Lanarkshire beekeepers buzzing after £3k grant boosts production

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Lanarkshire beekeeping group is buzzing after receiving generous funding to up their honey production. Avondale Community Beekeepers were awarded a £3000 grant from Banks Renewables’ Kype Muir Wind Farm Community Fund, which has enabled them to purchase two new honey extractors.This will increase their honey production by 20 per cent due to saving time in the production process.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android Having previously used a time-consuming and labour-intensive manual extraction process, the two new machines have cut the group’s production time down by half, resulting in even more harvested honey.The extractors are also more sustainable, with the Avondale Beekeepers able to clean honey off the frames more effectively and as a result, reuse them.The group, which has been running since 2015, plays host to around 44 hives, which are located in the gardens of its 14 members’ homes around South Lanarkshire.

Each hive can house between 20,000 and 60,000 bees at any one time.Stewart Wilson, member of the Avondale Beekeepers committee said: “The new honey extractors have changed the game for us - not only can we now harvest more honey, it has saved us bags of time in the process.“The support from Banks Renewables really has been critical in allowing us to manufacture honey in a more effective