Episode 86 of the Bees with Ben podcast features a young, up-and-coming beekeeper, Stephanie Parsons. Ben met Stephanie a few weeks back when he was asked to talk at Geelong Beekeeping Club and was impressed by her obvious enthusiasm, upbeat personality and love of beekeeping. Steph is living proof that beekeeping can become a rewarding profession for young people - and particularly young women - in the 21st century, especially those that prefer learning in a practical environment, and donât quite fit the typical ânine to fiveâ routine.
Steph works for Edmonds Honey, a commercial beekeeping operation commenced by John Edmonds and his father in 1982. Today, Edmonds Honey has approximately 500 hives in western Victoria, and produces pure, chemical-free honey from bees that forage in natural bushland. The business is noted for producing queens, and also offers nucleus hives and a comprehensive range of beekeeping equipment through their retail outlet in Mount Duneed, just out of Geelong. John Edmonds was Benâs special guest a couple of years back in one of the very early instalments of Bees with Ben. He is also full of enthusiasm and has a wealth of experience with bees, not to mention a seemingly unending supply of anecdotes, and is the perfect person to mentor a young person starting out in the beekeeping industry (Steph describes him as her âbestieâ despite their age difference).
En route to the âsecret siteâ Steph explains that they have sites everywhere, predominantly on private land, since vandalism is a problem on public or government land - once they even had their hives set on fire! The docile nature of their bees can actually be a disadvantage under such circumstances. Where 'government' sites are used, Edmonds bolt their hives to pallets using three different types of fasteners (inside and out) and are careful to use âstingyâ bees as a deterrent near the entrance. They have even gone to the extent of covering their tyre tracks to conceal the location of their apiaries.
One of the things that Steph finds so interesting about beekeeping is that there are so many different approaches, and no right or wrong way to do things. She loves travelling around working on the bees and says Johnâs stories are really funny. Her pet hate is stocktaking - she reckons she would rather watch an election! Steph loves that beekeeping is not like a typical office job. The working week usually runs from Monday to Saturday; Steph watches the shop on Saturday while John will go out to the bees and pick up cell raisers so they can graft on Monday. There is usually a day of grafting, a day of catching and a day of putting cells out, but it is all dependent on the weather. Â Sometimes they work well into the evening if they are moving bees or catching queens during daylight saving, but there are no set times and it all works out.
Steph says nobody really knows about beekeeping as a career but describes it as the âcoolest industryâ. She reckons the issue is that all the âold fellasâ like John have so much knowledge, but no one coming along underneath them. As for the future, besides adding to her collection of âridiculous' sunglasses, Steph plans to become a professional queen breeder. She says it is a little âleft fieldâ, without the heavy lifting involved in honey production. She also wants to share information and knowledge, and has her own Facebook page, as well as running all the social media for Edmonds Honey.