Every Farm Needs Honey Bees - To Improve Pollination and Production | Dream Farm w/ Bill Winke

How susceptible are these hives to coons and such?

Wow great episode! I honestly think this is the most important element you have added to the farm! Thank you Bill!

Very cool stuff Bill, not sure if the dream farm to do list is getting shorter or longer!

Great addition, often overlooked! No doubt itll help fruit production.

Awesome information.

This is such an intersection of my interests. We got into beekeeping last year and have been hunting and improving deer habitat our whole lives. Bill the MOST important thing with the bees is be on top of the varrora mites! They are the number one reason hives fail and you have to treat

Informative episode...Always something to do to improve your farm. I noticed there was no protection from predators or is that coming in a later episode.

Quite the varied environment your making Bill! Don't forget if you do not have them present is milkweed. Monarchs need all the help they can get and also are pollinators.

Are there bears left in that part of Iowa?

I know nothing about bees ,would love to learn and have some on my farm

a gentleman kept about 15 or so bee boxes down in the meadow where I used to live. he told me the #1 predator was the skunk. he was quite happy to have us trap them or eliminate them.

Bill becareful it's a crazy addiction if you guys where closer I would give that girl some bees heck I would give anyone just getting started bees lol i don't know you but if you dive into bees they are so fascinating honey will be the last thing on your mind you can easy recover your money spent buy selling off extra bees come spring lol good luck take care of em and you will have bees coming out your azz lol

Great video need lots more of these

Oh my friend have you just opened up a can of worms for yourself. I have been working on the habitat on several farms for about 12 years now. I’ve educated myself on everything I possibly could that had to do with whitetail habitat. Every whitetail consultant I spoke to or watched their videos said the same thing,”whitetail habitat work helps all wildlife”. Then I became a beekeeper, and realized really quick we as whitetail habitat managers are extremely hurting the honey bees. I’ll explain, there is a very well known habitat consultant “Dr.” that has multiple videos of him walking through the woods saying, “cut that leaner”, “ that trees has a knothole” it’s gotta go. Well guess where honeybees live, in those very trees he is preaching to cut. You will also find that a lot of the invasive species bushes were are taught to kill are highly sought after nectar sources. All the trees we are taught that “hinge best” are feeder trees for bees. I haven’t even made it to the chemicals whitetail habitat managers use. So yah welcome to my world and having to look at whitetail habitat a whole different way.

Great addition to your farm! Something that I’ve wanted to do on my farm! Looking forward to upcoming episodes on the bees. This is what’s fun about owning property. It’s not just about the deer. It’s about the entire ecosystem!

Very awesome. My grandpa had bees one day I would love to have some as well

That is really cool, we definitely need more bees!

I've been making mason bee hives for a couple of years, I'd like to do honey but we got to many bears, worried it would be way to much hassle dealing with them.

Hey Bill, I’m a commercial beekeeper and love to chase whitetails on the weekends. Always appreciate the content you provide! Having a good mentor teach you about bees is a huge asset. Best of luck and look forward to hearing about the learning process!

I have them on my place in Georgia. Friend of mine brought them several years ago and we’ve made lots of honey. However, growing bees is more frustrating than trying to grow chestnut trees from direct-seeded nuts!!! 😂 EVERYTHING kills honeybees. Plus, after Danny comes and works the hives, they are PISSED for about four days and will come after and sting you several hundred yards away. That’s no exaggeration. But, man, do they make some good honey. I was surprised how good Chinese privet honey was. Russian bees are mean as hell but they are sure nuff honeymakers.

Also, one interesting thing, honeybees are NOT native to North America.

That is such a great project,

Dream Big Brother 🙏

Hey Bill, love this video that you and Ben produced, looking forward for the updates on the hives brother!!🙏

Commercial beekeeper here in michigan! Love honeybees, have had bees since highschool. Love your channel

Bill, after my wife got into the honey bees big time, it was so much easier to convince her that I needed more apple trees and clover food plots! 😂

Well Bill- I’m still hoping and praying for a video on tree stand safety. Although bees r a novel idea, I wonder if tree safety isn’t more novel?!
When I grew up my father worked for the Milwaukee railroad- they issued pencils with the slogan Safety First. Never forgot that!
When I dream- it’s not big it’s safety first .
I hope all followers stay safe this coming season- including not being stung by bees lol.
Respectfully
Milo

Fun video! I love bees! We've tried raising them a few times, the biggest obstacle is pesticides and herbicides. There are many other challenges as well, but after having multiple hives taken out by neighbors spraying herbicides, we gave up. Herbicides don't just kill honey flow (weeds and forbs), they kill bees too. :(

Bill ?
Will honey loving critters get into the boxes You just placed the box on cinder blocks what about wind storms blowing over the boxes

Great idea Bill! Yea, I look at all these huge yards that exist for the sole purpose to drag a mower across? WHY? Great place to plant a prairie pollinator patch! Especially with the price of gas. One guy told me he didn’t want a yard full of weeds, oh man😢. Good Luck, keep us posted!

Thanks Bill- that means alot!
I understand viewers pay the bills, but I am confident you can figure out how to make it interesting!
Have a great summer!
Milo

I have never had an interest in bee keeping, but I enjoyed this episode and look forward to seeing how it turns at your farm.

Bees are great to have around! Just another idea and what I did was stopped and asked a guy working hives if he needed another spot to put them. He has been since keeping boxes on our property. They just love our flower beds, clover, wildlife ponds, apple trees, and so much more. Plus he always gives us two gallons of raw honey each fall. Win Win!!