Inside the historic 1924 wax shed at the Hofmann Apiary just outside Janesville, the air was filled with buzzing curiosity, historic charm, and the rich heritage of Minnesota honey making on Saturday, August 15.
Gathered among vintage equipment and museum-style exhibits, eager attendees joined resident beekeeper Jason Casey of Sun Honey LLC for an immersive lesson in the fundamentals of beekeeping, hive management, and honey extraction.
The venue itself set a fitting backdrop for the day. The Hofmann Apiary’s century-old wax shed operates as a living museum, chronicling the intricate history of tending hives and harvesting honey. At its center stands a massive, historic wood-fired cauldron historically used to melt honeycomb down into raw wax, which could then be molded into various products using a heavy mechanical press.
Jan Hofmann opened the gathering by introducing Casey, who has served as the apiary’s resident beekeeper and maintains several active hives on the property.
For Casey, the journey into apiculture began in 2014. Having grown up on a small farm before moving to the city in the 1970s, he had long been intrigued by bees but hadn’t yet pursued the craft. That changed a decade ago when a local sale on beekeeping equipment caught his eye.
What started as a two-hive hobby quickly blossomed: Two hives grew to five, then ballooned to 20, 30, 50, and eventually 100 hives today, managed across 16 different partner farms throughout the region.
“It started as a sort of weekend hobby, but over time has become a deep passion of mine” Casey shared, reflecting on his gradual transition into full-time beekeeping. Just weeks prior, on July 31, Casey officially retired from his career in information technology at Minnesota State University. Having grown his operations from 60 to 100 hives over the past year alone, he is now exploring options to pass along roughly half of his colony to his daughter in Texas.
During the workshop, Casey walked attendees through the complex inner architecture of a hive. His typical setup features three distinct stacked boxes, each containing specialized compartments designed for specific stages of bee life and honey production.
At the bottom lies the brood box—the buzzing heart of the colony where the queen resides alongside developing larvae and future worker bees. Over her lifespan, a single queen can produce up to 250,000 eggs, laying the foundation for an entirely new hive each season. Once fully matured, worker bees move to adjacent quarters while the queen begins her reproductive cycle anew.
Managing these colonies requires constant adaptability to weather, pests, and bee behavior:
- Pest and Element Protection: Hive boxes must be tightly secured against harsh Minnesota elements and hungry critters. Small wooden slivers are used strategically to allow ventilation while keeping pests out.
- Early Season Feeding: When bees are acquired in late April, dandelions are often the only natural flowers in bloom. While bees favor dandelions, Casey supplements their early diet with sugar water and nutrient-dense pollen patties.
- Hive Spacing: Casey noted that using nine frames in a standard 10-frame box offers the bees extra room and hospitality, though it can prompt them to build excess honey between frames. To separate them without damaging the comb, he uses a specialized tool equipped with wooden teeth.
Late July through August represents peak harvest season, when beekeepers begin extracting honey before winterizing the hives for the colder months ahead.
Casey described the extraction process as similar to a heavy-duty washing machine. After using an uncapping tool or fine-toothed comb to remove the wax caps from the frames, the frames are spun in a centrifuge to sling the liquid honey free. The raw honey is then passed through a series of fine screens and sieves to filter out stray wax, flower stems, and wood bits.
To work safely around the hives, Casey utilizes one of the most iconic tools in the trade: the smoker. Packed with pine cones and cedar chips, the smoke signals the bees to retreat into the lower chambers, granting the keeper a clear view to inspect frames for harvest-ready honey. “It takes a keen eye,” Casey noted, explaining that while extraction begins in late summer, refining, packaging, and storing the honey often stretches into September and October. Pure, unprocessed honey naturally crystallizes over time as its natural sugars harden—a signature marker of raw quality.
Despite wearing a protective suit, Casey reminded attendees that beekeeping comes with its share of surprises, as tiny gaps can occasionally allow a stray bee inside. Between unpredictable air quality, extreme heat, and heavy frames, Casey candidly admitted—with a smile—that the extraction process occasionally inspires a few lighthearted, profanity-laced tirades and sweat-soaked afternoons.
For those inspired to try their hand at the practice, Casey offered a key piece of advice: always start with at least two hives. “Having two hives gives you a failsafe,” emphasizing that trial and error is part of the learning curve. Having a second hive allows keepers to compare progress, diagnose problems, and balance resources if one colony struggles.
As the presentation concluded, attendees enjoyed a sweet local treat: Hofmann’s signature honey chip cookies, baked using pure honey produced right on the grounds.
Sun Honey LLC products are available throughout the year at various southern Minnesota farmers markets and pop-up shops in New Richland and surrounding communities.
