About Us
WELCOME TO OUR KANGAROO ISLAND FARM
Honey Farm
Kangaroo Island Living Honey is a family-owned and operated bee farm producing raw, organic and ethical honey and honey products.
Shawn began beekeeping as a hobby in 1998. His passion soon grew, and we gradually increased our hive numbers each year. Today, we manage approximately 350 productive hives and, in a good year, extract up to 30 tonnes of organic honey.
Visit and learn
Some of our hives can be visited on the farm. Book a beekeeper experience to learn about beekeeping directly from us.
Our aim
We aim to produce products of the highest standard while keeping them as natural as possible. We avoid using chemicals throughout our farming practices and care deeply for our bees and the remarkable products they create.
A relaxed farm experience
Our business is part of our home, so visitors can expect a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. We love sharing the story of our bees, and even our farm animals and pets join in welcoming everyone who visits.
AUTHENTIC ORGANIC HONEY
Our organic practices
For more than 20 years, we maintained organic certification through NASAA and OFC. We have chosen to discontinue certification because of its cost and our concerns about inadequate policing of certified honey on retail shelves. However, we continue to follow the same stringent organic practices to ensure our honey remains of the highest quality.
Carefully selected sites
We can extract up to 30 tonnes of honey each year under strict organic guidelines. Every apiary site is assessed before use and must be at least 5 km from agricultural or suburban areas where hazardous substances or crops may be present. Bees typically travel only about 2 km from their hives.
Traceability and record-keeping
We follow strict maintenance procedures and keep detailed records of hive locations, extraction, storage and sales. This means every batch of honey can be traced through each stage of production.
No sugar syrup
We do not feed our bees sugar syrup, because bees store what they are fed.
Ethical beekeeping
We put the needs of our bees first and follow ethical beekeeping practices.
KANGAROO ISLAND IS A LIGURIAN BEE SANCTUARY
In 1884 Ligurian Bees were introduced to Kangaroo Island. Thanks to the government passing legislation to proclaim Kangaroo Island a Ligurian Bee Sanctuary in 1885, we have the most pure strain of Ligurian Bees left in the world. Throughout the world there are many diseases and bee parasites putting apiaries at serious risk by destroying their hives. Due to our isolation, our bees to date are relatively disease free. There are very few disease free places left in the world, so it's very important that we protect Kangaroo Island's Pure Ligurian bees. Kangaroo Island is one of the few places left in the world where healthy queen bees can be bred and exported to countries around the world to help maintain their hives. Ligurian Bees are renowned for their gentle nature and productivity. These characteristics, and the purity of the strain, make them a valuable genetic pool for breeding purposes.
Without honey bees many food crops will fail, having a disastrous effect on our food chain. If we don't protect our bees and they become extinct the world will starve. Please help protect Kangaroo Island's Ligurian bees by observing the restriction of not bringing any honey products or items that have been in contact with honey production to the island such as: honey, pollen, beeswax, beehives, used beekeeping equipment, or other bee and beehive products, as they are restricted from entering Kangaroo Island and you will be given a hefty fine if caught doing so. PENALTIES UP TO $10,000 AS PER 1997 SA LIVESTOCK ACT. PLEASE PROTECT OUR BEES.
