Page 17 - Trending Magazine 2018 Summer

Story by Tyler Clarke

global enterprise with direct links to the
Asian marketplace and a new packaging
A facility slated to open in Roblin, Wendell
Estate Honey is keeping up with the times.
The company is comprised of more than 4,000
hives spread between approximately 120 locations
between Manitoba and Saskatchewan, which require Wendell Honey.
owner Tim Wendell to work some long hours; His father, John, started
particularly during this time of year. keeping bees in Saskatchewan
The days might be long, but Wendell said that it during the mid-’30s kick-starting
doesn’t feel like work most of time time, particularly a raw honey operation that would
the hours he spends with his tiny little buzzing bosses. later be called Wendell Honey and
“I’m not the boss, the girls are the bosses,” he said of much later encompass the value-
his bees, after capping off another 12-plus hour work added Wendell Estate Honey enterprise.
day in late May, during which he took care of both the Initially made up of approximately 50 hives, by the
business side of things as well as his bees. time Wendell bought his father out in 1974 it was
“That’s who we work for, because they’re the ones made up of 400.
that pay us. If they don’t pay me, I don’t pay (my Expanding beyond a raw honey exporter and
employees), so these are the bosses, without a doubt.” packaging their own product since that time — and
His day began by checking emails at 5:30 a.m., bringing the Asian marketplace into the fold — it has
after which he hosted a meeting in Roblin where since grown to its current 4,000 hives.
he hopes to open up a packaging facility. Their Wendell Honey’s story highlights what Manitoba
honey packaging operations currently take place in Beekeepers’ Association president Mark Friesen said
MacNutt, Sask., a village located on the eastern edge is becoming a reality of the times.
of the Saskatchewan border near Roblin. “Like all farming, we’re seeing that same situation
While the ever-expanding company extends where beekeepers tend to get very large-sized
Wendell’s workdays, chipping away at the time he’s operations,” he said, adding that it all comes down to
able to spend with his “girls,” it’s the time he spends the economies of scale, not that current prices are
tending to his buzzing business partners’ needs when doing them any favours.
he’s in truly in his element. With the majority of exports going to the United
On-site earlier in the day at properties located States, whose president’s protectionist rhetoric
between Roblin and Russell, Wendell appeared at Friesen said has carried a trickle down impact via
peace with his bees, joining several employees in “buy local” initiatives, the finances behind producing
shifting them from their smaller winterized hives into raw honey for export have been increasingly tight.
regular-sized hives for the summer months. “Last year when the price really crashed, I talked
“This is a piece of heaven on earth in a way, because to three new commercial beekeepers who’d never
there’s not a lot of noise, there’s not a lot of chemicals, done packaged honey and they were moving into
there’s not a lot of people and we get to be here with that market, where they could put their product on
nature,” he said as bees buzzed around him in every the nearby shelves,” he said.
which direction. Although prices weren’t as harsh in 2011 as they
“There’s probably no better place that I’d rather be are now, Wendell said that riding the commodity
at this time of year than a bee yard … It’s work, it’s got market’s ebbs and flows for decades led him to finally
to be done and I work hard, but if you like what you do take the plunge at the time and produce a value-
it’s not so much work, no matter what it is … I’m in it.” added product for local and overseas sales.
Wendell has been “in it” since was a kid, and is the Selling raw product below the cost of production
second generation of his family to take the helm of back in 2005 provided a significant enough blow

17