Our Honeybees
McDonald Honey cares for over 2,000 production beehives across Victoria and southern NSW, following the flowering seasons of different plants throughout the year. From these hives, we produce honey and beeswax, and provide pollination services that help a wide variety of crops thrive.
We only travel with our bees when it’s truly needed, and we take great care with every journey. Our modern trucks are fitted with advanced suspension and tyre inflation/deflation systems, reducing our environmental impact and giving the bees a smooth, gentle ride that protects their health.
Whether you look after thousands of hives or just one, the wellbeing of your bees is always worth putting first.
Our Honey
Our honey is made the old-fashioned way – a simple, natural beekeeping process – backed by the rigour of our modern HACCP Quality Assurance program, Bee-Safe.
We’re proud to offer local consumers as many regional varieties as possible, gathered from different parts of Victoria. Each one is unique in its colour, flavour, and the native flora it comes from. Every jar or tub is labelled with the area it was produced, so you know the true origin of your honey.
In Victoria, honey production can change from year to year. Most of our honey comes from native eucalypts, whose flowering is unpredictable and depends heavily on the weather and climate. This means that sometimes we run out of certain varieties until the trees bloom again. If you have a favourite, it’s always worth stocking up in a bigger bucket while it’s available.
Pollination
We provide our beehives for paid pollination services, helping other farming families or businesses produce healthy, marketable crops.
Our current pollination schedule includes:
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Almonds in August
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Canola seed in August/September
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Apples in September/October
Over the years, we’ve also supported a wide range of other crops, including plums, clover, pears, cherries, kiwifruit, nashi fruit, faba beans, sunflowers, and olives. Whatever the crop, we understand how vital strong, healthy bees are to achieving a successful harvest.
