West Central Reporter

In a June 22 Facebook post, Sen. Neil Anderson drew attention to a Fulton County company's efforts to harvest honey.

“Cool to see FarmWeekNow highlighting Fulton County’s Hilltop Honey Co. and all they do for the area as a part of #NationalPollinatorWeek,” he wrote on Facebook. “7,000 pounds of honey from just their spring harvest, wow!”

The Illinois State Beekeepers Association (ISBA) noted it has been supporting Illinois beekeeping since 1891, adding there are approximately 4 thousand registered beekeepers in the ISBA.

Anderson has served the 47th District since 2015. The district now includes portions and or all of Adams, Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Knox, Mason, McDonough, Menard, Mercer, Peoria, Rock Island, Schuyler, Stark, Tazwell, and Warren Counties. When he's not serving the residents of the 47th District as a legislator in Springfield, Anderson is a firefighter/paramedic in Moline.

Vote Smart noted Anderson didn’t vote to establish an agriculture equity commission.

The FarmWeek article highlights the work that Kyle and Cassi McCarthy are doing with their business, Hilltop Honey. They sell a variety of honey varieties and other merchandise. In addition, the article notes that they sold “about 100 bee nucs,” which are small colonies of bees. The publication notes that winter losses of bees stand at about 60% each year, so the couple’s work is important.

The Agricultural Marketing Resource Center reported there are approximately 120 thousand beekeepers in the United States.

The Hilltop Honey story started in 2015 as a hobby, allowing the couple to support pollinators and spend time outdoors, and they outgrew their existing backyard operation where they operate hive-to-jar, and sell raw, unfiltered, honey produced in Central Illinois, according to the company’s “About Us” story on their website.

Talking With Bees wrote buying local honey ensures access to raw honey, which has a variety of nutrients such as pollen and enzymes.

The Hilltop Honey story also includes collaborations with other businesses in the area. For example, on the Hilltop Honey Facebook page, on June 9, the business shared a link to Spoon River Junction Winery, announcing the creation of a new “lightly-hopped beer-strength mead,” made with honey from Hilltop Honey Company. This creation is called Lazy Hazy HoneyBrew, and it’s only available during events, according to Spoon River Junction. The Spoon River Junction Facebook post read: “Bee the first try to our brand new Lazy Hazy HoneyBrew this weekend at Chico Welch + Nathan Taylor It is a lightly-hopped, beer-strength mead made with Hilltop Honey Co.! Slightly sweet but slightly bitter too, with notes of honey, citrus, tropical fruit, it’ll taste delicious out on the newly updated #crushpadio with a pizza from Chef Kevin Cooks.”