On Wednesday, July 25, Second Lady Karen Pence will visit Larson Apiaries, Inc. in Billings, Montana where the business owner, Todd Larson manages about 4,000 hives for honey production in Montana and Wyoming. Mrs. Pence will meet with the business owner to learn more about his bee business.
Last year, the Second Lady installed a beehive on the grounds of the Vice President’s Residence in Washington, DC. Today, about 60,000 bees live in the hive. Last week, the beekeeper extracted honey from the beehive at the residence for the first time since Mrs. Pence installed the hive.
“All types of pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, birds, and bats, are critical to providing our nation’s food, fiber, fuel, and medicine,” Mrs. Pence said. “However, our beekeepers have been losing colonies for many years. This presents a serious challenge to our ability to produce many of the agricultural products that we enjoy today. Bees provide an added bonus to the vegetable and flower gardens by making them well pollinated and taste even better at harvest. I am looking forward to the visit to Larson Apiaries, Inc. to see first-hand the Larson family’s contribution to our nation’s agriculture.”
(Read more)