Honey — The Royal Agricultural Society

We're excited to announce that the KZN Bee Farmers Association will be returning to the Honey Hall at the Royal Agricultural Exhibition this year. They will be hosting one of the most prestigious honey competitions in the country, while presenting a display that will be of great interest to visitors.

Last year, the Honey Hall was awarded a Gold Medallion from the Royal Agricultural Society's judges committee, as well as the Royal Industrial Floating Trophy for Best Display in an Individual Building.

The Honey Hall is open to the public over the six days of the Royal Agricultural Exhibition, from Thursday 23 May to Tuesday 28 May, at the Royal Showgrounds in Pietermaritzburg. It will offer visitors honey tasting and an opportunity to watch live bees at work, and has beekeeping equipment for sale. Many experienced beekeepers will be on site to answer all your questions.

The competition classes in the Apiarian Section will include liquid, granulated and creamed honey, comb honey, and beeswax, as well as dry, semi-sweet and sweet mead, in both traditional and metheglin (spiced) variants.

The competition will be judged by renowned honey judge Reg Morgan, who has been a beekeeper since 1982 and a judge since the mid-1990s. While Rector of St James Anglican Church in Greytown, Morgan led the Honey Section at the Royal Show for many years.

This year’s entries can be viewed by visitors and it is a great opportunity to appreciate the wonderful diversity of real honey, which is sadly increasingly being replaced by syrups masquerading as honey in our supermarkets. The honey competition attracts entrants from around the country, and there will be a wide range of real, top-quality local honeys for sale.

The Honey Hall has been run for many years by the dedicated members of the KZN Bee Farmers Association, a voluntary group that aims to promote beekeeping and associated industries and products.

Members of this association aim to expand specialist knowledge on beekeeping, and to educate the public about bees, honey, and other bee products, such as beeswax, propolis, and mead.

For interested competitors, entry forms and full details on the classes and regulations are available for download below.

The closing date for all entries is Monday 20 May, and judging will take place on Tuesday 21 May at 09h00.

Download Entry Form

Download Prize List & Entry Form