MARTINSVILLE, Ind. – A different kind of farming that attracts up to 100,000 visitors a year occurs where an Indiana soybean field once existed.

Hunter’s Honey Farm also specializes in raising Christmas trees, maple syrup production and other things like having fun with and educating their guests mostly from schools, churches and other organizations like 4-H.

The farm in Martinsville is a labor of love for owners, Tracy and Christina Hunter, who are both retired schoolteachers.

Tracy, a third-generation beekeeper, said he’s had hives ever since he was 14 when his grandfather helped get him started.

After he and his wife were engaged, Hunter relocated his hives a short distance from Mooresville where he grew up to the soybean field he purchased in 1990 and later transformed into an agritourism destination.

They have about 1,000 hives, including one where visitors, wearing beekeepers’ suits, can look into and watch the bees making honey.

“Sometimes, we let them feed the bees right out of their hands,” he said.

Bees eat a mixture of honey, pollen and saliva after it has fermented inside the hive. The material is removed and given to visitors as feed for the bees.

Guided educational tours of the honey-making operation are offered along with hayrides. Also available are tours of the 100-acre forest on the property where about 300 maple trees are tapped to collect sap later boiled down into syrup at the farm. The tours include an explanation on how syrup and honey are made.

“I like to educate them on honeybees and what it takes to go from the bee to the bottle,” he said.

In addition, there’s a gift shop with products from local artisans and other things like beeswax candles made on site from materials captured from inside the hives.

Visitors can also sit at a sampling table inside the gift shop and taste up to 50 different types of honey made on the property. The varieties include raw honey, coffee-infused honey, honey lemonade and pumpkin-infused honey.

Bee venom sold for medicinal use is among the other products extracted from the hives belonging to the couple.

Hunter said another major part of the operation is using his bees to pollinate the melons, apples, cucumbers and pumpkins of his customers within the region.

The farm has 4,000 Christmas trees at the farm. The first ones were planted in 2000 to provide an extra source of income.

The farm is open year-round from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Monday through Saturday except Thanksgiving.

For now, Hunter said he has no plans to retire from what’s become a full-time job despite years of enduring the occasional honeybee sting through his beekeeper’s suit.

Hunter said it’s been years since a bee sting has caused him any swelling, but he’s not become immune to the pain. Nevertheless, Hunter said the pain doesn’t outweigh the love he has for handling his bees and making honey.

“My wife and I, we wake up in the morning talking about honeybees and we go to bed at night talking about honeybees. Just like any farming, this is our way of life.  I enjoy it thoroughly,” he said.