Classes & SeminarsFeaturedSustainable Farming

Natural Beekeeping with John Taylor of Taylor Family Farm

On Saturday, March 30, Olin and I will be gathering with a group of other like-minded folks who are ready to learn how to live a simpler, more joyful life of sustainable living at our 4th Annual Sustainable Farm Conference.

At the conference, we’ll be teaching you everything you need to know about starting your own homestead or farm, covering topics from growing healthy food without pesticides to marketing your farm to natural beekeeping. (You can view the full list of topics here.)

Beekeeping is a wonderful option for your farm, providing you with honey products and natural pollination for your gardens.

In recent years, pesticides have been an alarming concern among the decline of bee colonies, and at Stoney Creek Farm we firmly believe that natural farming practices provide a positive impact to not only the world we get to enjoy today, but the world our children and grandchildren will be able to enjoy for years to come.

So I want to introduce you to one of our conference speakers, John Taylor of Taylor Family Farm. With 6 years of natural beekeeping experience, he is an expert in all things bees and will be teaching our attendees how to get started with beekeeping!

We asked him to share some advice with y’all today…

How did you get into beekeeping?

“My dad kept bees for a few years when I was a teenager and this started my interest in bees. I started beekeeping six years ago when a friend of mine told me she had a swarm in a tree, and I could have them if I come help her catch them.”

What do you think is the biggest advantage of natural beekeeping?

“For me natural beekeeping means I am not putting chemicals into hives. Bees have to deal with so many chemicals outside the hive, and I don’t want them to have to try to survive with me putting more in their homes. I like knowing that anything I put into my hives won’t harm my bees.”

What would you tell someone who is interested in beekeeping but isn’t sure where to start?

“If you are just starting or wanting to get bees, my advice would be education. Find you a mentor or some books or videos and educate yourself as much as you possibly can. If you educate yourself when you actually start beekeeping you will have a working knowledge that will help you be more confident with your bees.”

What are you most excited to share with conference attendees?

“The thing I’m most excited about is that beekeeping can be really fun. It is hard work at times but honey bees are so amazing and important for pollination that I think we should work together to try to keep them healthy.”

Join us for the 4th Annual Sustainable Farm Conference!

Our farm is your classroom… come learn with us at the 4th Annual Sustainable Farm ConferenceYou’ll not only learn the ins-and-outs of creating your own homestead, but you’ll also meet others from all over the country who share the same passion for sustainable living.

A past attendee described the conference as a “gathering of imaginative and happiness seekers who were all joined by their intentions to be healthier and freer. It was fun, educational and I would call it a spiritual experience—a glimpse into how we can all join together to sustain our resources, but more than that, how to sustain ourselves in connection with nature.”

Read more stories from our past attendees here!

Now get ready to write your own sustainable living story by joining us on March 30 for a day packed full of learning.

Your ticket includes a full day of speakers and exhibits, a delicious farm-to-table lunch, a copy of our book Dirt Rich, and access to our online course.

You’ll leave the conference with all the knowledge and resources to equip you to live a life with more joy and less stress.

And if you’d like to send someone to the conference as a gift, we also offer online gift certificates!