Yuma beekeepers set to open new shop

News 11's Adonis Albright gets the buzz on the importance of bees

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Nikki's Chickies Farm is set to open up a new shop in Yuma next weekend. The owners, Nikki and Taylor Burns, own a farm in Somerton where they have anything from chickens, pigs, to of course: bees.

“I’d say about five or six years ago my husband Tyler - his dad - had a few hives, and it all started out when I got stung for the first time ever, it was not a pleasant experience", said Burns.

Since then, Nikki and Tyler went from having their own farm, to having their own shop. Nikki wants the public to know about the importance of bees, not only for our ecosystem at large, but especially for Yuma's agricultural community.

“They pollinate a lot of our foods… definitely need to be there for the tomatoes, all of the other kind of vegetables and fruits. Without that, people aren’t going to have as high of a crop or as many tomatoes and vegetables as they would like in their garden.”

The shop sells a wide variety of things, from raw honey, medjool date bread, skin care products, and other bee-related merchandise, there's a little something for everyone.

With roughly 20,000 bee species in the world, Nikki is hoping to educate the community on what it takes to be a beekeeper, but also dispel some common misconceptions about bees.

“The biggest one would be africanized [bees]. People are really, really afraid of them, which I don’t blame them, like I said I was afraid of bees at first too, and sometimes I still am today, right?… They also can feel off your pheromones, too, so if you’re scared, they can feel that, they’re going to be scared.”   

Nikki's Chickies Farm will be opening up its shop next weekend along S First Avenue from 11 AM to 6 PM, from Sunday to Friday. To visit their website, click here.