The tastiest honey is from Lepel region. International experts confirm.

The 1st International Beekeeping Forum was held in Minsk. As part of the event, a beekeepers' competition was held to select the best honey.

Independent experts evaluated this product based on taste, aroma, consistency, and other parameters. As a result, the honey from the Lepel forestry enterprise was recognized as the most delicious.
Contacting the enterprise management by phone, we learned that the credit for this belongs to Alexander Reut, a hereditary expert in the "sweet" business.
Alexander Antonovich at work is like a real animal trainer. And although his charges are very small, they are no less dangerous to me than a wild animal. Does it sound funny? Then try to stick your hand into a beehive. But Alexander Antonovich does it easily and naturally.
-- Reveal the secret of your success.
-- First of all, there must be a caring attitude towards bees, because they understand everything. Like us, they can get angry or be in a calm state. If you do everything correctly and take care of them, the colonies will be healthy, and the beekeeper's activity will be productive.
Alexander speaks like an experienced connoisseur. And so it is, the man is a hereditary beekeeper. His grandfather kept bees in log hives. He had 5-10 colonies. But his father already had a large apiary – 40 colonies. It was they who instilled a love for the craft in Alexander, taught him to care for the striped insects. Apparently, it was passed down at the genetic level somewhere.
-- Bees are very hardworking. Just imagine that they collect honey all summer, are very attached to their family, and spare no effort or life for the well-being of the hive.
-- And did you get stung by hardworking bees in childhood?
-- Not without that. I didn't have special clothes, I covered myself with a jacket. They flew into the sleeves, stung under my eyes. Once, after an appendectomy, my arm swelled badly from a bee sting, and I wore a bandage. Perhaps my body was weakened. Now, after being stung by 1-2 bees, there is no swelling, but the sensation is not entirely pleasant, -- my interlocutor smiles.
We asked Alexander if he had studied beekeeping somewhere. It turns out that his acquired profession is not related to bees at all. The man is originally from Zateklyesye, where he also finished elementary school, then studied for a couple of years at the Pyshnyanskaya school and finished the Polsvizhskaya basic school, where the family moved to permanently.

place of residence.
Having obtained the specialty of "tractor driver-machinist" at Lepel SPTU-175 in 1991, he studied at DOSAAF for a couple of months and then went to serve in the missile forces in Mozyr.
After demobilisation, he worked for 11 years at the "Lepel" branch of ZAO "Vitebskagroprodukt", then worked as a gamekeeper in a hunting farm and at other enterprises, but always wanted to be closer to nature.
A couple of years ago, Alexander's mother saw an advertisement in the district newspaper for a vacant beekeeper position at the forestry enterprise. That's how he ended up here.
From the first days, Alexander Antonovich found common ground with the enterprise director, Andrey Borodich, and is grateful to him for his support in all matters. For example, this year there was a dry spring, due to which honey plants bloomed for a short time and not abundantly. There was little pollen, and it was necessary to constantly search for places for honey collection. Thanks to Andrey Ivanovich, phacelia was sown – an excellent honey plant. The plant blooms for a long time and is unpretentious. And the honey from it turns out to be pleasant to the taste and with an amazing aroma.
Andrey Ivanovich also plans to buy a creamer in the future for blending and creaming honey. Blending is the mixing of different types of honey. Having several types of honey and loading it into the creamer, you can mix them evenly and get another type.
When creaming, cream honey is produced, which is popular with consumers. Then, nuts, seeds, and other ingredients can be added to it, resulting in a tasty and healthy product.
In addition, at the "Dolgoe" recreation centre, they plan to provide apiotherapy services, or as it is also called, "sleeping on beehives".
-- And how do the enterprise's bees get to different fields?
-- The beehives are moved at the forestry enterprise, -- says the man.
-- How is that?
-- The beehives are on mobile platforms, which makes it possible to choose the best location for honey collection. And now they have been moved to a quiet village for wintering, where they are protected from the wind by trees. There is a garden nearby, which means in the spring they will have a place to collect honey.
-- I don't understand much about the specifics of your work in autumn, but I suppose there are plenty of concerns not only in summer…
-- That's right, there is always plenty of work. The bees have already been fed for the winter, treated for ticks, now I am insulating them and ensuring ventilation. I need to think of something else against the harmful titmice that disturb the striped workers. I will also regularlyto visit the apiary and observe the insects.
-- And how can tits cause harm?
-- They sit on the entrance board until 1-2 bees fly out and become their prey.
So, we will also have to take care of feeding the birds. For this, many beekeepers hang feeders in winter near the apiaries and constantly add feed. That's how much needs to be considered!
At first glance, beekeeping does not seem difficult: to set up hives and collect honey. The main thing, it seems, is not to be afraid of these insects. In reality, there is a lot of work to be done all year round. Besides, beekeeping is a specific activity and not everyone can do it.
-- As I understand it, you also have your own apiary.
-- Yes, I do. In addition to 100 families in the forestry enterprise, I have another 40 near my home. Here I am very grateful to my wife Tatyana, who devotes a lot of effort to honey extraction. At first, it was difficult for her, but now she is my main assistant.
-- And what kind of honey do you prefer?
-- There's no accounting for taste. Each is good in its own way, but I prefer wildflower honey.
Beekeepers mainly collect linden, rapeseed, buckwheat, and wildflower honey. This depends on the honey-bearing plants within the bees' flight range, approximately 2-4 km from the apiary.
We congratulate Alexander Antonovich on his well-deserved victory and wish him to continue his beloved work for the benefit of the Lepel region.

Natalia Khrapovitskaya. Newspaper "Lepelsky Krai"