TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – September is National Honey Month. The honey harvest starts in June and ends in September with the final blossoms of soybeans.
Roger Myers is the owner of Myers Honey and has been a beekeeper for 30 years. He owns about 100 hives across Northwest Ohio. Myers is now preparing for the last of his honey harvest and is also preparing for the winter.
Commercial beekeepers ship their bees to states with warmer climates such as Florida, California or Texas. Myers’ bees spend their winter here in Northwest Ohio.
“Winter is coming, and I don’t know how bad winter is going to be. This summer was one of our worst summers because it rained so much in April, May and early June. Then we went from rainy season straight into a drought,” Myers said.
Honeybees use nectar from flowers to create their honey, which is their food over the winter. When there is plenty of rain, bees do not work in the rain and therefore make less money. Rain also washes the nectar off the flowers, and it takes flowers a couple of days to rejuvenate. Now, drought conditions are impacting the flowers.
“Our flowers that are blooming now, we aren’t sure how much nectar they actually have in them. Bees are bringing in pollen. The flowers are still producing pollen, but we don’t think there is enough nectar left in the goldenrods or the last flowers,” Myers said.
One way you can support bees is by growing lots of flowers, especially native flowers. You can support your local beekeepers by purchasing local honey.
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This article was published by WTVG on 2025-09-17 17:47:00
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