# Looking to start beekeeping in northern Utah



## sky_guy (Jun 25, 2013)

Hello all. Decided to try a new hobby (perhaps even a small side-business) and start beekeeping. I have 25 acres of family-owned land to work with. It’s sat fallow and unused for years, used to be alfalfa fields. Thinking about developing it as honey bee pasture and planting it all with sainfoin. My ultimate goal is to produce pure sainfoin honey. I’ll probably start out with 3 or so hives and go from there. 

I’m pretty excited to get started. If anyone has any experience growing sainfoin or beekeeping in northern Utah, feel free to share any advice you might have.


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

Welcome SG! You will need another 375 acres to entertain most of the bees foraging. Bees know no borders!


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## sky_guy (Jun 25, 2013)

I see your point. I was hoping maybe if I placed the hives near the center of the 25 acres of sainfoin fields the bees might decide to stay within the area since it's surrounded by grassland. I guess I won't be able to call it "pure" sainfoin honey then. Thanks for the reality check!


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## Jon B (Apr 24, 2013)

There is a lot of alfalfa and clover the bees will work in Cache Valley. It will be difficult to get pure sainfoin honey. Over the years I have run bees in half a dozen counties in northern Utah and western Wyoming. Most of your spring nectar will come from dandelions. Most of your summer honey will come from alfalfa and clover. I do have one location in Mona where they have about three hundred acres of lavender to work and the bees still spend some of there time working the nearby alfalfa fields.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

They will forage the 8,000 acres around you anyway. They don't know where the boundaries are...


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## Talvez (Jun 12, 2013)

Welcome, although I'm a new keeper myself this year. I've had my swarm for 2 weeks now but I am hooked.


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## sky_guy (Jun 25, 2013)

Okay so the idea of "pure" sainfoin honey is out. 25 acres is definitely too small to ensure pure anything. But would it be safe to assume that while the sainfoin is in bloom that the honey produced during that time would be mostly from the sainfoin? Would I be justified to call it "sainfoin honey"? Are there any industry standards dealing with what you can legally label your honey as?

Thanks for the input everyone. I'm in the idea process and totally new to beekeeping.


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## sky_guy (Jun 25, 2013)

After doing a bit more research, I think I found the answer to my question here:

http://www.rules.utah.gov/publicat/code/r070/r070-520.htm

_Food containing honey may be designated according to floral or plant source if the honey comes predominately from that particular source and has the organoleptic, physicochemical and microscopic properties corresponding with that origin._

I think it would be a safe bet to assume that honey from a hive in the middle of 25 acres of sainfoin would be _predominately_ sainfoin in origin, right? At least while it's in bloom of course.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>I think it would be a safe bet to assume that honey from a hive in the middle of 25 acres of sainfoin would be predominately sainfoin in origin, right? At least while it's in bloom of course. 

Bees are very loyal to any nectar source. If they are already working a profitable source when the sainfoin blooms they may not work it at all or they may not work it until the other source peters out. I would not say it is a safe bet. It is likely that some of it would be. It's helpful if you know what a varietal tastes like. Then you can taste it and see...


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