Father, daughter beekeepers allowed to expand after dispute with Wake Forest

The controversy became public recently Frank Bowman and his 16-year-old daughter Kennedy aired out their issues on a Facebook post which attracted a lot of attention.

Kennedy is not new to beekeeping and maintaining beehives. "I teach beekeeping classes at numerous beekeeping associations," she said.

The father-daughter team had planned to expand their beekeeping interests on their property.

"I’ve grown up on this property," said Kennedy. "We’ve had bees here like 10 years now."

In March of 2023, town officials said they had observed the Bowmans were clearing land on the property without a permit and the absence of stream protections. As a result, the town posted a stop work order at the property.

Frank Bowman said, "We were looking for an amicable solution. That’s all we ever wanted."

He said, "That was our agricultural exemption. No town and no city anywhere in North Carolina can limit the number of honeybees that any citizen or any entity can own, according to the NC Honeybees Act of 1977."

On Jan. 26, Frank Bowman notified the town that Wake County had granted that exemption. By Jan. 31, the town and the Bowmans finalized their agreement which concluded, "The notice-of-violation has been rescinded."

The Town says it was rescinded because the family came into compliance with state law.

That was a relief for the family, but it still left Bowman with apprehension. He said, "We don’t want this to define the town of Wake Forest, and we definitely don’t want it to define Kennedy’s honeybees.

The Bowman family also manages a larger beehive operation in Warren County with about 200 hives. Their operation near their home in the Wake Forest area allows them to teach more people about beekeeping and its benefits for the environment.