Burns Boys Honey | Louisiana | Air Force
Jaydee Burns’ first beekeeping experience began with his father when he was about 13 years old. Together with his younger brother and dad, they collected their first swarms from a neighbor’s house and tree. These bees served as their families first two hives in Vernal, Utah.
After moving to Louisiana in 2013 with his own family, Jaydee wanted to help his children understand the value of agriculture and its importance to our country. He started beekeeping that year with his sons and daughters to help them feel more comfortable around the bees and teach the importance of bees as pollinators for our food sources.
With the help of his wife and their six children, they own and operate Burns Boys Honey in Bossier City, Louisiana. The added benefit is the honey they receive – which goes great on his wife’s (Shaunda) homemade bread.
As an Air Force Missile Operator, Jaydee was given the opportunity to defend our great nation and its number one resource – its people. Along that path he met and worked with individuals from all different kinds of backgrounds and circumstances. Each one brought different experiences and capabilities, but collectively they had one goal and objective that always brought them together – this great land.
The Air Force provided Jaydee with an opportunity to see and live in many great places around this beautiful nation: from the heartland of corn in Nebraska and Kansas, to the flower fields of California, to the buffalo ranches and vast wheat fields of Montana, to the vegetable gardens of Wyoming, and then finally to the warmth of rice fields and crawfish in Louisiana.’
In 2016 as he was leaving active duty, Jaydee decided it was a great time to expand their little honey bee hobby and begin growing the total number of hives and apiaries. To this day, he continues to grow a little each year and looks forward to having over 50 hives this year.
He loves the work ethic that agriculture instills into the hearts and minds of those who farm.
Growing up on a small farm helped him learn the importance of hard work, being a good steward of the land, and the feeling of accomplishment after a harvest is all in. It’s that work ethic he wants to hand down to his children, and beekeeping is one way that he can do that on the limited amount of land and time he can dedicate to it.
Jaydee joined FVC in 2019 when a fellow beekeeper and veteran introduced him to the coalition. “I’ve enjoyed learning and using the farming and business resources available on the FVC website as we grow our business and farm adventure.”
With this added knowledge, some help from great mentors and his family, and now a Fellowship Fund grant, he has steadily upgraded their honey processing system from hand cranked…and stepped into the 21st Century to some automation in their extracting process – electric uncapper and extractors.
Jaydee is a member of the Ark-La-Tex Beekeepers Club in Northwest Louisiana, and currently serves as Vice President. He also serves as a Louisiana’s State Delegate to the American Beekeeping Federation (ABF).
