Sweet taste of success

Published 9:00 pm Monday, August 2, 2004

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Karen Finley and Tad Buford own a small local business, but they have about 25 million workers – all of them black and yellow with six legs, wings and a stinger.

The married couple runs Queen Bee Apiaries, which harvests honey and rents out hives of bees to pollinate crops.

“The bees are the star of the show,” Finley said over the hum of insects swirling around her.

The duo was out in a pumpkin patch wearing beekeeping gear and harvesting honey. They were also keeping a close eye on hive health. After all, without those busy bees buzzing about, they don’t have a business.

After opening a hive stack, Buford scanned for signs of disease and mites, which have devastated the wild honeybee population in Oregon. He also checked to make sure the bees had enough honey to survive the winter and enough population to huddle together and fight cold temperatures. The queen looked fit and was laying eggs.

Despite smoke used to calm them, the couple’s workers can get testy.

“How many times have I been stung a day? It’s gotten to the point where it’s like a bad mosquito bite,” Buford said.

Regardless of the stings, things are sweet for Finley and Buford and their business is growing.

Finley started the venture seven years ago, after working for another beekeeper. Buford joined the business full-time this year, after leaving his job as a paramedic and firefighter in Springfield.

They now have 500 to 600 colonies, which produced 25,000 pounds of honey in 2003. They expect to harvest the same amount this year.

Queen Bee Apiaries, which processes honey at its farm south of Corvallis, is a small- to medium-size producer, Finley said.

Most of its honey is sold wholesale to bakeries and restaurants in 55-gallon drums. Alpine Bakery and Big River Breads are customers, as is Corvallis Brew Supply, which uses the sweet stuff for mead and honey beers.

They also sell honey on site, and are creating a beeswax candle business. Six-year-old daughter Ellen Buford helps out with the farm stand.

Half of Queen Bee’s business comes from pollinating crops, which is fairly usual, said Michael Burgett, retired professor of beekeeping at Oregon State University.

Some crops take a week to pollinate while others need more than a month. The couple rent hives for $35 to $50 each for pollination.

Honey production nationwide has fluctuated and dropped somewhat since 2000. The value of production, however, has skyrocketed between 2001 and 2003, climbing more than $100 million to $250 million, according to the National Honey Board. The price is dropping now, Burgett said, but Buford noted that price still fluctuates.