New Kansas-based American Honey Institute to advocate for industry standards

Fort Riley soldiers work with hives as part of Valor Honey's program that helps transitioning soldiers deal with post-traumatic stress disorder and other "invisible wounds" of war, says CEO Gary LaGrange. (Submitted)

TOPEKA — The newly formed American Honey Institute will offer the honey industry the same opportunities and advocacy that other commodities currently have, one of its founders said.

Gary LaGrange, CEO of Valor Honey, said on the Kansas Reflector podcast that industry-wide challenges need to be addressed. The low price of honey makes it difficult for small producers to compete with imported honey, much of which has had cheap sweeteners added to it, he said.

“We also discovered that the industry as a whole did not have the power as other commodities have, wheat and soybeans and corn and cattle, and it was a bit more ad hoc,” LaGrange said.

Four years ago at an National American Honey Producers meeting, discussions began about creating the institute to focus on educating people about the importance of bees and the honey industry; to create a certification process for honey; to promote beekeeping as a therapeutic activity to help veterans and others; and to advocate on a national level, LaGrange said.

Through Valor Honey and its work teaching soldiers beekeeping skills as a way to help them manage post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, LaGrange has seen beekeeping transform lives. But when veterans wanted to take their skills and compete in the honey market, they couldn’t, he said.

“They could sell small quantities, but to get into the commercial, industrial side was difficult to them because the price of honey was so low, they couldn’t compete with the honey that was being put on the market by packers,” LaGrange said.

Packers buy imported honey, he said.

In 2021 and 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration tested 144 samples of imported honey, finding that about 10% were adulterated with sweeteners. LaGrange said more consistent testing and enforcement is needed so consumers know what they are buying.

Brian McCornack, Kansas State University professor and and head of the Department of Entomology, joined LaGrange on the podcast to talk about the honey institute, which he will lead. LaGrange said K-State offers research capabilities along with the ability to communicate through its networks to support educational outreach.

McCornack said beekeepers lose about 40% to 50% of honeybees annually, but last year, reported losses were upward of 70% to 80%.

“Those kinds of loss losses for a managed pollinator like honeybees are not sustainable,” he said. “At the center of this is really the U.S. beekeeper. They make most of their living, especially the larger producers, through pollination services. So they’re moving, literally trucking bees, around the U.S. to provide valuable services for a lot of the commodities that we find in our grocery stores and our shopping carts. When you have those kinds of losses, and one of your primary incomes is pollination services, staying alive in that industry becomes very challenging.”

The formation of an institute to combine research, education, workforce development, communication, and testing for authenticity and integrity of honey was a perfect fit for K-State, McCornack said.

“Our beekeepers are in peril as well,” he said. “It’s not just about the bees. It’s making sure that beekeepers can thrive, and making sure that they’ve got a market that is fair.”

Valor Honey and K-State are joined by the American Beekeeping Federation and the American Honey Producers as partners in the institute.

“The two largest beekeeping orgs in the U.S. coming together on this particular topic, to me, is what really keeps me inspired on a daily basis,” McCornack said. “If everybody has an important message and sings their song the loudest, and they’re not singing from the same sheet of music, as Gary often says, then it’s really hard to know what to really focus on.”

Bringing the primary organizations together to discuss the issues will help the industry create a plan and find solutions, McCornack said.

LaGrange said the honey industry has flown under the radar, often because people don’t understand the importance of pollination.

“Most people think that honey comes out of a hive or two in the backyard, and they just don’t understand the industry,” he said. “They don’t understand the importance of bees and pollination. Without them, we would be paying a whole lot more for fruits and vegetables and other commodity crops that they pollinate. Honey is really tertiary in that process.”

LaGrange, 83, spent 28 years in the Army and served three tours in Vietname. Since founding Valor Honey, he’s made it his life to support veterans and others who need help through teaching them about beekeeping. Founding the American Honey Institute is the next step in helping soldiers.

“To help these young men and women find find their way, to keep them from suicide, to get them out of this post traumatic stress syndrome, and get them out of these other issues that come with war — it’s so important to see that happen on a recurring basis with those we work with,” LaGrange said. “It’s just a wonderful thing. What good does it do if they can’t get into the industry that’s profitable, if they can’t find work that’s profitable? So it all ties together, and that’s why we intend for all of the functions of this institute to get as much as possible under one roof.”

Packers, consumers and others involved in the industry are part of the solution, he said.

McCornack said answers won’t be easy to find. There are no standards for honey currently, a process needs to be worked out for testing and even determining the definition of honey, and all of the work needs to be research-based.

“There are politics involved in the changes that need to be made,” he said. “Anytime you bring up the word ‘regulation’ or policy or law, I think that gets people nervous, and that can be expected.”

McCornack said the institute will maintain its focus on the goals of stabilizing the industry for beekeepers and for consumers, who should know what is in the honey they’re buying.

“I hear this from Gary a lot — honeybees are the canary in the coal mine,” McCornack said. “It’s just whether or not we’re willing to listen. And they’re telling us a lot here these last couple years, this last year in particular.”

LaGrange and McCornack easily list stresses on the bee population, from mites to lack of floral resources to chemicals.

As they tackle those problems, both men keep at the forefront the work being done with veterans and others.

“The fact that working with honeybees has the merit of being able to save a life, that’s very special,” LaGrange said. “With all these young men and women whose lives we have helped, we’re making more than a marginal contribution to the problem we have in this country with suicides today, particularly among veterans and now others, maybe farmers and first responders. That’s pretty special.”