Build a Better Bee Yard

We are Tom and Fran Davidson We began beekeeping seven years ago and have grown from two bee colonies to a successful sideline business with 37 hives. For the past 4 years, our bees have achieved a survival rate of over 90% during overwintering in Southwest Ohio. The lessons we learned as we expanded our bee yard contributed to our success. This article is meant to share commonly understood principles of bee yard design and offer a few innovations that might improve your beekeeping success.