Hope Gruzlovic
(609)292-8896
hope.gruzlovic@ag.state.nj.us

New Jersey's Secretary of Agriculture Art Brown presented this year's Best of Show Awards in honey and honey product competition to Wolfgang Kuehn of Jackson, who also took top honors in last year's event. Brown also presented Honey Queen Alexandra Leuchs of Jackson and Honey Princess Justina Puvel of Jacobstown with a joint resolution from the Senate and the Assembly recognizing the contributions of beekeepers to agriculture in the Garden State. Brown noted that beekeeping is one of the oldest agricultural pursuits, with domestic honeybees introduced into this country by the earliest European colonists. "Nationally the honeybee is directly or indirectly related to the production of one-third of our food and fiber," Brown said. "Here in New Jersey, where the honeybee is the state insect, more than $208 million worth of crops required bees for pollination." Kuehn placed first in extracted light, extracted dark, creamed honey, chunk honey, beeswax candle, novelty candle, novelty beeswax, block beeswax and sweet mead and took best of division in extracted dark, beeswax, comb products and mead. There are approximately 10,000 managed colonies of bees statewide which produce an average of over 45 pounds of honey per colony. Each year, approximately 18,000 colonies of bees are imported into the state to help pollinate New Jersey's crops. A complete list of this year's winners follows.

Best of Division: Extracted Honey
        Wolfgang Kuehn, Jackson

Best of Division: Comb Products
        Wolfgang Kuehn, Jackson Best of Division: Beeswax
        Wolfgang Kuehn, Jackson Best of Division: Mead
        Wolfgang Kuehn, Jackson

1 lb. Extracted Light Honey


1. Wolfgang Kuehn, Jackson
   Fred Sanger, Hainsesport
   
2. Marian Chandler, West Caldwell

1 lb. Block of Beeswax


1. Wolfgang Kuehn, Jackson
   PJ's Apiary, Jobstown
   
2. Frank Wooden, Stockton

1 lb. Extracted Light Amber Honey


1. Gerd Boehnke, Jackson
   Bob Hughes, Yardville
   
2. PJ's Apiary, Jobstown

Dry Mead
        Tom Fuscaldo, Paterson Sweet Mead


1. Wolfgang Kuehn, Jackson
   
2. Joe Batic, Bloomfield

1 lb. Extracted Dark Honey


1. Wolfgang Kuehn, Jackson
   PJ's Apiary, Jobstown
   
2. Fred Sanger, Hainsesport

Mead with Fruit Juice


1. Fred Sanger, Hainesport
   
2. Wolfgang Kuehn, Jackson

1 lb. Extracted Amber Honey


1. Bob Hughes, Yardville
   Marian Chandler, West Caldwell
   
2. Oliver Puig, Mt. Arlington

Creamed Honey
        Wolfgang Kuehn, Jackson Chunk Honey
        Wolfgang Kuehn, Jackson Frame of Honey
        Frank Wooden, Stockton Candle (Beeswax)


1. Wolfgang Kuehn, Jackson
   
2. PJ's Apiary, Jobstown

Novelty Candle


1. Wolfgang Kuehn, Jackson
   
2. PJ's Apiary, Jobstown

Novelty Beeswax


1. Wolfgang Kuehn, Jackson
   
2. PJ's Apiary, Jobstown