The WV Queen Producers was the first Agricultural Cooperative non-profit 501c3 corporation formed in WV in over 60 years. In 2008 we organized and sought members who wished to raise local WV queens. We brought in Adam Finkelstein who runs a small commercial queen rearing operation in Maryland and he taught classes at five locations around the state.

We received a $10,000 grant from Commissioner Gus Douglass and the WV Dept. of Agriculture which we used to pay Adam. We also bought breeder queens and queen raising equipment for our members. Just like raising cattle or horses, having top quality breeding stock is the foundation for success.

This year we received another $5,000 grant from the WV Dept. of Agriculture and the USDA to continue training our members and buying them additional equipment and queens. Chuck Cienawski and Don Trisel wrote grants totaling $6,000 to subsidize members of the WV Beekeepers Association getting local queens for $10. I cannot say enough good things about Chuck and Don and their efforts to spread the great genetics of our queens around the state. Eight of our members sold over 1,000 local queens this year and brought over $20,000 into the local agricultural economy.

This year, the Board of the WV Beekeepers unanimously voted to support the WV Queen producers with a donation for the next two years. We truly appreciate this partnership which will benefit all beekeepers on WV by helping to put quality genes into drone congregation areas around the state. Because the WV Queen Producers holds their annual meeting during the Spring Meeting of the WV Beekeepers, we have helped to pay for a speaker this year and plan to do the same thing next year. The leadership of the WV Beekeepers has created a win-win situation for us and for you.

In the last two years, the WV Queen producers has brought in over $31,000 and spent about $22,000 on training, equipment and breeder queens for our members. We look forward to continuing to grow this new industry in our state and to keep more of our beekeeping dollars in West Virginia.



Dan O’Hanlon,
President WV Queen Producers