Welcome to A. & M. 's Honeybee Farm.

Link to messaging us: CONTACT US

NEBRASKA WILDFIRES

A Message to Nebraska Land owners.

PLEASE HELP PROTECT AND SUPPORT NEBRASKA CATTLE RANCHERS BY PLANTING COVER CROPS

In Nebraska, wildfire risk is a reality we have to manage. But instead of just clearing dirt, we advocate for Green Firebreaks. By planting moisture-rich cover crops like White Clover, Alsike Clover, and Crimson Clover around the pasture borders, we create a natural buffer that slows fire spread while providing a "passive" forage sanctuary for our bees.

Why it works: These plants stay green and succulent during the heat of July and August, acting as a living shield. For the bees, it’s an all-you-can-eat nectar buffet right at their doorstep. It’s conservation that works for the land and the hive simultaneously. This keeps a safety net around small Nebraska towns and cities. Offering a large patch of fresh vegetation is a way to keep fires from spreading.

2026 Hive Availability: NONE

This year we are in short supply of hives DUE TO EXTREME HONEY "DUMPING" INTO U.S. MARKETS FROM INDIA, VIETNAM AND ARGENTINA. Which have drastically cut into our budget for splits.

PLEASE WRITE YOUR CONGRESS AND SENATE REPS TO END HONEY "Dumping" (Over-saturation of imported honey) into U.S. Markets. As India has been dumping honey into the U.S. Market at $1.06 per pound.

Link to messaging us: CONTACT US (sign-in NOT required) <<< YOU MUST USE THIS

FAIRFIELD HONEY FARM -

6o5 N Fairfield Avenue - Fairfield Nebraska 68938

Phone# 402-726-2455 (Private number)

OUR PHONE NUMBER HAS BEEN SWITCHED TO "PRIVATE" DUE TO EXCESSIVE CALL SCAMMERS.

You must use the Contact links above. We are sorry our Phone Company does not participate in active call screening and does not offer 3rd party handling.

Legal: "A. & M.'s Honeybee farm is a private Nebraska USDA registered farm located in Clay County and York County Nebraska. We are considered (classified as) honeybee "farmers" operating as livestock managers.

Honeybee Farm operator: Matthew "Matt" Karabel

Beehive rentals: Currently our hive rental numbers are extremely limited due to the lack of tariffs on IMPORTED honey which have not gone into effect. National honey prices being undercut by foreign imported honey drastically reduces our budget as to how many beehives we can split in the spring time.

Purchase honey from LOCAL beekeepers. Avoid store brand "honey".

END HONEY "Dumping"- The over-saturation of imported honey into the U.S. Market.

HONEYBEES, the best CONSUMER SYMBIOSIS

The relationship between YOU, your produce prices, the bees and the beekeeper are extremely fragile... and very important!

Beekeeping Pollination and honey sales provide a sybiosis between the Consumer that benefits you in more ways than one! If you purchase honey from local beekepers, you drive down the price of your produce!

As the beekeeper provides TWO services. He/She takes care of their beehives, they harvest the honey and then when autumn arrives they are offered a payment by farmers to send their beehives to U.S. farms and orchards to pollinate ALMONDS and various produce crops!

When you purchase 1lb or more of honey (Creamed or liquid) from a local beekeeper. You provide money to the beekeeper to pay for Varroa mite treatments, extra parts for the bee's homes (frames, foundation, insulation,) and when the beekeeper finishes up for the season they may insulate the hives for winter or ship them off to a "broker" or farm in a warmer climate so honeybees get to do their natural living of visiting flowers on the favorite products you enjoy such as ALMOND MILK, Apples, Cherries, peas, onions (on your burger!) and many more items!

