WHAT WE DO
HELPING BEEKEEPERS BENEFITS LANDOWNERS
The American Bee Project helps commercial beekeepers rebuild and strengthen bee colonies by encouraging landowners who have suitable vacant land to make such land available to beekeeping. Landowners receive real estate tax, insurance, maintenance and other benefits for allowing beekeepers use of their land. We advocate that bee apiaries are an agricultural use of land, and therefore are entitled to the same real estate tax benefits as other agricultural uses such as cattle.
In Florida where we are based, we offer full support to our landowners, from documenting the beekeepers' use of the property, to handling insurance and illegal dumping issues, to applying for agricultural tax benefits, to negotiating with the government property appraisers (tax assessors), to handling any appeals that may be required to obtain the agricultural classification and obtain the tax refunds to which the owner may be entitled.
We are working to get uniform standards put in place around the country that will make it easier to qualify bees as an agricultural use for the full amount of forage land used by the bees to produce honey and rebuild bee colonies. Our 50 state guide makes it easy to check the laws in your state.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN BEE PROJECT
One out of every three bites of food we eat depends on the honey bee. Tragically, commercial bee colonies are collapsing throughout the United States and around the world at an alarming rate. Colony Collapse Disorder is linked to a type of pesticide introduced in 1999 that is widely used on agricultural products. It is imperative that beekeepers have access to land that has not been exposed to these substances to rebuild bee colonies.
The American Bee Project seeks to connect owners of vacant land with commercial beekeepers. We are working with state and local governments throughout America to establish commercial beekeeping as a legal agricultural use of land. By leasing their vacant land to a commercial beekeeper for legitimate commercial agricultural use, property owners may be able to save thousands of dollars on their property taxes while helping to save the bees. Commercial beekeepers use the land to make honey and rebuild the health of their hives. Together we can save the bees, and ourselves, one acre at a time.
