ABBEE HONEY

BEE HIVE REMOVAL SPONSOR A HIVE CONTACT US

“When they live by the labor of their hands, as our fathers and the apostles did, then they are really monks.”

- Rule of Saint Benedict, Chapter 48

In this video, Jeff Horchoff, manager of Abbee Honey, explains his fascination with bees and how they operate as a community rather than an individual insect. Follow Horchoff on YouTube for more videos on the Abbey’s bees and Abbee Honey.

Abbee Honey Began With 3 Bee Hives in 2012; Today, There are 150 Hives and Counting

A junior monk decided he wanted to try beekeeping as a hobby in 2012, and he enlisted the help of volunteer Jeff Horchoff, a beekeeper himself. Soon after, Abbee Honey was founded, with Horchoff leading the way.

Abbee Honey started with three hives and grew to 30 hives by 2016, but the flood that ravaged the campus of Saint Joseph Abbey and Seminary College that year wiped those hives out. Horchoff started over, and now there are about 150 hives, both on and off the Abbey property. Horchoff said after those hives were lost he realized a flood could happen again, so he worked with folks in the area and created “outyards” for some of the Abbey’s hives. Currently there are 10 outyards, and all are named for Saints: John, Lucy, Michael, Abigail, Thérèse, Dominic, Francis, Bernard, Jude, and Mary.

Harvesting is usually done around July 4 and again in early November if all goes well. About 300 gallons of honey was harvested in 2022, but 2023’s harvest was hurt by unusual freezing temperatures and then drought conditions. Horchoff was able to harvest only 80 gallons in 2023.

The raw honey harvested from the hives is used by the Abbey’s monks and sold in the Saint Joseph Abbey Gift Shop.

DO YOU NEED BEES REMOVED?

Horchoff said there is a large amount of feral bees in the area, and he has done more than 400 bee removals from private residences and structures. Instead of destroying the bees, he is able to bring them back to the Abbey.

Depending on the removal situation, there may be a charge. But that becomes a donation to Abbee Honey, he said.

For more information on this, contact Horchoff at the email or phone number listed below.

SPONSOR A HIVE OR MAKE A DONATION

You can sponsor a bee hive and help Abbee Honey at the same time! There are three levels of sponsorship available:

Drone Bee: $100 annual sponsorship
Worker Bee: $300 annual sponsorship
Queen Bee: $500 annual sponsorship

Sponsorship runs for a period of one year, but they do not automatically renew. You may sponsor a hive at any time during the year. All sponsors’ names are listed on a plaque in the Honey House, Worker Bee and Queen Bee sponsors’ names are also listed on each jar of honey.

Donations are also welcome and appreciated.

sponsor or donate now!