300 hives and counting: The rise of Bee Box Honey
Beekeepers see the world differently. To most homeowners, dandelions are a nuisance. But to local apiarists and owners of Bee Box Honey Steve and Shannon Spencer, dandelions are their honeybees‘ first source of nutrition coming out of winter.
Through honey-colored glasses, most beekeepers would agree with the Spencers that bees are complicated and fascinating creatures. Their perfect hexagonal hives are kept extremely clean and hygienic — they even leave the hive to excrete waste. If one of them dies, they will leave the hive so they can die outside alone as a service to the other bees. They are extremely mindful of each other and work with their famous “hive mind” to do what is best for their community.
“Their biggest goal is everything for the hive and everything for the species,” Shannon said. “The way that they reproduce … everything is the benefit of their next generation. They’re not selfish at all.”
Steve and Shannon Spencer learned all this and more in the last few years since they began beekeeping. Steve Spencer first learned about beekeeping after working in the photography and marketing department of Cox’s Honey. He had a few opportunities to work out in the hives and fell in love with it.
They decided to start Bee Box Honey in April 2021, beginning with 12 hives.
“You know, we felt really inspired to do it,” Steve said. “We’ve done multiple businesses. But over the course of building businesses, you kind of take what you want and you take what you don’t want and you keep trying. And I think we’ve been really successful with this in terms of how fast it’s grown and we’ve gotten better at watching our money financially, moving your money where you need it, so we get out and hustle.”
To keep costs low, the Spencers repurposed old equipment from other beekeepers rather than buying all new equipment. This year will likely be the first year they buy new equipment to continue building and caring for their various bee yards, but they attribute a lot of their success to this hustle to save on costs early on. Now, they have 320 hives in total between each of their bee yards.
The Buzz-ness
Steve Spencer uses smoke to calm bees. Photo credit: Gabriela Fletcher
Bee Box Honey offers multiple products straight from the hives such as cosmic creamed honey, honey bliss lip balm and Snake River Valley Raw Honey. Summer is typically their busy season where they sell their products at farmers’ markets, online and through a few vendors who sell honey for them.
However, the cold winter months in Idaho can be detrimental for bees, so Bee Box Honey sends their hives on vacation from February through May. The bees will go to California to pollinate almonds for a season, then make their way to Washington to pollinate apples before making their way home to Idaho.
Spring is generally when beekeepers split their hives by introducing a new queen and starting a new hive. Bee Box buys their queens from Hawaii that come ready to lay eggs so she doesn’t have to go out and find new mates before starting the new hive.
Though many may have a fear of bees and their powerful sting, education has been key for the Spencers. As they learned more about the nature and disposition of honeybees, they learned how to replace that fear with fascination.
“Bees are not aggressive naturally,” Shannon said. “So if you’re seeing a bee and you’re in your yard or garden, they don’t want to sting you because you’re not in their hive. The biggest thing is they want to defend their hive and their honey. So if you’re not in that, they’re not going to bother you.”
A Family Affair
Steve and Shannon Spencer pose in front of one of their bee yards. Photo credit: Gabriela Fletcher
Steve and Shannon are parents to four children that they homeschool year-round. They remember that the first year they started beekeeping, they had to get the kids excited to help and work in the bee yards. Especially since, at first, even Steve and Shannon were still figuring out how to bee keep and yield the best results. Now, their kids are comfortable working the bee yards.
“Our youngest boy is the biggest helper out in the field,” Shannon said. “But there’s lots of stuff to do. There’s prepping of the hives, lots of stuff at home in our little wood shop. And then there’s bottling honey, filtering honey … there’s a job for everyone.”
The Spencers have worked in multiple industries, but never expected to get into beekeeping. Yet, it was no surprise for them to have a family business where everyone would pitch in and work together.
Steve Spencer inspects hives in bee box. Photo credit: Gabriela Fletcher
“We’ve always worked as a family, whether it was, you know, camping or cleaning out the garage or whatever, but it’s so much better that we’re in a business together,” Shannon said.
Steve and Shannon met at a chiropractic office in Utah where Shannon was working her senior year of high school. While they say they didn’t see a future after the first date, they eventually became inseparable and were married.
Steve eventually got a job opportunity in Texas, so they dropped everything and moved there without knowing anyone but each other. They did the same thing a few years later when they picked up and moved to Rigby, Idaho without so much as a house, knowing they would figure it out along the way.
“We’ve always had really big visions and dreams and we’re not there yet but that’s never stopped,” Steve said. “We are always stretching and always pushing to try to be better and do better.”
A Divine Calling
The Spencers have various bee yards in the Snake River valley. Photo credit: Gabriela Fletcher
The Spencers have various bee yards in the Snake River valley. Photo credit: Gabriela Fletcher
Beekeeping has been nothing short of a celestial experience for Steve and Shannon. They feel their faith has played an important role in their success and is what led them to start in the first place.
“We’ve really relied on Heavenly Father’s help with this business,” Steve said. “Not only do we know it’s divinely inspired, but we see manna from heaven, like, the blessings that we’ve been given, as we grow.”
A big part of the joy of beekeeping for Steve and Shannon is the impact they get to have on the community. Not only do their bees produce honey, but they pollinate dozens of gardens in the area and are critical to sustainable crop production.
“I like the aspect of being an entrepreneur that actually gives back to the earth and gives back to the community,” Steve said. “I love helping people.”
Local farmers and others in agriculture have been a great help to the Spencers as well. At one point, they realized they needed more space for three more bee yards, so Steve made one call to a farmer who was able to connect him to multiple people who helped. Often, Steve and Shannon will give farmers honey at the end of the season in exchange for allowing them to keep bee yards on their land.
If you want to help protect and support the bee population in your area, the Spencers recommend planting pollinating flowers for bees and butterflies.
And, of course, let the dandelions live (at least in the backyard).
