Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Couple Keeping Busy As Bees During Retirement

Beekeeping has proved to be the perfect retirement cottage industry for Curtis residents Dale and Judy Wilson. For three of the 11 years the Wilsons have resided in Clark County, beekeeping has been an enjoyable year-round work.

Dale Wilson, of Dale's Honey Farm, began beekeeping after attending Clark County Extension's class with a $500 investment in equipment, bees and accessories for one hive. Originally, he had introduced the bees for the purpose of increasing the pollination for three old apple trees.

Unlike most insects and some other bees, the honey bee will pollinate all the flowers or blossoms in one area. Instead of going from flower to flower without order, the honey bee will work the same grouping of blossoms, such as an apple or other fruit trees, increasing the their harvest.

With all the equipment needed Wilson decided, "If your going to milk one cow, you may as well milk a hundred." He promptly increased his hives up to 25 at one time. Currently, he works 20 bee hives, producing 850 pounds of honey last year. Beekeeping requires only five to six hours of Wilson's time per week, not including harvest season.

Each hive may contain anywhere from 20 to 60 thousand bees.

During winter months the bees must still be feed. The hives are equipped with feeders which Wilson fills weekly with a gallon of sugar/water syrup.

Wilson commented on the abundant wild floral sources which support the bees. When beginning beekeeping he had a good 20 acres of clover for the bees to feast upon. But the harsh drought last year will force him to reseed the clover this year. In conjunction with another area farmer Wilson will move the bee hives into the Richwood community to assist in the pollination of soybean plants during the heat of summer.

Yearly, Wilson medicates the bees. Medications affects the honey, so beekeepers often do this in the winter, while the bees are not producing honey.

The medication protects the domestic bees from the verora mite, diseases and other parasites, which have eliminated the feral (wild) bee populations. "If you see bees swarming more than likely they're lose from their domestic hives," Wilson said. "There is no feral bees in Clark County."

Judy Wilson enjoys the later part of the business, working on the bottling, labeling and distribution with her husband.

Local businesses carrying the Dale's Honey Farm products are Thomerson's Drug Store, Plyler's Hardware, The Hair Barn, both AllCare locations in Arkadelphia, Paula Warner Antiques, Williams Saw Shop, Clark County Livestock, A.G. 3&1 Quick Stop, The Gourmet Getaway, The Fish Net in Caddo Valley, Herb, Spices and Teas in Donaldson, and Hunter's Tree Farm during the Christmas season.