COMMON EVERY DAY PRODUCE ITEMS THAT HONEYBEES POLLINATE

Honeybee Crop products:

ALMONDS - ONIONS - Cherries - Blueberries - Cranberries - Peas - Sunflowers - Canola - Oranges - Apples-Flax-Safflower

Largest contributor to honeybees and beekeepers: - Almonds of California. Yes, that is right. When you purchase Almond products such as Almond milk from the store, a canister of almonds, or a chocolate bar with Almonds in it. They are paying our wages and the upkeep of our beehives. This means roughly 77% of the beekeeping industry is supported directly from the California Almond industry.

Second largest Contributor: North Dakota Canola industry and the Kansas/Oklahoma Canola industry - When the honeybees are done with California. The bees are now headed off to the Canola Fields of North Dakota. The Canola farmers have honeybees shipped to them to pollinate Canola. This is mainly used in Canola frying oil.

Unlike soybeans (the main ingredient of "vegetable oil"), which don't rely on honeybees. Canola cooking oil is by far the second biggest contributor.

AVOID THESE SCHEMES

AVOID the "buzzwords"

Honey is often sold under a pretense marketting scheme of "organic" and "unfiltered". These are "buzzwords". and not the good kind! All honey is organic unless the label on the back or front states otherwise. If you see something that says "sauce" it may be high fructose corn syrup blended with honey flavoring or less than a certain percentage of honey.

I can think of a few popular chain resteraunt franchises out there that offer packets of honey and they are NOT true honey, but "sauce".

"Unfiltered" - To be fair. you can define a filter as a device that removes particles of a specific size and that is a filter. Large particles, small particles, particles the size of sand. Regardless. Unfiltered honey is just a buzzword that people try and say their honey is more "pure" in natural product. but in reality if the bottle is clear. it is filtered! There is nothing wrong with filtering honey, infact we "strain" or "filter" our honey down below 100 microns. This is so the product is CLEAR and free of debris. (nobody likes munching on wax particles in their bottle of honey. Regardless, the healthy properties in the honey remain.

The Harsh Honey Facts

Honey "dumping" in the US is a major issue. Brazil, Argentina and other countries take excessive amounts of honey and send it to the US. This drives down the price of US honey because they are selling it at a much cheeper price to U.S. repackers that often label the honey under a store brand.

It may sound like a great idea for the consumer's budget. However, these honey products often are left unchecked and often introduce honeybee pathogens into the United States (Such as Nosema and Foulbrood disease). Honeybees will scavenge the discarded honey bottles from landfills, thus bringing back diseases to their hive.

REAL TIME REPORTED MARKET VALUE (DECEMBER 2026)

2026 required baseline price for surplus: $4.75-$5.21 (Fuel, cost of labor, Taxes, Beekeeping supplies)

Argentina honey dumping price: $1.41 (per pound)

India honey dumping price: $1.06 (per pound)

Average price being paid to US beekeepers per pound: $1.91 (LOSS)

LINK: https://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/fvmhoney.pdf

Again, we ask that you purchase honey from local beekeepers and do not contribute to foreign honey markets that dump honey into our US market, which bankrupt our beekeepers. Local beekeepers are NOT our competitors. They are our alliance.

FORMS OF HONEY:

The most common form of honey we know today is "liquid honey". This is where the beekeeper removes a "frame" of honey (the honeycomb) and inspects the frame for any brood. If no brood is present the beekeeper will send the frame off for extraction. Which the beekeeper uses a high speed centrifuge after dislodging the wax cappings. This honey is then screened for any large particles and is placed into a bottle.

"The crystalization issue" - Often times "raw" honey will granulate into a solid brick. This is when moisture and sugars don't play nicely with one another. Depending upon the plant(s) that the bee visited and returned back to the hive. Will depend upon how fast the sugars and waters in the honey bind together. The main trigger for granulation is the glucose content. Glucose is less soluble in water than fructose. Over time, the glucose separates from the water and forms stable, solid crystals .

As beekeepers have found, that this is not easy to deal with! So the invention of "spinning" or "creaming" the honey (no dairy used) was invented by a gentlemen out of Canada. Mr. DYCE.

