Hello Peter & All,

> "Why am I still being quoted buying prices here
in Canada from reputable brokers at levels of Can$0.75"? - for the
required water white honey.

I am glad you posted the water white category which is easier to talk about.

All honey is not equal. The source is important also. Some U.S. packers will
not buy canola honey at any price due to the crystallization problems.

Currently white honey in the U.S. is in demand and bringing  at least .75
U.S. to .85 U.S. from the low balling packers. A small lot sold last week
for 1.10 U.S..

Convert to Canadian and you should be getting over a buck a pound Canadian.
Why not try a couple U.S. packers?

Tips:
Always send a sample to the packer before talking price. You will always get
the low ball price over the phone (if they will give a price over the
phone).

Send samples to all your Canadian packers!

Every packer I every talked to has several honey buy lists. They make deals
and your fellow beekeeper could be getting 10-20 cents a pound for the same
honey as yours just for balking at the low ball price.

When you say water white with excellent flavor to a packer you can see the
packer sit up in his chair.

Off flavored bakery grade honey only interests packers when they can't find
a better grade or the honey is sold cheap. I got a call from a beekeeper
with barrels of pure smartweed honey the other day. Those might have to be
fed back to the bees as an excellent winter feed but due to dark color
(almost black) and odor I do not know of a packer willing to buy. Does the
list?

Smartweed is spreading across our area and will ruin our best honey. I
believe also in South Dakota as a packer told me he was returning three
barrels of smartweed honey received with a 60 drum shipment back to the
South Dakota beekeeper.

Although Buckwheat honey and smartweed are in the same flower family the
buckwheat when mixed into wildflower honey only darkens and gives a slight
buckwheat flavor. Smartweed on the other hand has a decent flavor but the
odor is hard to lose and the first thing you smell when the jar is opened.

I do package a pure Heartsease (smartweed) specialty honey and those which
buy love the honey. I can't stand the honey myself but will gladly provide
the product at a slightly higher price than the honey I won the Blue Ribbon
at the 2005 Missouri State Fair.  My partner looks at me with wonder every
time I sell a jar of pure smartweed honey. His slang for smartweed is
stinkweed!

When he buys honey on the open market which is rare the first thing he does
is check the aroma for the scent of "stinkweed".

Bob

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