AJ Honey Farms LLC

Allen and Judy, husband, and wife owners. We had been backyard beekeepers for 5 years before we decided to make a business out of it. I was working at a local truck stop at the time. We would have honeybee semi-trucks stop for fuel and stay overnight. These semi-trucks are loaded with honeybees that are traveling to other states for pollination services. The honeybees are only covered with large nets and are not sealed in their hives. Therefore, they would “beard” off the back of the semi-trucks and the next morning, when the truck driver pulled forward, the honeybees would fall to the ground and get left behind. That’s where we stepped in. We would collect the abandoned honeybees and either introduce a queen to them or combine them to a weaker hive to strengthen it. As our interest grew, we decided it was time to become more educated about the creatures we were so totally obsessed over. We began learning all that we could and took several courses through the University of Montana. They currently have excellent programs for all levels of beekeeping. The Land Institute came to us in the summer of 2021 and asked us to place hives next to an acre of Silphium Integrifolium. Silphium is a perennial plant that is a part of the sunflower family. This perennial flower blooms from July through September and is an excellent food source for native pollinators as well as honeybees, as this time of year can be difficult for pollinators to find good nectar and pollen sources. We were able to harvest over 500 pounds of honey with the 10 hives we placed next to the “Silflower” field that 1st year. We continue to work in collaboration with The Land Institute and are currently collecting data to show that honey can be a passive crop from the Silflower as well as the many other uses the Silphium Integrifolium has to offer. We are currently working to build more hives and expand our operation. Our current goal is to have 200 hives by August of 2023. We certainly hope you enjoy this delicious Build the best product that creates the most value for our customers, use business to inspire and implement environmentally friendly solutions. We strive to go above and beyond for our clients no matter the challenge. We aim to deliver our very best work every single day across our services.