Hawkins FFA members assemble gift boxes and prepare to ship out orders. Photo courtesy of Matt Byrd.
For Hawkins FFA in Texas, business has been buzzing in the last six years since the chapter launched its beekeeping operation and was featured on NBC’s “Today” show.
The business started unexpectedly when Hawkins FFA advisor Matt Byrd got a call from a local Nestle water bottling plant asking if his students could help remove a swarm of bees that had taken up residence in the facility. Students didn’t have experience at the time, but sought out advice and quickly learned. As a result, four Hawkins FFA members established an apiary on the grounds of the plant, prompting the bees to vacate and move into their new hive.
Since then, Hawkins FFA members have practiced beekeeping, harvesting honey and selling it to their community. We caught up with Byrd to find out how the beekeeping business has blossomed since FFA New Horizons featured his chapter in 2019.
“It’s come a long way,” he says. “In 2023, we built a new ag shop, and within it we built a commercial honey processing room. We now have our own large commercial kitchen with commercial extraction and bottling equipment. It’s a massive shop with new classrooms, and the beekeeping room is the focal point.”
In 2022, Hawkins FFA received a grant from the Garden Club of North America that helped them purchase beekeeping Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and additional equipment, such as smokers and hive tools. The school also got approval from the Texas Education Agency to begin offering beekeeping as a course taught during the school day.
Students in the agricultural mechanics class also help the Hawkins FFA beekeeping team. They built a custom trailer that includes a pump used to feed the bees. Photo courtesy of Matt Byrd.
Bottling Up Business
The honey students harvest is labeled as “Hawkins FFA 4G Honey” as a nod to the four girls who started the beekeeping program. They sell honey in 1-pound jars, as well as small 4-ounce jars.
“We do a big Christmas fundraiser where we sell honey gift baskets in our community and on Etsy nationwide,” Byrd says. “The gift box has Christmas tissue paper, a wooden honey dipper spoon, a jar of honey, a bottle of honey that’s good as a stocking stuffer and a bee keychain. Students decorate the boxes, wrap them with ribbon, print shipping labels and ship them out.”
In addition to being fun and festive, Hawkins FFA holiday gift boxes feature locally harvested and bottled honey. Photo courtesy of Matt Byrd.
The chapter also sells the 4-ounce bottle of honey with a dipping spoon as a separate stocking stuffer. In 2024, they profited $12,000 from the Christmas gift boxes.
“People love buying [them],” Byrd says. “This is our third year doing it, and all proceeds go back into our chapter account to buy supplies and to fund our Hawkins 4G Beekeeping Scholarship. Every senior in the beekeeping program can apply for a scholarship, as long as they’ve been in the program for at least two years.”
Mackenzie Rutherford was one of the four girls who founded the Hawkins FFA Chapter’s beekeeping program, and she is still using the skills she learned back in 2019.
“I have three beehives of my own currently, and we use them to pollinate our watermelons and enjoy fresh honey,” Rutherford says. “I will never forget the friendships I built with the 4G Honey team and the other FFA members I got to spend time with. I will forever have the skills FFA taught me and the memories from the 4G Honey team.”
