Highlighting local products and manufacturing throughout the Region 2000 Partnership

Bowyer’s Bees & Honey

Central Virginia is filled with incredible young talent, including incredible artisans and makers. Bowyer’s Bees & Honey based in Bedford, Virginia, is a family-owned apiary selling honey, soaps, lip balms, beeswax candles, and other gifts. Owned by Top 20 Under 40 recipient Joshua Bowyer and his wife Erynnlynne, Bowyer’s Bees & Honey manages five apiaries across Bedford County.

What started as one, single beehive in 2012 sparked an interest and passion in beekeeping for Joshua. By 2019, he had started selling his honey at farmer’s markets and in 2021, he expanded his operation with two additional apiaries in Bedford County.

“I was initially interested in beekeeping because, growing up, we had always had some sort of farm animals,” Joshua Bowyer said. “Bees only seemed like the next logical addition to our backyard farm. I received my first set of beehive boxes from my dad’s boss at the time and installed packages. I lost both of them the first winter, which is all too common for first year beekeepers. I restarted the following year and haven’t stopped learning since.”

Customers can find Bowyer’s Bees & Honey products for sale at the Forest Farmer’s Market, where they maintain a vendor space, as well as in a number of retail locations in the area, such as Health Nut Nutrition, Ashwood Manor, and George’s Seed and Feed in Forest.

“The flavor of our honey can vary from year to year as the honeybees choose differing pollen and nectar sources depending on the weather and temperature at which nectar is exuded from blossoms,” Bowyer said.

“I always tell folks, honey is a lot like wine in that aspect, in that it is almost like a vintage. It also changes in complexity and sweetness as it ages, too. Much like wine.”

To maintain an ever-increasing need for supply, Bowyer’s Bees & Honey seeks “honeybee advocates”—individuals who own 10 or more acres of pesticide-free land in Bedford County—to play host to their hives. Not only does this provide plenty of room for their bees, but it allows Bowyer’s Bees & Honey to involve the local community and educate them on the importance of protecting honey bees.

“Our honeybee advocate program is a wonderful opportunity for those with agricultural land willing to allow us to place honey bees on their property,” he said. “We, the beekeepers, fully care for the bees and own the equipment. Both land owner and beekeeper benefit from the production of honey and pollination.”

While beekeeping isn’t Joshua’s full time job (yet), he is ambitious and consistently aiming to grow the business.

As for ways the average person can support a healthy honey bee population, Bowyer says, “Folks can do their part by providing safe areas of drinking water for all pollinators. It’s critical not to feed honey at all to bees because it could potentially spread deadly American foulbrood disease (AFB) to healthy colonies.

Bees do best with diversity of nectar and pollen sources, so planting locally adapted plants that bloom during the summer months can greatly help bees and other pollinators through the time of the year when there is otherwise a floral desert for them. Read more about his story and the rest of our Top 20 Under 40 professionals on page 15.


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