Kaiserson Bee Co. and Community-Supported Apiculture

By Drew Kaiser

Keeping bees is no easy task. Once you get past the expense, the stings, the learning curve, and the variability of each season, it’s more than enough to drive most people away from the activity. On top of that, add the ever-increasing number of maladies conspiring against bees, and you’re talking about a task that requires a community effort. From planting a garden to avoiding pesticide use to supporting local beekeepers, it all plays a part in sustaining pollinators and their human counterparts. Kaiserson Bee Co. has taken the concept of CSA and applied its own twist: Community-Supported Apiculture. Their CSA seeks to disperse the burden and reward supporters with sweet, sweet nectars at the end of the season.  

Kaiserson started at UWEC in 2010 as a geography research project by Ellen Sorenson, investigating how land use played a significant part in the ever-increasing mortality of honeybees. From there, advocation and education have been core concepts infused into the work of Sorenson and her husband, Drew Kaiser, who now does most of Kaiserson’s work. They’ve twice been featured on PBS’s Around the Farm Table. They teach all levels of learners the basics of bees and ways the average person can help our pollinating friends survive and thrive.  

As for their bees, they’ve approached their practice much like that initial research: to seek out land use that best accounts for their bees’ needs. Rather than focus all their workers in a small area, Kaiserson spreads their apiaries across the Chippewa Valley in small clusters. Many locations are coupled with farmers to boost production, but a significant portion of their bee yards are in residential settings. Their locations span Chippewa, Eau Claire, and Trempealeau Counties. They harvest small, sustainable quantities of honey from June to September and bottle them by location and date. This uniquely expresses the varied flavors and experiences one can have with honey. To taste their harvests side by side can be enlightening. Much ado is made of terroir when it comes to things like wine, but the forage circumference of honey bees offers a great variety and significance to the hyper-local effects of place.  

Kaiserson’s CSA members commit to the future harvest of honey with the promise that they get access to batches that may never make it to public market. Depending on your household’s consumption, they offer several levels, from 2 to 20 pounds. As a Kaiserson member, you’re invited to a harvest celebration to taste and select your favorites. Some of their levels even include maple syrup or waxen goods like candles. They’re also likely to include special gifts like apparel or R&D products. But beyond all the physical rewards, Kaiserson CSA members ensure this pursuit continues to expand. Who knew doing good could taste so good?