Honey, where have you been?

St. Croix Farm

Rensselaer County, New York · 2026 season

Here.

Rensselaer County, New York: the bees' home this season

The honey from St. Croix Farm is more than just a sweet treat; it's a story of family, legacy, and innovation. Nestled in Valley Falls, New York, St. Croix Farm has been family-owned and operated for three generations. For decades, the farm has been a cornerstone of its community, providing fresh produce and pasture-raised cattle while also caring for the land through thoughtful environmental practices.

In 2022, the St. Croix family embraced a bold new chapter. Partnering with Davis Hill Development, they transformed the least productive section of their farmland into a greenfield solar project. This is an ongoing project to find harmony between farming, clean power, and nature. The land around the solar panels is now a thriving ecosystem with grazing sheep and a lush pollinator habitat.

Recently, Davis Hill Development and St. Croix Farm welcomed a new partner: Hivetracks. Beehives were installed beside the solar fields, and now bees forage among the wildflowers. The result is a uniquely vibrant honey, infused with the flavors of the land and powered by the sun.

Every jar of St. Croix Farm Honey carries with it the strength of tradition, the promise of sustainability, and the taste of innovation. It is a reminder that when we honor the past while embracing the future, we can create something truly extraordinary.

One season, visit by visit.

Every time someone walked the land, they wrote down what was blooming.

Bees on this land since June 2025.

Feb19
Visited
Midwinter: pollen patties to carry both hives to spring.
Apr4
Visited
Lighter than the other yards after winter: extra pollen and fondant.
May30
Visited
- alsike clover Trifolium hybridum
- Canada goldenrod Solidago canadensis
- white clover Trifolium repens
Jun7
Visited
One hive is light on bees: its queen may be taking a break.
Jun26
Visited
Good numbers, and the honey boxes have weight: a second brood box goes on.
Jul8
Visited
One hive has lost its queen and needs a new one.
- red clover Trifolium pratense
- Canada goldenrod Solidago canadensis
- white clover Trifolium repens
Jul9
Visited
- red clover Trifolium pratense
- white clover Trifolium repens
- eastern daisy fleabane Erigeron annuus
Jul16
Visited
- alsike clover Trifolium hybridum
- white clover Trifolium repens
- red clover Trifolium pratense
Jul18
Visited
The new queen is in, every stage of brood is back, and the honey box goes back on.
Aug6
Visited
- eastern daisy fleabane Erigeron annuus
- red clover Trifolium pratense
- wild carrot Daucus carota
Aug15
Visited
- brownray knapweed Centaurea jacea
- red clover Trifolium pratense
- wild carrot Daucus carota
Aug17
Visited
Better since the new queen: another honey box on the first hive.
Aug29
Visited
A cold spring kept the colonies small: a lighter honey pull this year.
collected
Honey harvested
[PLACEHOLDER: 2026 harvest date not in the beekeepers' records yet]
Up to about 30 lb, a light year [VERIFY: estimate, Joe to confirm]

13 visits79 plants recorded25 of them bee flowers8 kinds of insects, birds and other animals

[VERIFY: species to be checked by a botanist]

What the bees were working.

Main forage: Clover and Alfalfa

Set within rolling regenerative pastures and wood-fringed meadows, the Schaghticoke apiary draws from a landscape alive with clover, alfalfa, and summer wildflowers. These fields, managed for soil health and pasture-raised cattle, host thriving nectar corridors where bees move freely between open grasslands and nearby hedgerows of sumac and aster.

When we saw them in bloom

	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep
red cloverTrifolium pratense
brownray knapweedCentaurea jacea
white cloverTrifolium repens
wild carrotDaucus carota
eastern daisy fleabaneErigeron annuus
alsike cloverTrifolium hybridum

Wildflower honey.

This honey embodies the gentle abundance of a living pasture—golden and luminous, with aromas of fresh hay and wild clover. On the tongue, it opens with creamy sweetness, then deepens into warm herbal and floral tones. The finish is soft, reminiscent of summer breezes over blooming fields, balanced by a whisper of earth from healthy soils.

Tasting notes