Have you ever felt that your company could or should be doing more for the local community or environment?

Have you ever considered supporting our vision of increasing the bee population throughout Wales?

If you’re reading this, then it’s probable that the answer is yes!

Old Castle Farm came back to life in 2006 when the Roberts Family decided to follow their dream of farming and keeping bees. We pride ourselves on the production of home-grown food with local provenance being one of our main priorities.

From there on the dream developed into a reality.

Having completed a Beekeeping Course and set up our first hive, the enthusiasm and passion grew, and the number quickly multiplied to around 50 hives on the mountain and around the Farm in Tonna Neath.

If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.

Albert Einstein

Ian has run Beekeeping Courses for the last two years and has been giving talks and presentations to various local groups. The teaching and education of all aspects of the Honeybee has been a growing interest and passion.

The Roberts’s are a family business, and with the production of Turkeys in Winter and Bees in Summer we’re kept very busy. We sell all our honey (and other products that we make in our own farm shop) here on the farm. Our honey is filtered but not pasteurised. We don’t buy in other honey or mix ours with anybody else’s. We only sell what we produce, but sometimes we do run out because of demand for this wonderful local artisan product.

We are very excited to be launching this new Scheme for 2019 as part of our diversification to extend our main business to encompass our Adopt a Hive scheme.

We wish to raise awareness amongst organisations of the increasing threats faced by our honeybees, and indeed other pollinators.

“The value of honey bees as a pollinator far outweighs their value as honey producers and the UK’s crop pollination industry has an estimated value that is greater than £400 million every year and over 75% of crops for human consumption”

Did you know “One beehive can house up to 60,000 bees”

Bees are amazing little creatures, they have been around for more than 30 million years, their wings beat 190 times a second and they communicate by smells and performing special dances.

A third of the plants we eat have been pollinated by bees, they play a vital role in the ecosystem.

By adopting a hive from Old Castle Farm you will be supporting environmental, ecological and education to help develop and sustain the welfare of honey bees”.

Have you ever felt that your company or organisation could or should be doing more for the local community or environment?”

Did you know bees are declining at an alarming rate?

We don’t fully understand the cause of losses in bees, but it’s believed that a number of factors have contributed. The most significant are:

Environmental changes such as the extensive use of pesticides, specifically insecticides, in farming. The loss of habitat on which bees depend for food. Natural habitats such as hedgerows, meadows and grassland have all depleted over the past 50 years as a result of the intensification of agricultural systems.

Disease is another serious concern. Varroa is an external parasitic mite that attacks bees and spreads viruses to the bee. A serious mite infestation will lead to the death of an entire bee colony.

Changing climate. Recent wet summers have prevented bees from doing what they do best, searching out pollen.

Bees in many parts of the world are under threat and their numbers are declining. Honeybee numbers have fallen by an estimated 30% in recent years.

What You Can Do to Help?

We have an adoption Scheme for businesses, organisations schools and companies in Wales and beyond.

We have a designated area at our Farm and a collection of hives called an Apiary.  In the Apiary we will look after the Bees with weekly checks, feeding and treating for pests (varroa mites as naturally as we can), and then extracting the honey from the hives, jarring and labeling by hand and finally sending it directly to you.

All of our honey is extracted by hand by Ian and his wife Cheryl here in our extraction room at the Farm. We have a 5 Star Food Hygiene Rating from the Local Authority and hold a Food Hygiene Certificate.

The artisan honey we produce here is second to none. There are no commercially grown crops within the flying radius of the hives thus giving us pure blossom & wildflower honey. The bees forage on broadleaf tree pollen, hedgerows, clover, bramble, wild flowers and ivy to name just a few.

Benefits to you?

Your business or organisation can play a key part in helping to reverse this decline by adopting a hive from Old Castle Farm Hives. By doing this it “Ticks” all the boxes for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and means taking account of the social, economic and environmental impact, and will also help to create positive and unique publicity for you.

The impact to your CSR will be greatly enhanced as it’s a cost-effective way which will help reverse the decline in honeybee numbers.

The result is well cared for bees able to grow in a sustainable environment and locally produced Artisan Honey – unprocessed, unpasteurised just filtered, pure honey straight from the hives.

Honey has many health benefits, including the fact that it is rich in antioxidants and can also help reduce blood pressure and cholesterol. With this is mind, business may even be less stressful!

The Adoption Scheme

We will provide a new Wooden National Hive complete with Bees, new Frames and on Wax Foundation.

You will get a plaque fixed to the hive and a signed certificate acknowledging and proving that you have “Adopted a Hive”.

We will update you throughout the season how well your bees are doing, and at the end of the season we will provide you with 10 jars of your own honey.

You will also get the opportunity to come and visit your hive. We will also “fit” you out with a Sentinel Pro 11 Bee suit and Gloves so you can have the exciting opportunity to see your Bees up close and personal without getting stung.

The cost is £250.00 + Vat per year

£450.00 + Vat for two years

Are you ready to adopt a hive?

We’d love to hear from you.

Tel: 01639 645333 or email info@oldcastlefarmhives.com.