> It is essential to extract Canola as soon as the frames show
> significant capping.

We extracted without waiting for any capping at all, and found that our
moisture was usually quite low in warm, dry periods.  However, in damp
spells, we found that moisture in extracted honey was high, regardless of
capping.  Capped honey is, however always drier than new nectar, and for
that reason, we are careful when pulling honey toward evening on a good flow
day.  Since up to 30 lbs of nectar can come in in one day and will be very
thin, it needs to sit in the hive overnight to dry, at minimum.

> This results in high moisture honey. Our co-op
> has the ability to deal with this but if you are selling privately,
> you will have to arrange some sort of drying process.

Most packers can use high moisture honey for blending if they are told that
it is high moisture.  Since most honey they receive is far drier than the
18.6% they target for #1 White, they can certainly use some thinner honey
(instead of a bucket of water) to adjust the moisture.

Some may try to take advantage of worried beekeepers by discounting by more
than the percentage difference in solids between high moisture and thin
honey, but honest buyers will generally be happy to pay a fair price and
help you out.

The biggest concern is making sure the thin honey is packed before it starts
to ferment, but usually you have several months minimum before it becomes a
problem.  That interval will depend on the temperature of storage, the
moisture reading, and the cleanliness of the honey.  Also, some
beekeepers -- including many that are not aware of the fact --  run their
extracting/settling system hot enough that the honey is effectively
pasteurized, and that honey will not ferment for a long while, if packed in
clean drums.

allen
A Beekeeper's Diary: http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/

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