Beekeeper
Employer: Barkman Apiaries, LLC
Location: Blountstown, FL
Workers needed: 12
Pay: $16.00/hour
Season: Jan 11, 2027 – Nov 11, 2027
Experience: 3 months
Employer-provided housing; Transportation provided/reimbursed
The job
Crops/Commodities:
honeybees, honey.
Primary duties (performed the majority of workdays):
Perform manual and mechanical duties related to commercial beekeeping and honey production. Must be familiar with working with bees in all stages, from egg through mature workers, drones and queens. Must work all aspects of beekeeping. Access colony to determine if food or medicine is needed. Feeding and medicate bees for diseases and pests. Maintain hives in healthy state. Raise and replace queens. Make divides. Make, paint and clean boxes. Harvest/extract honey. Run queen breeding yard and produce queen bees. Manipulate and service hive structures. Haul bees to and from different hive locations. Ensure healthy and productive honeybee colonies. Harmonize bees with their natural cycle. Must be familiar with mechanized extraction equipment. Cap and handle combs. Mechanically separate wax from honey. Maintenance of all mechanical equipment. Assist with refining wax and processing honey. Prepare honey by filtration and/or moisture reduction before final packaging. Blend and filter wax before final packaging for sale. Must have no fear of bees and be non-allergic to bee stings, pollen, honey or other products of the hive. Must have field-based honey bee experience. Must assess colonies to determine if colonies require additional storage capacity, more time for honey to be finished, or whether honey is ready for removal. Carefully remove honey from colony to prevent loss of queen. Take careful consideration of procedures to prevent hazardous conditions.
Allergies to ragweed, goldenrod, honey bees, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, or related chemicals may affect a worker's ability to perform the job. Workers should be able to do the work required with or without reasonable accommodations. Persons seeking employment in this position must be available for the entire period requested by the employer. Must wear assigned personal protective equipment when required. Must report for work daily wearing work clothing and boots or other durable foot wear. Shorts, bathing suits or other casual clothing not permitted. Workers wearing clothing inappropriate for work will not be permitted to start work. Workers must operate equipment, with or without direction, in a manner that protects operator, visitors, other workers, products, trees, crops and equipment. Failure to comply with safety requirements and operating instructions may result in termination.
Employer requires all newly-hired employees to take and pass an employer-paid drug test before starting work, at random and upon reasonable suspicion. Drug test not required for prospective applicants prior to hiring decision. All testing is conducted uniformly after an initial job offer has been extended and accepted by the new hire. Workers testing positive will be immediately terminated and paid for all hours worked between the first date of employment and the date of termination, if any. In the case of a non-local or foreign worker who is terminated for failure to pass a drug test, the employer will arrange least-cost transportation to the worker's place of recruitment, at the worker's expense. The employer will also test at random. Employer requires all newly hired employees to take and pass an employer-paid background check. All background checks are conducted uniformly after an initial job offer has been extended and accepted by the new hire. Applicants found to have felony convictions (including, but not limited to assault, child molestation, sex or drug-related convictions) will be immediately terminated out of concern for general public safety, and paid for all hours worked between the first date of employment and the date of termination, if any. In the case of a foreign worker who is terminated for cause resulting from findings of the background check, the employer will arrange least-cost transportation to the worker's place of recruitment, at the worker's expense.
Housing: Employer-provided (including mobile or range)
Meals: Employer does not provide meals. Employer-provided housing includes free and convenient kitchen facilities with appropriate equipment, appliances, cooking accessories, and dishwashing facilities for meal preparation. For workers residing in employer-provided housing, employer also provides free transportation once per week to/from closest town or city for personal errands (e.g., groceries, banking services). Dining, kitchen/cooking facilities and other common areas are shared by all workers. In the event that kitchen facilities become unavailable during the contract period, employer will provide three daily meals in accordance with 20 CFR 655.122(g). In such circumstances, employer will deduct the cost of such meals up to the maximum allowable amount published in the Federal Register, or as otherwise approved by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Transport: Employer pays/reimburses foreign workers for all visa-related costs (excluding passport fees) in the first workweek. For non-local workers, employer arranges/provides inbound transportation via common carrier mode of transportation (e.g., bus or plane) and reimburses workers for daily subsistence and reasonable lodging costs, if applicable. Use of employer-offered transportation is voluntary.
Experience wanted: 3 months
This job requires a minimum of 3 months of verifiable agricultural experience working in a honeybee farm handling both manual and mechanized tasks associated with beekeeping and the production of honey. Applicants must be able to furnish verifiable job reference(s) or comparable third party documentation from recent employer(s) establishing acceptable prior experience. Workers must be able to perform manual and mechanized tasks with accuracy and efficiency. Work is done in the field for long periods of time. Workers may assist in handling product weighing up to 50 pounds and lifting to a height of 5 feet. Workers must work on their feet in bent positions for long periods of time. Work requires repetitive movements and extensive walking. Work required in fields when plants are wet with dew and rain, and may be required during light rain, snow, moderate winds, direct sun, high humidity and extreme temperatures.
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