Field Honey Farms currently uses the Modified Dadant (MD) beehive. It is the largest hive type, used by many commercial beekeepers, and its size is not simply for maximum honey yield, but has other benefits for the bees too. Pictured below, MD hives at the start of the new season. They are at minimal size at this time, consisting of simply the large 11-frame Brood Chamber.

 The Brood Chambers of an MD hive are deeper and wider than those of other hive types, and this means the bees have more space available to store honey and pollen around their brood nest.

(Above, an open MD hive -this one empty of bees- showing the 11-frames)

The health of the brood nest is critical to the productive life of the colony. Having an abundance of honey and pollen stores closely available is very important for feeding grubs and young bees emerging for the first time.

(Above & below) worker bees returning to the hive with pollen

(In the picture below two pollen cells can be seen, upper right, and centre)

Together with the stores of honey, (pictured below) the colony has the provisions it needs to raise new generations of bees. 

Below - young bees clustering around sealed and unsealed brood to keep it warm...

...a closer look (below) at sealed and unsealed cells, with the grubs visible in the cells near the bottom of the picture...

...and a closer view of the grubs in the unsealed cells below, with young bees visible tending to them.