others use techniques like natural cell size and regression to control mites and other pests.

It is like trying to eat a totally organic diet. Not really 100% possible, but you can get close.

I would suggest a couple of things. Contact your local beekeepers association. Usually found at the state, area/region and county levels. Tell them you are looking for honey that is raw/unfiltered (although we do filter out legs and such, but not the pollen) and that is made using natural methods in non-chemically treated hives.

Honey from hives treated with essential oils would be fine as no pesticides or fungicides would have been added.

Also, if you go to farmers markets and fairs, talk to the beekeepers there. You never know if they are not adding chemicals or know someone who does. Better yet, become a beekeeper! 

Quite honestly, before I became a beekeeper I only knew about raw/unfiltered honey. I had no clue that most beekeepers were intentionally putting pesticides and fungicides directly in their hives. Most beekeepers just like their bees and want to keep them alive and "healthy". They use the modern methods that are taught and marketed to. Unfortunately, studies have shown that any chemical added to a hive will spread throughout all the honey and all the wax. It does not remain isolated.

From being on both sides of the equation and reading the responses to your question, I don't think that anyone was trying to hurt or embarrass you. Most people don't know much about honey bees and we find ourselves always trying to educate. As such, we are always in a learning curve ourselves, trying to keep our bees alive and make a little money to cover the costs of our bee fetish...

That being said, it is a much smaller subset of beekeepers are knowledgeable about natural beekeeping methods. My DH and I stumbled upon it because we were not satisfied with the conventional methods we were taught.

I hope this helps you understand the difficulty in finding what you are looking for. Although it is not an impossibility. Someone, somewhere has what you want. It's just a matter of finding it.

Here's a link for a naturally grown small acreage apiary in PA: http://www.naturallygrown.org/farms/4033

Also, don't overlook city apiaries. There have been studies done that the backyard/rooftop colonies located in cities are outliving (most likely healthier than) apiaries far out in the country. A guess is that they are having less contact with pesticides and GE crops. Sounds logical to me, but everyone has their own opinion about those things.

Information on natural cell size can be found at: http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnaturalcell.htm Once there, follow the links for more information about natural beekeeping.

Good luck!


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Well, there were so many responses that I decided something may be said I needed to hear. It does seem I was in error in thinking others were only making fun of my ignorance. Real glad I was wrong as I have always valued input on so many subjects in this forum.

I found a catalog called "Country Life Natural Foods" that offers raw honey; so I've sent off for some. (Maybe if I ever see my way clear to start a bee hive of my own, I won't need to worry about sending off for some raw honey. I'm the only one who actually uses it; so it probably wouldn't take but one hive to take care of my needs.)

Thanks to all who straightened my thinking out and offerred such sound advice and information.


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## PrettyPaisley (May 18, 2007)

I have to admit that this is one of the reasons I'm don't have a fire under me to get bees. We are surrounded by soy and corn fields and I know there is no way for me to raise bees that will give clean honey. No matter how big my pollinator garden might grow to be, they will always fly around and dance in the sprayed, GMO fields.


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