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Welcome to Brookfield Farm Hiveshare 2018 Newsletter

Welcome to Brookfield Farm Hiveshare 2018 Newsletter-Brookfield Farm
 
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 Brookfield Farm Hiveshare Greetings

You are very welcome to Brookfield Farm Hiveshare 2018. This is the fourth year for Hiveshare, already! We are very pleased to have fulfilled all our Hiveshare honey deliveries for the first three years, in difficult circumstances for bees.

So this is your first update on your hive in 2018. Hiveshare 2018 runs from November 2017, and Hiveshare Cert no. 1279 and higher. Any questions on Hiveshare and how it works? We're delighted to answer, just have a look at our FAQor email ailbhe@brookfield.farm

You are invited!

We are planning our (nearly) famous Honey Celebration for a weekend in August 2018 - it's a day on the farm, delicious honey themed food, farm walks, beekeeping and honey talks, and fun kids activities. What date in August suits you best? Let us know and we'll work around your preferences as much as possible!

Fairs and Shows

We had a great show at the RDS Craft Fair and met many of you there. We have a winner for our giftbox competition! Annette from Dublin has won a box with a selection of our gorgeous handmade beeswax candles. Your prize is on its way... 

And we are prepping for Showcase in the RDS starting Sunday to Wednesday 24th January - Stall S32. Hope to see lots of trade customers keen on our hand crafted beeswax candles!

 
 
 
 
 

Winter care

You might like to know about the hives in winter. The bees in this low season are very different from their summer buzz, they are quietly waiting in their frames for the spring to return. We picked a bright, warm winter day to peek at a few hives to see how they were getting on, and to show you what's happening. 

Each year we prepare our colonies for winter, a difficult time of the year for bees.

Bees are cold-blooded, so cluster to stay warm. They generate heat by flexing their wing muscles and take turns being on the outside of the ball. The queen is in the middle of the cluster, protected by worker bees surrounding her. She will not leave this cluster for several months.

During the winter the bee cluster will slowly move around the hive and consume their stores. If the bees become disconnected from their food stores they may starve. 

Bees are very good housekeepers and like to keep their hive clean. On warmer winter days when the temperature rises above 14C they will quickly fly out to get water and begin to clean the hive. We've seen ivy pollen carried in by the buzzy ladies.

We can't wait for spring!

 
 
Book Brookfield Farm lamb

What do our customers say about our lamb?

David: 'Just as an FYI the actual lamb was delicious'

'We got our lovely lamb! Thanks very much!' Anne Louise

Morwenna:

'Delicious! Highly recommend it, .... slow roast lamb shoulder with thyme and fennel seeds ... kids demolish all the chops, well worth it.'

Claire, Winner of the Brookfield Farm 'Win a lamb for Christmas' competition:

'Succulent and delicious.. conveniently delivered to the door'

 
 

Not only bees- Lamb too!

Organic grassland with lakeshore herbs is an important part of our farm. We know that grassland is important for biodiversity, wild hares and other animals love our meadows. Also the grassland grows wildflowers for our bees. And where there is grass, we have a small flock of store lambs. Our sheep have a wonderful life, gambolling on the meadows and playing 'king of the castle' on boulders. 

Our customers tell us that our lamb is absolutely delicious, a cut above supermarket meat.

You can book a half or a whole delicious carefully reared lamb. We have a few lambs ready to go, delivered to your door. So hurry and get your order in!

That's winter's dinners sorted!

Any questions? email lamb@brookfield.farm

 

 
 
 

 

Facebook

Pop over to our Facebook page for bee photos, seasonal farm updates and interesting news.

Like our page to get these updates. We love to hear from you!

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Farm news

Ailbhe is a Nuffield Agricultural Scholar, which funds international travel and agricultural research. She has just finished her 2 year travel and research and her report is available here.

Ailbhe also teaches at Gurteen Agricultural College and is enjoying meeting new students!

As part of GLAS environmental scheme, we sow more than 3.5 hectares (around 10 acres) of farmland to wildflower meadows and wild bird cover in the spring. Good for biodiversity, beautiful flowers and great for our bees!

 

 

Beeswax candles!

We hand make award winning delicious pure natural beeswax candles on Brookfield Farm too! Available on our website and at selected shops, including the wonderful Irish Design Shop in Drury St. Dublin 2 and Ard Bia Restaurant in Galway.

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Brookfield Farm
Coolbawn, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, Ireland
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