By controlling the granulation TEXTURE of the honey, with mechanical methods. Honey could still remain smooth and not turn into a brick!

CREAMED "spun" honey is no different than liquid honey, other than the form it is in! Infact I recommend to many people to go with CREAMED honey, as it is less messy and can be left alone for much longer in storage! (it doesnt turn to a brick as easily). Personally, it is my #1 choice vs liquid honey.

MANUKA HONEY

Yes, I have a bottle of manuka honey that always sits on my desk. YES, this is IMPORTED HONEY. However, I have no qualm (or issues) with people purchasing Manuka honey. (this is for me, and me only, I do not re-sell it).

It has benefits that have undergone scientific studies in the countries of New Zealand and Australia.
Both countries play "fair" with the US honey markets.
Manuka can NOT be produced in the U.S., so you have to purchase it.
Educate yourself on Manuka honey and how to carefully use it. (it kicks hard!)
Read up on official testing of "MGO"
Why is Manuka expensive? - Because they have to fly beehives by helicopter up into the mountains for the flowers and the extraction equipment is expensive (its a very very thick honey).
Is it a cure for a disease? - NOPE. But I know people feel it assits them in living somehow...
Do I believe in the Manuka honey benefits? - I mean try it for yourself

BEESWAX CANDLES

Beeswax Candles are the "cats meow" when it comes to Candles. I must say they are better than standard parafin candles. They burn slower, cleaner and are overall a great candle. I call them my "storm" candles. When the power goes out. A beeswax candle is a handy thing to have. They look nice in the corner and when they are not in use. They smell great regardless.

COLONY COLLAPSE "DISORDER"

We all hear the horror stories of what really is happening every year, Where honeybees die off. When it comes to two times of the year we see full-on hive Failure. It is October and February each year. It happens almost on the dot. We see a healthy, MITE FREE, disease free beehive completely die off. Thousands of dead bees all on the bottom boards of each of our hives. With almost 68% of the hives dead.

I can set my watch to this. Considering we've lost hundreds and hundreds of hives. Where all the health of the hives were nearly amazing and then the hives just flatout DIE. I decided to start my own studies to see what is going on!

After a substantial amount of investigation, consulting with other beekeepers of the past, and using Cameras, data logging and tracking of honeybee stock origins (with thousands of dollars invested in this project out of my own pocket book) . I came to a very harsh conclussion under my observations. That CCD is very much tied to the failure of genetics. I had relatives that owned beehives before the 1980s, before the early 2000s and the observations and reviews of their beekeeping notes they took as professionals, lined up with a very key point in time. That collapses of bee collonies became the worst after the early 2000s.

Tracing this problem, it falls back to honeybees imported from too warm of climates outside of the Country back in the Early 2000s. Under a temporary honeybee replacement emergency. Substantial losses of honeybees occured in the California central valley. A regulatory agency of the U.S. granted a very temporary permission for honeybees to be imported from Australia.

This would be where we saw honeybee stocks begin to faulter. Their ability to winter shifted from day to night. It was an instant failure of genetics in the honeybee nest, which require good wintering habits in order to thrive in the winter. Sure, Varroa was a massive issue after the 1980s due to imported pests and diseases. But nothing this tragic in hive losses until 2000-2010. From there, it cascades as these bees begin being bread into our U.S. stocks.

TLDR: Simply put. The "modernized" American honeybee does not know how to handle preperation for cold weather anymore. - I could go on and on and tell you about the notes and findings of mine. But the results were fairly conclussive. American honeybees just don't know how to prep their nest for winter and manage nest behavior once the cold weather sets in, compared to European hives!

Honeybee-stock genetics dillution is a massive issue.

So why not import original honeybee stocks from Italy and the Balkans regions? - It would be nice. But a nice little law on the books criminalizes re-importing honeybees, "germ plasm" and genetics from their Country of ORIGIN. This little law called Honeybee Act (codified at 7 U.S.C. Chapter 11, specifically §281) , substantially criminalizes the act. So this means the honeybee industry has zero hope. At "refreshing" their stocks. As honeybees originate from EUROPE. not the United States!

