About Us

Terrence Ingram began keeping bees in 1954. He started selling his honey in 1956 to local grocery stores. He has since taught beginning beekeeping classes for 35 years. The Stateline Beekeeping Association was started by the students in one of his first classes who wanted to keep meeting. His wife, Nancy, got involved in the business after they were married in 1981. At one time they managed and cared for over 250 hives producing over ten tons of honey in a single year. Then in 1996 his hives were wiped out by commercial farmers spraying Round-Up. Since that time Mr. Ingram has been conducting research on how Round-Up is affecting honeybees. Before his colonies were wiped out they produced their own queens and sold queens and nucs to other beekeepers who wanted to get the benefit of some of their genetics. Now they purchase all of their extracted honey from beekeepers in Iowa and Wisconsin whose hives are not affected by the commercial sprays.

Services

Beginning Beekeeping classes are still being taught by Mr. Ingram to people interested in learning how to keep bees without chemicals. Four to five tons of wholesale honey is still being sold each year to many local stores, farmer’s markets and to many people who stop in at Apple Creek Apiaries. Some people bring in their own honey containers to be filled. People who are interested may purchase and pick up packages of honeybees for their own hives each spring.

One end of the honey house is a store where beekeepers can purchase any supplies which they may need to care for their bees. An Apple Creek Apiaries Supply Catalog is available for anyone interested. Other beekeepers bring in their excess new or used equipment, which they no longer need, to be sold on consignment in the honey house. The bee supply store is open any time Terry or Nancy are home, which is most of the time, but we recommend you call before you come, just to make sure one of them will be home when you arrive.

Apple Creek Honey is pure honey and may sugar before it is all used. This does not make it bad. Just heat the sugared honey to about 130 degrees and it will turn back to being liquid. As long as the honey is in a tightly sealed container it will keep indefinitely. The honey in King Tut’s tomb was still in good shape after over 2,000 years, only sugared. Some commercial honeys are heated too much or have something like corn syrup added to it to keep it from turning to sugar.