And the winner is...

Adriana Compagnoni

You probably noticed from my recent social media posts that I've been a busy bee (I love puns!) preparing entries for the New Jersey Honey Show.

The results for the 2020 Honey Show are in!

Drum roll...

I won Best in Show!

The entry that qualified for Best in Show is this photograph of my bees.

I love this picture. I was checking the bees, it was late in the season. The bees were bringing in lots of pollen to store for the winter, and the sunset light was shinning on a frame of honeycomb. The angle of the light was just right, and the glow of the pollen in the cells was beautiful.

I imagined the conversation between the bees: "That pollen looks delicious! Where did you find it?"

And I couldn't resist taking the picture.

There will be a limited edition of signed, numbered and matted prints for sale after the NJBA winter meeting auction on February 1st, 2020.

I also won Division Best in Extracted Honey.

These are the actual 3 jars I submitted.

So now you know. The judges said it. Our honey is the Best in the State of New Jersey. Limited availability here.

I also submitted these soaps to the Cosmetics Division, and they took second place. This soap is called Rosemary Dream. Get it here.

Besides the bragging rights we get when we win, the Honey Show allows us to bring awareness in Trenton to support beekeeping in the State of New Jersey.

While I am a hobbyist and my bees help our local environment, my fellow commercial beekeepers play an essential role in bringing food to our table. However, beekeeping is often an invisible component of farming. When we go apple picking in the Fall, we often forget that where there’s an apple once there were a flower and a bee.

So now you know that when you buy our soap, our lip balm, or a jar of our honey, you are helping beekeeping.

Here you can see a picture of the display at the State House in Trenton.