Meet Amy and Jason Dunsmore of Dunsmore Honey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy and Jason Dunsmore.

Hi Amy and Jason, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Our Texas farm business, Dunsmore Honey LLC, began when we purchased 12 acres of uncleared, raw land in New Braunfels, TX and asked ourselves what we could do with it. We have been raising bees at our homestead since 2014 and currently produce raw honey and other health-focused bee products from our homestead.

Jason and I met in 2001 at UTMB Galveston before attending grad school together at UCLA. He and I conducted research in a biochemistry lab and ecology lab, respectively. After grad school, the kitchen and garden became our laboratories. We love trying new things together, exploring ideas, and working on projects. When we had kids, our desire to lead a healthier lifestyle kicked into high gear. We bought a beautiful piece of land in the Texas Hill Country, surrounded by hundreds of acres of native pasture and forest, and started building our farm.

When we began beekeeping, we were surprised to learn that treating hives with chemicals was the norm. Our education and work experience gave us insight into the negative effects different chemicals can have on humans and the environment, and using toxic chemicals in the hive was not something we wanted to do. From the start, we have practiced chemical-free beekeeping methods and have been successfully growing food and raising animals on the farm without the use of pesticides, antibiotics, and other harmful chemicals.

The products we currently offer are inspired by the honey we harvest, scientific research, and traditional medicine. They are both flavorful and nourishing and are created to meet the needs of our family, friends, and customers. In addition to raw honey, we offer herbal elixirs, beeswax salves & balms, and honey blends—our raw honey combined with whole herbs and spices. All of our products are handmade at the farm.

Dunsmore Honey continues to evolve as a business.

We are happy to share our love of nature and healthy, homegrown food with our community. You can find our raw honey and handmade bee products at dunsmorehoney.com. Please sign up for our newsletter if you want to know when we harvest and have raw honey from the Texas Hill Country in stock.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Learning beekeeping was not easy. We did a lot of research and experimentation to figure out how to raise bees without chemical treatments and leave enough honey for the bees to eat during nectar dearths. There were many angry bees, stings, and races to the house in the beginning. Eventually, we worked out our protective gear, equipment, and methods to manage our hives in a way that minimized stress on the bees and our family.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Here are some of the core practices that define Dunsmore Honey:

• Our bees are raised on native pasture and forests at our family farm in the Texas Hill Country. A large amount of honey produced in the US comes from agricultural crops. Beekeepers often have multiple apiaries and blend the honey harvests from various locations together. Our bees visit native plants around our homestead.

• Our honey is harvested responsibly, we leave enough honey in the hives for the bees. Many beekeeping operations harvest too much honey and must feed their bees large amounts of sugar syrup.

• We never use chemical treatments in the hives. Using pesticides, antibiotics, oils, and acids is common practice. These chemicals can contaminate honey and beeswax and be harmful to living things.

• We do not heat or filter the honey, it is kept pure and raw to preserve its health benefits. We take great care in handling and storing the honey.

Our farm business aims to make nourishing products that boost human health while managing bees with respect and care and keeping colonies strong over many years.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
If you’re new to beekeeping, know that there are lots of different ways to keep bees and produce honey. Be sure to learn what works best for you and your bees. Find your niche by focusing on your strengths and values.

Contact Info:

• Email: dunsmorehoney@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.dunsmorehoney.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dunsmorehoney/