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Spencer Marshall of Marshall 's Farm Living Your Best (Napa Valley) Life by Dr. Sharon ufberg, D.C. Wput in your mouth is directly pollinated by bees.hy should people care about bees and the health of bees?Well, the statistics say that every third bite of food that you Many people think of bees as a picnic nuisance, but these hard-working insects actually make it possible for lots of your favorite foods to reach your dinner table. Almonds, apples and pumpkins are just a few of the crops that bees pollinate. Having bees in the garden actually increases the yield of your produce. Bees are pollinators, a group that includes birds, bats, beetles and butterflies. Pollinators transfer pollen and seeds from one flower to another, fertilizing crops and plants so they can grow and produce food. Cross-pollination helps at least thirty percent of the world’s crops and ninety percent of our wild plants to thrive. Without bees to spread seeds, many plants and food crops would die off. And here in Northern California, we have the luxury of blooming trees and flowers year round, so our bees never need to hibernate. Rob Keller, beekeeper extraordinaire, cares for over 100 hives all over the Napa Valley, including Longmeadow Ranch, Farmstead, Oenotri restaurant, French Laundry, the Montessori school in St. Helena, and Connolly Ranch educational farm, to name a few. With his strong veterinary background, beekeeping was a natural choice for Rob. And as part of a group of twenty-five to thirty local beekeepers, Rob manages the health of many of our local bees and their hives. Rob spoke to me about the importance of making beekeeping within the city limits legal. He strongly believes locals should support backyard beekeeping. Rob noth photos byheLene MARshALL told me that “bees are doing far better in our urban areas.” “Our monoculture of wine grapes here in the Valley makes it more difficult LOCAL KEEPERS the vines to keep our bee population thriving.” Bee advocates are still fightingfor bees to forage,” Rob said, “and we need to encourage planting between WORK TO KEEP regulations no longer make sense in Napa Valley’s current sustainable livinglegislation from the 1940s that prevents bee-keeping within city limits. These HIVES THRIVING paradigm, so bee keepers like Rob are trying to remedy the current limitations.And what about our local honey? The best known local honey farm is Marshall’s Farm in American Canyon. This artisanally produced gourmet honey is pure, raw, uncooked, unfiltered, certified kosher and individually hand bottled. Marshall’s Farm is an all natural, sustainably farmed honey. For Hive keepers at Marshall 's Farm over twenty years, Spencer Marshall has been tending to the bees and their hives, while Helene, his wife, runs the business. With 300-600 hives around the Bay Area, Spencer is busy caring for his bees and providing dozens of local varieties of honey to fifteen farmers’ markets, online and in many restaurants and stores throughout Northern California. One of my favorites is their Honey So Fresh variety, which is honey sourced and bottled within the week of purchase. As an integrative health doctor, I have to recommend this option for allergy sufferers: try a daily teaspoon of local fresh honey to build immunity to local allergens and reduce your symptoms brought on by allergy sensitivity. The byline on the jar says, “Honey so fresh the bees don’t know it’s missing yet!” Find out more at http://www.marshallshoney.com Dr. Sharon Ufberg is a Napa-based integrative health practitioner, radio host, journalist, Huffpost blogger, consultant and global women’s activist. Website: www. drsharonufberg.com, Twitter:www.twitter.com/drufberg, or listen to her Alive and Kicking segment on WAMC.org’s 51% NPR radio. N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 45


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