2024 Hive Shares

*Celebrating our 12th year of beekeeping! *

Adopt Bees!

To order a Hive Share, use the form below or go to the Gumroad site directly at: https://gum.co/foxloft

A list of our current and past hive share sponsors is here.

2015 Full Hive Share honey package example! (Please note we have moved to BPA-free flexible bottles for less risk of damage during shipping)

Hive Share FAQ

When is honey from my hive share sent?

You can expect your hive share honey around October-November 2024.

We extract in the fall, generally mid-September to the end of October, depending on the weather, then it takes some time to bottle and send the honey.

We only take excess honey from each hive, if the bees make more than they need to survive the winter. They need about 100lbs of honey stored per colony to survive our long Minnesota winters, so any honey we take is what is in excess of that. We cannot guarantee that your hive will produce excess honey, but if it doesn't, you will receive honey from another hive within our apiary, ensuring that everyone gets to share in the delicious ambrosia!

What does the cost of a hive share go towards?

The average cost for us to set up a new hive, including all necessary equipment and new bees is about $750. Your hive share helps cover the cost of this equipment, installation, and maintenance of the bees throughout the year. This equipment has to be replaced every few years to prevent buildup of potential pesticides or disease within the woodwork and wax, to keep the colonies healthy. The queen or entire colony needs to be replaced every 1-2 years as well.

If you would like to learn more about what the weekly maintenance routine looks like please check out the rest of our blog for details and a look inside the hives! Funds from hive adoptions also go towards experimenting with new methods of natural pest control in the hives, taking beekeeping classes to further our knowledge, replacing or upgrading bee yard equipment, and working to restore native prairie to our farm. Thanks to sponsors over the last few years, we have been able to restore a full three acres of native prairie (including over 100 species of flowers and grasses)!

When should I order a hive share?

New hives are installed in the spring (usually April), but we are limited in the number of new hives we can add and manage in a year, so we recommend purchasing your hive share early when they are released, if you want to be sure you get one before we run out of available shares. We usually sell out quite quickly.

Can I order more than one hive share? I would like to give one as a gift.

Yes! We are happy to accept multiple sponsorships. Each will need to be purchased separately, but you can enter the name and email of your gift recipient so they get the emailed updates.

Can I visit my hive?

*A quick note* - Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic we are currently limited for visits. We will be monitoring the situation and will re-open the opportunity when it is safe again, but we cannot guarantee this option will be available for 2023. We are located in the bluff country of south-eastern Minnesota. If you are local or visiting the area, you are welcome to come and 'meet' your bees! We will be offering 'open house' dates a few times a season (May-September) where visits will be available (these dates will be e-mailed to our honey share members upon request). Please realize our farm is very rural, requires the crossing of a small stream on foot, and doesn't have amenities. It can be an adventure to trek out to the apiary site! There is no obligation to visit, we are happy to send photographs so you can enjoy your beekeeping vicariously.

I live outside the U.S.A. Can I purchase a honey share internationally?

Yes, we do offer honey shares to international clients - however, shipping honey outside the U.S. is very expensive for heavy honey packages and is dependent on your country's laws as to whether you can receive raw honey or not. You have the option of purchasing the hive share above and having it shipped to friends or family within the U.S. (it makes a wonderful gift) or please contact us before purchasing to work out shipment details. We will provide quotes for the extra cost of international shipping (and available options) upon request. Otherwise please consider the 'Friend of the Bees' subscription option!

Thank you for considering our adopt-a-hive program!!

Please join our email list on the bottom right of this page to be notified when future shares are available).

What over 50lbs of honey for our 2014 hive sponsors looked like!