25th March 2020
BS Honey Bees would like to assure you of our commitment to support our customers through the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) and what is a very difficult & challenging situation for a seasonal business such as ours
Operationally we can confirm we are continuing to run inspections and general spring routines as per any normal year. We have put in place necessary restrictions to ensure the health and wellbeing of ourselves and our customers to adhere to latest government guidelines.
During these times, as per the governments restrictions announced on 23rd March 2020, no one but myself & Tristan will be allowed entry to our workshop, extraction plant, storage unit or apiaries. This means any customers requiring collection of Honey, Bees, Queens & Equipment will be refused access on the governments strict essential travel restrictions during the current quoted 3 week lock down.
We will continue to dispatch online orders as per usual but please be aware with courier networks likely being overwhelmed & understaffed that usual delivery timescales may not apply in these extreme circumstances. This also applies to Royal Mail items including live bees where no Guarantees can be made on the 1pm or Next Day deliveries.
Due to the rapidly changing situation, we must also make you aware that supply chains for Equipment & Queens Bees are likely to be interrupted and non-consistent as many of the breeders & factories used have either closed their doors or are in a heavy lock down state.
As a small business we are under extreme pressure right now and request your understanding during this time. In any normal year we would already begin distributing Queens, fresh stock of Poly Nucs would be arriving and we would already now be issuing collection / dispatch notices for Overwintered Nucs. These restrictions have put a huge strain on our business and livelihoods. This winter we invested heavily into upgrading our current setup & honey extraction plant, hoping to recuperate funds during the 2020 season. This is now unlikely to be the case, despite the government’s announcements to help the self-employed; we still have to tend to our livestock throughout the season thus this money will quickly be depleted maintaining our large colony numbers.
We will provide further updates to ensure full support, and thank you for your patience, support and flexibility as we work together through these very trying times.
Yours Sincerely,
Mr. Daniel Bates
Partner Owner / Bee Farmer – BS Honey Bees
