Focus on the Farmer:

by Elisabeth Worthing

 

Out in the country, on a retired farm in Loveland that is teeming with Alfalfa, Mike Whiteside's bees are busy collecting nectar and heading back to their hives. Once there, they engage in a process of ingestion and regurgitation that won't stop until the honey they're creating is to that particular hive's liking. The bees are so meticulous in their work of preserving their sweet nourishment that the honey will remain fit even for human consumption for years to come. It's for this reason that honey is so valuable to the many cultures who have been gathering it for centuries.
 
Mike, who grew up in Longmont next to a beekeeper on 3rd and Vivian, remembers a time when he sold a quart of honey at the Boulder County Farmers' Market for $3.85. Today, 25 years later, that quart sells for $10.50. He also keeps most of his 32 hives on the same 160 acres that he did a quarter of a century ago.
 
As I walked into Mike's workshop, which sits in his back yard in Loveland, the first thing I noticed was a charmingly poignant yet subtle smell - spicy, clean and cleansing - something like the Peppermint Room at Celestial Seasonings that hits you way back in the throat, almost in your chest, in a way that awakens a sense of smell you didn't know you had. The second was his one-of-a-kind, extraction and separation apparatus that I was sure had been intricately developed, modified, and perfected over the years-and which most certainly couldn't be duplicated. The machine, I imagined, could be temperamental and was definitely on the receiving end of a love-hate relationship.  
 
On the small scale, you can gather honey from the hives and use a simple procedure to separate the honey straight to your kitchen. When gathering honey to sell to your community, the process is still relatively simple especially if the beekeeper is committed to maintaining the integrity of the product, as in Whiteside Honey's case. Mike transports the frames to his workshop where they are placed into a tray on his contraption. The caps are manually scraped from the frames, where they fall into a stainless steel container equipped with a motorized spinner which spins out the honey. Additionally, the frames themselves are also spun just to be sure nothing is wasted. Any dirt is spun out with the honey; however, it rises to the top for easy removal. Next the honey is warmed ever so slightly so that Mike can pump it over to the bottling containers. "Colorado Honey is so dense because of the low humidity here," he explains. That's it. No additives, no preservatives - just spinning. The wax, I learned, is more valuable than the honey and can be used for sewing, carpentry, candles, and lip balms, among other products.
 
Mike chooses to sell his honey at the Boulder County Farmers' Market because he gets a fair price. While there are some cooperatives in the region that purchase honey from Colorado beekeepers, and sell it under one united label, Mike opts not to take part. "They don't offer a fair price," he explains They pay the keeper less than $1 per pound, or approximately a quarter of what Mike gets at the Market. He also cautions us to make sure that we're actually getting Colorado honey when we purchase from such cooperatives.
 
When I asked about nosema, the much-publicized parasite that has been mysteriously killing bees, Mike said that he did have to purchase more bees this year than in the past. And while on the topic of bee threats, Mike mentioned mites and noted that while he does have a pesticide license, he chooses not to use it and that a little powdered sugar has been known to take care of them. For the most part Mike spoke nonchalantly about natural threats but passionately states, "urban pressure that's what's going to kill all the bees."
 
Mike speaks from experience: The retired farm where he houses his bees has already been sold to a developer. Fortunately for Mike, and his customers, the developer can't build until the residing farmer passes on, so Mike and his bees are safe for now.
 
Mike reminds us that September is honey bee month. You can find him at the Market or reach him at 970-663-2486.