CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Critical for apples, fruit, wine grapes, horticulture, and other crop pollination interests in our area, the Virginia Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications through September 10 for the 2025 Beehive Distribution Program. VDACS says the program provides free equipment for assembling new beehives to Virginia residents and is meant to increase the number of actively managed honeybee colonies throughout the Commonwealth.

Recipients of beehive units must assemble the equipment and occupy it with a colony of honeybees within one year of receiving the equipment. VDACS does not provide honeybees or equipment for managing the hives, such as personal safety equipment or honey processing equipment. Recipients of the equipment are selected at random from qualifying applications received during the application period.

Only residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia, aged 18 years or older at the time of application, qualify for the random drawing. Entities such as businesses, non-profit organizations, and government agencies are not eligible to receive beehive units. Multiple individuals with the same mailing and/or physical address (household) may apply to the program; however, distribution of beehive units will be limited to no more than three beehive units per household in the same fiscal year, July 1 to June 30.

“The Beehive Distribution Program provides beehives for increasing our pollinator population,” said State Apiarist Keith Tignor.

“Those pollinators go out to our farms, our forests, our meadows, and our wetlands, to pollinate plants and help them to reproduce, to increase the abundance of agricultural crops and to enhance the beauty, diversity, and the quality of our environment.”

VDACS distributes approximately 1,000 beehives to 400 or more individuals across the state each year. The program received more than 5,300 applications in 2024. Individuals who receive beehive equipment have access to support and technical skills sharing through VDACS, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and local beekeeping organizations across the state.

Click here for all the information and the application.