2020 March 11 Meeting

Posted onAuthorPhil Frank

Financially SU$TAINABLE BEEKEEPING

How to make your hobby pay for itself (and then some!)

WHEN: March 11, 2020 7PM - 9PM

WHERE: Agricultural History Farm Park 18400 Muncaster Rd, Derwood, MD 20855

SPEAKER: Maggie Mills, Maryland Beekeeper

TOPIC: Beekeeping can be expensive, but you do not have to lose money year after year. Local beekeeper Maggie Mills will share her tips and tricks for generating income from the products of your hive. 

  • What are the best places to sell your excess honey?
  • How should you prepare it to increase sales?
  • What does a pound of honey sell for these days?
  • How do you prepare wax for sale?
  • Is "Certified Naturally Grown" for me?
  • Are County, State and Club Fairs/shows a good place to sell?

Know your risks: 

  • Do I need insurance?
  • When does my little hobby become something that flags the IRS?
  • What are the costs associated with a business?

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Beekeeper Maggie Mills will

Maggie Mills opened her first bee colony in 2012 and the hobby quickly turned into a rewarding and thriving business.
In three years, Maggie expanded to 40 colonies after purchasing only 4 nucleus colonies with zero commercial
queens!
Maggie owns and operates Hope Honey Farm; the only Certified Naturally Grown apiary inside the DC Beltway. Hope
Honey Farm operates on a very small footprint, 1 mile outside the DC line in Hyattsville, MD. In addition to selling
honey and value-added products such as artisanal soaps, lip balm, and body butter; Maggie sells nucleus colonies and
queens. Her focus is producing hygienic, gentle bees with high winter survivability.
In 2018, Maryland Public Television aired a segment on Maryland Farm and Harvest highlighting queen rearing in
Maggie’s apiary. You can watch the segment at this link: https://video.mpt.tv/video/episode-601-uatwly/
Maggie loves bees as much as she loves to travel. In the past 5 years, she has worked with beekeepers and attended
conferences in Belize, Guatemala, Grenada, Turkey, and Kenya.
Maggie is the past President and Vice President of BUMBA - Bowie Upper Marlboro Beekeepers Association. She
has previously served on the DC Beekeeper's Alliance and Maryland State Beekeeper's Board of Directors.   
You can visit Maggie’s website at: www.hopehoneyfarm.com.