Three generations of beekeepers live the sweet life

BY GINNA YOUNG

COURIER SENTINEL

If you’ve ever picked up a bottle of pure honey at Walmart or Costco, it’s possible that honey came from Nohr Honey Ranch, located in Cornell. While the family’s operation is based at 24434 County Hwy. E, their bees end up not only in Wisconsin, but also Florida and California.

The three-generation business is primarily run by Israel Nohr, who has taken over the day-to-stay operations from his father, John Nohr.

“My dad’s always had bees,” said Israel.

John started his outfit in 1976.

“I had friend who was doing it and I helped him one summer,” said John. “And he was running bees for a guy from Florida, who was one of the biggest beekeepers in the world at the time.”

That beekeeper told John if he ever wanted a job, to look him up, which is just what John did. He was given bees to run from Florida, and the family’s beekeeping life began.

“And it just kind of snowballed,” said John.

John ended up buying his own bees from the Florida man, but when his oldest son was born, John says he didn’t want to go back and forth to Florida all the time. He then tried to winter the bees at home, but the mites that plague hives in the Midwest, made it all but impossible.

After that, John did construction for some time, then got back into it in the 1990s, and after Israel came along, had a helper by his side and someone to pass the knowledge onto.

“Nobody knows everything there is to know about it,” said John. “It’s just kind of a miracle.”

While the ranch provides a significant amount of raw honey, that’s not the Nohrs’ primary focus. Mainly, the family focuses on pollination efforts, for cranberry bogs and orchards, with hives located in Soldiers Grove and Door County, as well as other sites across Wisconsin.

“The one guy takes almost like 1,000 hives,” said Israel.

To combat the mites, each year, at the end of July or so, the hives are brought home, treated for mites and