Our Commitment to Sustainability
At Nate’s Hives, we are dedicated to producing high-quality, sustainably sourced honey while minimizing our environmental footprint and supporting local beekeepers and pollinators. Through responsible, ethical practices and minimal intervention management techniques, we strive to create a healthier, more sustainable future for our honey bees and our planet.
Current Sustainability Efforts
We believe that sustainability is key to the future of our industry. Our efforts focus on protecting pollinators, reducing our environmental impact and ensuring that every step of our process aligns with our commitment to sustainability. We have planted more than 1,000 acres of pollinator habitat, and we harvest only surplus honey, leaving the honey bees enough honey to sustain themselves and remain healthy. We seek to develop new management practices that require less intervention with the honey bees, meaning fewer miles driven and less transportation that in a typical apiary.
Fostering Honey
Bee Health
By supporting sustainable beekeeping practices, we contribute to healthier honey bee populations and ecosystems. We partner with universities, such as Texas A&M, and fund research that seek to foster honey bees that are healthier and more resilient as environmental stressors increase.
Supporting
Local Beekeepers
We work with local beekeepers who share our commitment to sustainable beekeeping practices to ensure sustainable honey bee health and promote environmentally responsible practices.
Supporting Farmers
& Ranchers
We work with farmers and ranchers to ensure pollination of various crops and cattle forage. Many seed crops could not be grown without pollination by honey bees.
Supporting
Biodiversity
Through our pollination and beekeeping practices, we can make a difference for honey bees, people and our environment, enabling our ecosystem to not only grow but to thrive.
Advancing Beekeeping Practices
As generational beekeepers, we know the tried-and-true practices but are focused on continuous learning to strengthen our work, enhancing our honey harvesting, improving crop and flower pollination and bettering our sustainability efforts.
Ensuring
Purity of Honey
Like other crops that go from farm to table, it’s critical that we test our honey to ensure we offer the highest-quality 100% pure, raw & unfiltered honey. By working with industry-leading labs, we know our honey is produced with a clean-read of pesticides and anti-biotics.
Honey Bee Habitat & Agriculture
Honey bees are vital not only to our honey production but also to global biodiversity and crop pollination. At Nate’s Hives, we prioritize the health of honey bee populations through responsible beekeeping practices, partnerships with local farmers and ranchers and a commitment to pesticide-free agriculture. By supporting thriving honey bee habitats and working with organizations like the UC Davis Honey & Pollinator Center, we are advancing long-term sustainability for both honey bees and the agricultural ecosystem.
Responsible Beekeeping Practices
Using advanced technology, our beekeepers monitor hive health, track hive placements and ensure proper care. We strategically place hives in areas rich with native plants. We also collaborate with UC-Davis, Texas A&M University and other institutions to research the best forage for honey bees – always following chemical-free, pesticide-free practices. This allows us to promote thriving colonies.
Crop Pollination
Honey bees play a critical role in supporting food security and plant reproduction. Every one in three bites of food we eat is pollinated by a honey bee. By partnering with farmers across the U.S., Nate’s Hives improves pollination strategies for key crops like fruits, vegetables and nuts. Honey bees help sustain ecosystems, benefiting other species and contributing to carbon sequestration, biodiversity and climate regulation.
