11-5-2004 |
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Honey producers from around the state are benefiting from a West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) initiative that will ensure state honey producers get a good price for all of the honey they produce. Apiary program employees will begin loading a tractor-trailer with 20 tons of honey Monday at 1 p.m. for a trip to the Gunter's Honey Company packaging plant in Berryville , Va. The shipment will leave from the West Virginia Agricultural Warehouse at 908 Bullitt Street . "This is a quick and simple way for beekeepers to market all their honey at one time for a reasonable price," said Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass. "This guarantees them a return on their labor and it encourages people to become more involved with bees, which are so important to the pollination of our fields and forests." State apiarists George Clutter said that nine beekeepers have brought honey to the warehouse and some will probably be on hand to see it off. "I think a lot of people would be interested to see what 40,000 pounds of honey looks like," said Clutter. "It's only a fraction of million-plus pounds produced last year, but it's still $44,000 in the pockets of local beekeepers. Many of them are starting to see it an occupation not just a hobby." Clutter added that the West Virginia honey industry has suffered over the years due to disease, a lack of processing facilities and difficulty in reaching wholesale buyers. WVDA efforts have increased eradication of disease issues, a honey extraction and supplies facility was set up last year in Weston with $40,000 from the Budget Digest, and now inroads are being made into the wholesale market. "This industry is definitely heading in the right direction. Someday people will think we've always had a big honey industry. It'll be like the coal industry. Someone at some point in the past said, "Hey we've got so much of this we ought to sell some of it." For more information on honey or the honey initiative, contact George Clutter at (304) 257-0251.
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org. |
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