Fat Head Honey in Colfax County, Nebraska is a company dedicated to producing exceptional honey with unique flavors. By working closely with bees and carefully selecting the local flora from which they gather nectar, Fat Head Honey offers a truly distinctive taste experience. Whether you are a gourmet or just starting to explore the world of fine foods, Fat Head Honey is sure to impress with its unmatched flavor and quality.
Kathy Suchan, co-owner of Fat Head Honey, shares her insight on what it’s like being a business owner – although she never thought she’d be a beekeeper. “I was always fascinated with them bees,” she said, “but I was an aspiring artist.” That changed when she moved to South Carolina, where the urban homestead trend was taking off. She started backyard beekeeping and eventually even got involved with a honey company. But it was when she moved back to Nebraska and met her husband Brian, a fourth-generation beekeeper, that she knew she had found her calling. “It was a whole meant-to-’bee’ situation,” she said. Now, she and Brian operate Fat Head Honey together, a thriving honey bee farm company.
When Kathy and Brian were trying to come up with a name for their beekeeping business they decided to use their bulldog Pork Chop as inspiration. “We always called him Fat Head,” Kathy said, “so Brian was like, ‘What about Fat Head Farms?’ It was kind of a joke, but we sent it in and lo and behold, it came back as a yes, our new company name is Fat Head Farms.” And with that, their business was born. Pork Chop, along with their other two Bulldogs, have since become the face of the company.
Kathy and Brian strive to keep their beehives as natural as possible. They use time-honored hive management practices to keep their bees healthy. They rotate mite treatments and minimize placement of colonies near commercial agriculture to avoid possible exposure to chemicals. In addition, they are non-migratory beekeepers and chose to keep their bees right here in Nebraska due to the harshness of travel on bees.
Kathy and Brian go above and beyond to prioritize their bees’ health. “There have been times where I’ve been scheduled to be somewhere, but we just can’t make it because of the obligations of tending to the bees,” Suchan said. Despite this, they still value attending local markets like Junkstock, and being involved in the community. “Seeing our customers and being able to answer beekeeping questions is just super important to us,” Suchan said. “We wish we could do more of them, but our primary goal is the bees. We want to remain small and very involved in what we do,” she explained.
For Kathy Suchan, success is defined by her ability to work together with her husband and share their passion for beekeeping with their community. “Just us working together as a little family unit and being part of our community makes us feel like we’re doing what we’ve always wanted to do,” Suchan said. She believes that when people are passionate about something, it comes across as genuine and is evident in their business.
For Suchan, the most fulfilling part of her job is being able to live out her passion every day. “Sometimes I have to pinch myself,” she said. “Is this a dream?” She enjoys being an entrepreneur, owning her own business, and working alongside her husband with the same core values. “It’s hard work, don’t get me wrong,” she said, “but it’s good because you’re working towards something you’re passionate about. It’s just a wonderful thing.”
According to Suchan, the best way to ensure you’re getting good honey is to go straight to the source and know your beekeeper. “A lot of the time, when you see organic honey on a label, it’s coming from a totally different country and the regulations are a little bit different,” she said. “If you want the good stuff, you need to know your beekeeper.” She emphasized the importance of shopping local and small and said that it’s a core value for Fat Head Honey.
Suchan has some advice for aspiring business owners and beekeepers. “Know your worth, know your value,” she said. “Your time and your care that goes into it is worth something.” For beekeepers specifically, she emphasized the importance of putting the bees first. “If you have bees, but they’re not healthy, you don’t have a bee business,” she said. “Bee health is absolutely number one.”
The Suchans are both Nebraska natives and have no desire to leave their home state. “It’s close to our families and it feels like home,” Suchan said. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Beekeeping benefits the state’s ecosystems and provides economic benefit to Nebraska’s communities. By purchasing locally produced honey, individuals can help to keep hardworking beekeepers in business,while preserving the natural environment and ensuring a thriving food system for future generations. Plus, who doesn’t love the sweet taste of locally produced honey? It’s a win-win for everyone.
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