The sweet life: Stings don’t deter interest in beekeeping

SYCAMORE, Ill. — The phrases “getting bit by the bug” and “busy as a bee” aren’t just idioms for Tom Montavon.

Montavon, who’s operated Charter Grove Honey Farm in Sycamore in northern Illinois for about 25 years, grew up on a dairy farm and was interested in raising livestock, but he was fascinated by honeybees.

“A guy at my grandfather’s dairy farm had bees. I was always intrigued by them, and I’d go watch him a little bit,” Montavon said.

One day he pitched in for his uncle at the dairy farm where the hives were located to chop feed for the cattle. The chopper was pulled by an International Harvester 856 tractor.

“We had turned up the tractor’s horsepower, and the bees didn’t like it. They stung the living snot out of me,” Montavon said.

“It was hot. I was wearing a sweatshirt, a guy gave me a veil to wear and I still got stung, but it never deterred me from it. I was just more intrigued.”

After graduating from college with a business degree, Montavon’s interest in farming and raising livestock stuck with him.

“I wanted to get back into livestock. My kids were in high school, but I didn’t have facilities for four-legged animals. I saw an advertisement for honeybees and got bit by the bug,” he said.

Montavon started with one hive. The bees all died that next spring.

“Knowing what I know now, it was from queen failure,” Montavon said.

The bump in the road didn’t stop him as he continued to increase the number of hives, and customer demand for the honey grew.

“We started another hive after losing that first one, and then we added another one. We started figuring some things out and doing better. We had six or eight hives for the longest time, and once we started getting a little bit of honey out, it just snowballed. To be honest, I can’t produce enough honey for what everybody wants,” he said.

“I love it. I like working with animals on the farm. I got into bees, and they were just so fascinating, just completely different than anything else in agriculture. That’s what’s so amazing about it. I just got bit by the bug.

“I didn’t have anybody help me, which I’m glad now I didn’t, because I paid attention to what the bees needed, and that’s what I did for them. You can’t think like a human with bees because they’re completely different.”

Charter Grove Honey Farm eventually grew to over 100 hives, but Montavon has downsized a bit in the last few years to about 65 — “simply because I’m in my late 60s, so it’s more challenging.”

Honey production was down slightly this year to about 50 pounds per hive due to the weather.

“It was just too cold, too wet. People don’t realize when it rains, if it’s a windy rain, it washes the nectar out and only a very small percentage of blossoms will put nectar back in itself,” Montavon said.

“So, it’s a one and done for the nectar. If the rain washes the nectar out of the blossoms, you have nothing. They’ll get pollen, but they won’t get any nectar.”

Marketing

It doesn’t matter if one produces corn, soybeans, meat, vegetables or honey, any financial success hinges on demand.

Montavon’s honey was initially sold out of the family’s house through word-of-mouth.

“Then we got enough hives, and at that point I was still working full-time construction, too. We did the Genoa farmers market and markets here and there, and it just snowballed from there. It doesn’t take much to sell your honey. Once you get a following, it’s an easy thing to sell. It’s amazing,” he said.

“I have such a great following of people that want my honey, it’s unbelievable. I’ll get people coming 30, 40 miles away, and they will buy a couple big containers at a time. I know you have people selling meat and they get their following. I would imagine the whiskey producers have their following, too, but it’s sort of neat that way.

“We provide raw, unfiltered honey. Ours will crystalize and people complain about it, but it’s a good thing because it proves that it’s raw honey. You have just got to know.”

The outdoor farmers markets have wrapped up for the season as sales transition to indoor craft fairs.

“We continue to sell out of the house. We have a couple local stores that sell our honey, plus there will be two or three craft fairs through the winter,” Montavon said.

“To be honest, it sells itself. I put on my Facebook page where I’m going to be at and they show up for it.”

Mentorship

Montavon, who served for several years as an Illinois Department of Agriculture apiary inspector, enjoys sharing his beekeeping experiences and knowledge with others.

“We help probably four or five new beekeepers get started every year. We still get a lot of phone calls,” he said.

“I know some people don’t like to share information. I learned 90%-plus of it by myself, and I’m willing to share and help other people. If they get another honey farm, I really don’t care because everybody’s honey is a little bit different. That part doesn’t bother me, not like some people.”

Montavon has been a guest speaker numerous times to share his beekeeping knowledge and experiences.

He recently was a presenter at the Outdoor Stewardship Days, an event held through the partnership between the Ogle County and Lee County Soil and Water Conservation Districts and attended by area third-graders.

“We talked about bees and this year, judging by the number of tasting spoons I used, I’m guessing we had probably 150-plus kids go through that event. It’s a lot of fun,” he said.

Nothing Like It

Beekeeping is a unique calling.

“The bees are just so entertaining to me. I like how you go out there, you work with them and you get to see what they do in a short period of time. There’s nothing else like it in agriculture,” Montavon said.

“It’s very enjoyable. I’ve been asked many times, if I had to go back to work what would I want to do. I would want to work with my bees in the growing part of the farming season and then combine corn.

“It’s not the cheapest thing to get into. You have to watch what you’re doing just like everything else.”