Serendipity plays role in Deep Creek Honey Company
Lorne and Char Newby, who own Deep Creek Honey Company located at 10-10th Ave. in Keremeos, moved from Alberta to the Similkameen four years ago.
“Both Lorne and I were raised in Caroline which is a town of about 500 people just north of Calgary,” Char said.
The couple wanted to move to B.C.’s Southern Interior, because of the better weather, especially the shorter winters, and were attracted to Keremeos because it is a small town.
They continue to own their 22acre farm in Caroline while living on the 2-acre Keremeos property.
Serendipity played a big role in the Newbys becoming beekeepers.
“In 2003 Lorne and Killian went to this man’s house to replace his furnace. He was a beekeeper and started talking about how he was going to retire. They came home with the bees,” Char said.
Killian is the couple’s adult son and business partner.
Over the years, the hives have been split and new queens introduced to improve hive vigor.
“I’ve purchased queens from New Zealand, Hawaii, Chile and some bred in Saskatchewan that are now sold by a business in California,” Lorne said.
Today, Lorne and Killian are kept busy taking care of the 250 hives and operating DCHC Gutter which specializes in continuous eaves troughing.
Char keeps the books and helps package and sell honey when not working at Cawston Cold Storage.
“The bees have a much longer period of activity here than in Alberta. They ‘wake up’ about the end of February—two months earlier than in Alberta—and are active until about November,” she said.
The Newbys rent their bees to Similkameen orchardists for pollination between April and early June.
Their nearby farming neighbours get the bees’ services for free.
“We’ve more or less got the village (Keremeos) covered,” Lorne joked.
In mid-June the bees are transported in a refrigerated truck to Alberta where they have access to fields of alfalfa and clover and are returned to Keremeos in mid-September.
Bees moved between B.C. and Alberta must undergo inspection for mites and diseases.
“We’ve kept our equipment at the farm in Caroline where Killian and I extract and package the honey,” Lorne said.
Each hive produces approximately 175 pounds of honey which is not pasteurized or filtered.
The honey is packaged mainly into 1.5, 3 and 5 lb containers and some in 10 and 15 lb buckets.
“Most of the honey is sold farm gate to local residents, some to people from Vancouver travelling through,” Char said.
Deep Creek honey is available at Pharmasave and Fas Gas in Keremeos.
Char cooks exclusively with honey.
“The only white sugar we buy goes to the bees in the spring and to feed the humming birds,” she said. “Opening a healthy hive and finding everyone happy is a source of great satisfaction,” Lorne said.
He’s thinking about possibly increasing the number of hives, but only after he retires from his eaves troughing business.
For information email dchchoney@gmail.com, or call (250) 506-0015.
Susan McIver is a Penticton writer with a keen interest in agriculture. She can be reached by faxing the Herald at (250) 492-2403.