Put this on your honey-do list
How sweet it is
When Keith and Lori Crigger inherited his father’s farm, they didn’t know much about farming. But they had long harbored a dream of moving to the country, building a log home, and raising vegetables.
The Criggers’ farm came with about 30 beehives tucked in the treeline near their house. “At the time (the bees) were doing wonderfully well,” Lori recalls. They didn’t suffer from disease or parasites; the hives were thriving despite long-term neglect.
Lori attributed the bees’ vigor to the lack of conventional farming where they live, which means few agricultural chemicals in the environment. When the Criggers began selling their honey at the Warsaw farmers market, they met farmers who didn’t use chemicals to grow food. Some of the farmers wanted bees on their property.
One thing led to another, and now the Criggers keep hives in six northern Kentucky locations and sell honey at seven farmers markets in the area, including Florence and Findlay Market in Cincinnati. They sell the honey through Liquor Barns and off their farm through their Web site. They sell conventional honey, flavored honey, whipped honey, and products made with honey, including a peanut butter honey fluff, which contains all-natural peanut butter, their honey, and a streak of marshmallow cream.
Using local honey makes food taste great and is good for you, says Lori, who says honey is anti-inflammatory and cuts down on allergy symptoms. Find out more at www.criggerfarm.com, or call (859) 904-4524.
