Vendor Spotlight: Tony Boor, Local Virginia Beekeeper & Advocate

Redfern’s Vendor Spotlight

October Spotlight: Tony Boor – Local Virginia Beekeeper

October is here, bringing the crisp air, beautiful fall colors, and a chance to celebrate our thriving local community! This month, we’re shining a spotlight on Tony Boor, a passionate local Virginia beekeeper and board member of the Ashland Beekeepers Association. Tony’s work with bees has brought delicious local honey and valuable pollination to farms across the region, making him an essential part of the community’s agricultural success.

Corey: “Everyone loves honey, but local honey is even better! How did you get into the honey business?”

Tony: “Local honey is straight from the source and has components in it from the local vegetation. Those of us that suffer from seasonal allergies can get the benefits from local honey that help your body naturally build up an immunity. Honey also has a coating ability that can help with sore throats which helps when you have a cough or cold. Honey is also a natural antiseptic which a lot of people don’t know so it can help to prevent infections. 

I started keeping bees many years ago in hopes to help with pollination and it has grown from there.  Once I did some research about honey I was hooked because of all the benefits it has.”

The Virginia Beekeeper Slideshow!

A combination of Wild Flowers, Buckwheat & Clover Nectar

Image 4 of 6

Buckwheat honey is dark, strong-flavored, and rich in antioxidants. Clover honey is light, mild-flavored, and popular for sweetening. Wildflower honey is a blend with a complex flavor, varying depending on the flowers included. It's often darker and stronger than clover honey.

Corey: “How did you start working with Redfern Market?”

Tony: “I’m on the board at a local Bee Club and one of the members approached me  about helping a local farmer with pollination and at the time I had more bees than I knew what to do with, so It was a win-win situation.  I met with the Redfern group and we hit it off.  Wow what a great group to work with. They are very passionate about farming, the environment and education, so I decided to partner up with them in hopes that we can make their farm more productive and be able to get additional products for the local community.” 

Corey: “I imagine bees take a break in winter. When is the best time of year to start harvesting honey?”

Tony: “Yes the bees do hunker down in the winter, they start around August and September preparing themselves and building up resources to make it through the winter. On warm days they will take advantage of whatever they can before it gets too cold.As far as honey harvest, for the most part we are at the mercy of the bees. It is dependent on the season, but typically in this region honey is harvested around June or July once the spring flow slows down or stops. Sometimes there is a fall flow that can happen but it is not near the amount as spring.  The one thing I can tell you about Beekeepers is you can ask 3 different beekeepers a question and you will get 3 different answers as far as what they do that works and their opinion on it.  That is one of the things I love about beekeeping.”

Corey: “Anything coming up that people should know about? And are there any organizations they can support?”

Tony: “There are various different bee related products out there besides honey.  Something that has become popular in recent years is pollen collection, which we will be doing this spring to add to the product at the store, hopefully. There is creamed honey that you can infuse with just about anything into it which we will also be trying to add to the selection of products, hopefully. There is also the entire bee wax products as well which include candles, lip balm, soaps, and body creams.

As stated before, I’m a board member of the Ashland BeeKeepers Association which is a wonderful organization that helps with education, mentorship, and supporting anyone that might want to make the leap into the world of beekeeping and for those that just want to know more about it.  There are several local bee clubs in the nation. I would encourage anyone that ponders the thought of beekeeping to visit your local club and see what you think. If I could give anyone a piece of advice if they are interested in beekeeping or have just thought about it, visit a local club and take a beekeeping class, it will help you be prepared for starting.