I bumped into my buddy Brian Fredericksen of Ames Farm Honey at the Minneapolis Farmers Market on Saturday. At his stall, he had a steady flow of customers, despite a heavy downpour that morning, but I got a chance to talk to him, which is always great for me.
I could write a ton of stories about Brian and Ames Honey. His farm is located on historically significant land for Minnesota (his orchard is where the famed Honeycrisp apple was developed decades ago), he’s a fountain of information about bad practices in the honey industry, and he raises and trains sled dogs, too. Anyway, here’s what I learned from him on Saturday:
* The cool dry weather across Minnesota has been hard for our beekeepers. This weather has been decent for organic vegetables farmers: It suppresses blights and bugs quite nicely. But for the guy whose business is bugs? Not so good.
* Because of this, Brian’s hives have not been as productive this summer. He said the one floral source that’s been cranking out the liquid gold has been his Basswood, so, as a result, he’s been using it in his everyday-use Multi-Flower Table Honey. It’s a bit sad: Brian has won 3 blue ribbons at the MN State Fair for his Basswood honey — as a table honey, it’s a thoroughbred being used for pony rides. But do yourself a favor and buy some of the table honey — it’s exceptional right now — and do Brian a favor by buying one or two of his other honeys.
* The drought-induced shortage is adding up to a price hike for honey, not just regionally, but maybe nationwide, says Brian. Word to the wise. Stock up on your honey now.
One last word about Brian’s terrific operation.
I’m a fan of transparency in food labeling and marketing, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because, when done well, it can gather the farmer, his/her land, her operation, all into perspective. You farmers out there wondering how to leverage transparency for your businesses could do worse than to learn from Mr. Fredericksen. For example, on each of his jars, you get a Hive Number, which you can then take to his website, see a picture of the landscape where that hive is located, and get detailed information about the floral source for those bees and the honey they made for you.
In this case, the honey came from Gardens of Eagan Organic Farm, one of the oldest and most well-known organic farms in Minnesota (they’re sweet corn is flat out the best I have ever had). I like knowing that Brian’s bees pollinated there, that they helped raise the organic veggies that I’m now eating every night. To say nothing of the above jar of honey, which my kids will empty by Friday.
I love being able to see the skein of relationships in my local food world, thanks to this one courtesy of Brian’s.
