Marshall's Farm Natural Honey

HIVE LOCATIONS: The hives are placed in 70 locations throughout the greater Bay Area. Additional migratory bee hives are taken to orange, alfalfa, and other fields on a seasonal basis. It's approximately 41 miles from the Marshall's honey house in American Canyon to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.

PEOPLE: Spencer and Helene Marshall along with 3 full-time and 4 part-time workers

FARM HISTORY/PHILOSOPHY: Spencer was born into a farming family. At one point, his family needed him to run the harvesting operations at the Acampo ranch and care for his seriously injured father. While doing so, Spencer started a few beehives. Through trial and error, Spencer learned about the fine art of beekeeping. Eventually the bees became an obsession for him. Although he had bees in the Central Valley, he started hives in Marin County. This was the genesis of the Marshall Farm honey business. In addition to producing honey, the Marshalls offer honey tastings and tours of their facility.

HONEY PROCESSING: All honey is bottled at Marshall's Honey House in American Canyon. Marshall Farm honey is raw, unheated, and unfiltered. No heat whatsoever is used in the extraction of the honey, and the honey never rises above the temperature of the hive.

PEST MANAGEMENT: The Marshalls manage their biggest pest, the Varroa mite, by applying Thymol, which is a derivative of thyme.

ORGANIC CERTIFICATION: None. Some hives are not treated for varroa mite and are registered organic with the state of California. As of this writing, no national standards for honey have been established.