Hobbyist And Farmers Benefit From Bees

Some of the products from Dell City Honey.

Let's take some time to honor one of our smaller creatures on this planet, a stellar pollinator, the honeybee. While they can be found with their own nests/hives, they can also be cultivated by human beekeepers, who utilize them for the product of their pollination skills - honey.

David Jastram is a beekeeper in rural South Dakota, a man who knows the value of bees. He values these small creatures for their ability to connect the circle of life. By pollinating local plants, bees help plants to survive and produce the foods we eat, to the tune of more than 1/3 of the foods we consume. Confirmation of this helpful duty of his colonies' tenants comes from local farmers, who confirm how well their crops are doing when bee colonies are healthy. So, David keeps going with his enterprise, keeps along adding more hives, contributing to the welfare of his fellow farmers.



Mr. Jastrom discussed what motivates him, "With the continuing loss of habitat, the bees are in serious decline. I keep bees as a hobby, and have discovered a large amount of interest from rural land owners who would like to have bees on their property, but are fearful of them, so they are looking to others to place hives for them. That's where I can help."

By the way, not just the bees are hits, the honey is, too! Considering that his business is done from his home, that's saying quite a lot. Each frame in a beehive contains about three pounds of honey and each hive has about 18 frames. The honey is stored in 60-pound buckets. That is after the honey is extracted from the frames, utilizing a large centrifuge that is stored in the family garage. What makes the honey itself so delicious is the plant life around the hives, such plants as alfalfa, golden rod, and a variety of prairie flowers. With all of this wonderful plant-life in the area, the groundwork for great honey just comes from nature. And David gets to extract and package it.

One of David's hives placed on a neighbor's property.

All of this has allowed David to keep building up his hobby into something of a side business, with more hives spread throughout the area, so more farmers can benefit with better crops. And for David, it's a win, too, since he gets to provide bee-produced products to local markets, through his enterprise, DELL CITY HONEY. And just so you know, it's not just honey that's a final product. There are beauty products, too, such as lip balm in such scents as spearmint, wintergreen, cherry, and peppermint, and hand cream in buttercup, lemon, and rose. You can also get creamed honey. The advantage? They're all made of natural ingredients.

Male drones kicked out of the hive as colder weather comes, their usefulness to the hive spent.

Thanks for information from this article on Pollination Project: https://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/david-jastram-artificial-habitat-for-honey-bees/; this article from Argus Leader: http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/dell-rapids/2015/09/08/buzzing-part-business/71709508/; and the above link.

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