So the nice little "dark" honeybees from Slovenia (similar to the photo posted above) which are robust "time tested" original lineages of honeybees, can't be brought back to the United States to fix the CCD problem. That's right. So essentially, as beekeepers, we are stuck with "weak", "Fragile" and unviable stocks of honeybees that were improperly cross-bread with Warm climate bees which only thrive in a select few regions of the United States.

All the while everyone has to cope with losing thousands of dollars each year in bees, all the while produce prices continue to inflate. Poor quality produce imported from other regions of the world (without the extra red tape) continue to flood the U.S. markets and the consumers pay the ultimate price due to these frivalous and highly unrealistic laws.

While efforts of futility from beekeepers trying to re-do what thousands of years of evolution did, with no actual sucess that can last more than 1-2 seasons. Due to the lack of Origin Genetics required to solidify the proper gene sequence.

What was the reason for those laws? - Originally they thought that they could slow or stop the spread of foulbrood into the United States from Europe. But essentially since we have imported honey, and bees scavenge old honey bottles from your local city dump. Its already here. We just haven't had lawmakers do anything about revising this mundane (and now pointless law).

And besides, the diseases that they were trying to prevent, are now here. And we have treatment methods for them! We have proactive antibiotics, and now because there are antibiotic resistant strains of foulbrood. There are now honeybee larvae vaccines that are showing promising results (and no, they dont use lipid nano particles thankfully!)

Anyway, call me Mr. Doom and gloom. I just tell it like it is. So, write your lawmakers. Tell them to REMOVE Honeybee Act (codified at 7 U.S.C. Chapter 11, specifically §281) so we can move on in the world and strengthen our honeybee stocks with their origins! Together, we can save the honeybee, make it no longer nearly extinct. We can keep produce prices down, and your favorite honey products on the table!

The fight for beekeeping!

IT is not an easy journey. We love what we do. We love the bees, we enjoy the life and the efforts are an uphill battle. It means loading honeybees onto the bed of a pickup. Onto a semi trailer and moving the bees to natural forage "flowers". To provide the best diet possible. This helps save the lives of the bees by moving the bees to edible pasture. Vs feeding them sugar waters to get them by. It removes them from areas that are soon to be sprayed at specific times of the year for pests that damage crops.

It means working with new inovative beehive designers trying to solve the problem for "weak honeybees" which no longer can withstand the normal temperatures. Promising new insulated hives, As well as temperature controlled storage units for wintering hives.

Contributing to Saving the bees:

I have people asking about butterfly gardens and planting bee gardens. it is a nice gesture. but the amount of flowers a hive needs is 50,000+ in order to make a dent. It means large pastures of Sweet Clover, preserving sweet clover in fields, and along the ditches of highways.

Buying products such as Safflower, Canola oil for frying, Buy flax seed, buy almond products, Buy honey from local beekeepers. Field peas. Drink orange juice from California and Florida. Maine's blueberries, to Wisconsin's cranberries. That alone contributes to farmers and their families as well as every beekeeper out there!

What do I do with the money earned? - It goes right back into the bees. I can't say I've kept much money and used it for even my bills easily. It is nearly all put back into the hives themselves.

SUPPORTING BEES BY PURCHASING THESE PRODUCTS:

Any U.S. Almond Products.
Any U.S. Canola Products such as Canola Oil.
U.S. Peas
U.S. Flax seed
U.S. Oranges
U.S. Apples
U.S. Blueberries
U.S. Sunflowers
U.S. Safflower
U.S. Onions
Products derived from Lavender fields, Sweet Clover seeds

If you made it to the end. I appreciate you stopping by and looking at our website.

"Where is the online honey store?" - I haven't put one up. Maybe someday I will.

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