Pre-2018 or Early years
From Argentina to Canada: A Beekeeping Family’s Journey
We are second-generation beekeepers who moved from Argentina to find a better place to live, work, and raise our families. Our journey started in 2016 when we met some Canadian beekeepers at a bee congress, and they suggested we come to Canada. We loved it from the start! In 2017, we bought our farm on the banks of the Salmon River, met Pat and Richard Springborn, and purchased part of their operation.
2018
Our First Harvest, the Blue Barn, and the Birth of RAW Honey
We bought our first 300 nucs and had our first honey crop in the Okanagan. The Honey Barn, or Blue Barn, was built, a perfect place to fit our growing needs, and we started packing honey there.
As autumn was approaching, we ventured to a lot of Christmas events, started making our first beeswax candles, and introduced the RAW Honey.
2019
Expanding Our Hives, Upgrading Equipment
We bought nucs to get to 600 beehives and started doing pollinations. Our RAW honeys grew to include Clover and Alfalfa, we produced honeycomb for the first time. Our packing line was updated with brand new equipment, which allows us to offer a standardized product and cut down packing times.
Black bears gave us a friendly reminder that they’re around, so we always need to keep an eye on those electric fences to make sure they’re working properly!
We loved attending the Salmon Arm Downtown Farmers’ Market, the Vernon Farmers’ Market, and many other events. We offered honey samples and had the chance to meet so many wonderful people!
2020
Navigating COVID, Building Our Farm Store
In March 2020, COVID hit, and despite the challenges, we managed to keep our 600 beehives alive! We had our first pollen harvest in the Okanagan—some things were easier, others not so much. We had a great honey harvest, but we were late on some autumn tasks, which played a significant role in our winter losses from 2020-21.
We built our Farm Store and moved the packing line into a dedicated packing room, leaving the Honey Barn exclusively as the honey extraction room and “the guys'” working area. Near the end of the year, we received our creaming machine, opening the door to a whole new line of products to experiment with during the winter. We also started packing our Canada No. 1 White honey.
2021
New Markets and Innovations
We took some beehives to the mountain to harvest Fireweed honey. The blossoms were incredible, but the White Rock Lake fire was getting too close. Thanks to support from the CSRD, we got permission to move the hives out of the evacuation area.
It was a challenging summer—most of our bees were near the fires and surrounded by constant smoke. But thanks to our dedicated team managing the bees, we were able to achieve a decent honey harvest. With the arrival of new equipment for honey extraction, we were able to handle the process ourselves at the Honey Barn.
We started with creamed honey, cinnamon-infused honey, and honey with propolis. As the farm store got busier, we began offering honey samples and added a pollinator garden along with fun attractions for our visitors!
2022 – 2023
In 2022, we tried raising our own queen bees for the first time. This allowed us to work on our own timeline and select the characteristics we wanted in our bees. Our pollination services continued to grow, with more beehives available. We also started moving some hives north to the Peace River Valley in BC. The bees worked hard and gave us a beautiful harvest of honeycomb—full, even, and so yummy!
With a bigger honey extractor, we began offering Honey Extraction Tours and set up an exhibition beehive next to the Farm Store to showcase the incredible lives of our bees.
As customers inquired about tours for schools and groups, we started offering customized “Meet the Bees” Tours. Our infused honey family expanded to include Lavender, Chocolate, and Ginger. With larger packing batches, we were able to meet the growing demand!
2024
Celebrating 5 Years in Canada
Winters can be tough, but there’s always another opportunity in spring. We reached our goal of operating 1,000 beehives, and our team of “Worker Bees” grew accordingly. To make our trips with the bees easier and gentler on them, we bought our own flat-deck truck.
Andrés’ winter project led to the creation of our Fruit Infused honeys, after a lot of experimenting with the freeze-drying machine. We now offer peach, raspberry, blueberry, and strawberry infused honeys.
We worked with Buy BC to increase our brand awareness and expand our presence in selected local retailers.
Christmas brought the chance to do special orders, like appreciation baskets for companies or gifts for every member of the family.
In addition to participating in the Salmon Arm Downtown Farmers’ Market and Vernon Farmers’ Market, we also started attending the East Kelowna Markets.
2025
Buzzing Ahead: Expanding the Honey Barn and Elevating the Farm Store Experience
We’re still buzzing toward our goal of operating 1,000 beehives efficiently, but we’ve got even bigger plans to expand the Honey Barn and crank up the experiences at our Farm Store!
