LAUREL — According to a 2012 study by the National Agriculture Statistics Service, Montana ranks within the top five states for honey production.
Even though Montana agriculture is dependent on beekeeping, in the treasure state, honey can only be extracted for three months of out the year: July, August, September.
One Laurel apiary began its extraction season in late July. Because of the high production rate, along with the hot and sticky working conditions, the honey extracting season is quite labor intensive.
See inside the Drange Apiary during the honey extracting season below:
The Drange Apiary, founded 15 years ago, is a Laurel commercial beekeeping business that contains 6,000 beehives across 200 different sites.
"From all the way here in Laurel, to Hysham, and then up to Broadwater, and some out in Big Timber," said Jodie Drange, the co-owner of the apiary.
Drange married into the beekeeping business, but said she's always been passionate about agriculture.
"Agriculture has always been a plan, even though I grew up in Ackron, Ohio. I did rabbits for 4-H.... Agriculture is the most important industry. If you wear clothes, if you eat food, if you drive a car, you have to have agriculture," she said Wednesday.
On Wednesday, employees at the Drange Apiary were extracting honey, which is quite a lengthy process.
Wood frames containing honey and honeycomb are placed onto a conveyor belt, which works to separate the wax from the honey. The frames are then placed in a metal centrifugal extractor, which rapidly spins the frames to separate the honey from the wood. Afterwards, the honey and wax are separated one last time before the canning process.
According to Drange, the honeycomb is melted together and turned into beeswax, which is typically used for candles, cosmetics, or food products.
"We're probably going at least three days a week right now. If it's a really good year, we're going at least five days a week," she said.
The honey, once extracted, is canned into 55 pound barrels (seen in the photo below). On Wednesday, Drange said the apiary has already filled 250 barrels for the season. Each barrel holds about 650 pounds of honey.
The amount of honey the bees produce each year depends on the climate, according to Drange. In a dry season, the bees may only produce about 20 to 25 pounds of honey, per hive. Drange said on a good year though, the bees can produce over 100 pounds of honey, per hive.
"Bees make honey from nectar. Nectar is from the plant. So (if) the plants aren't doing well because of the drought... they don't have the nectar to throw up. So if there's no nectar, there's no honey. So literally we end up, by the end of summer, feeding our bees," she said.
RELATED|'Just roll with it': Montana apiaries healing from sting of low honey production
Drange also explained the bees only produce honey for a short amount of time during the year. She said in the early winter months, the bees are pollinating almonds in California. In April, the bees return to Montana where they begin making honey. By early fall, the honey extraction process begins, and the bees are shipped to Idaho to hibernate.
"Honeybees are actually the angels of agriculture," said Drange. "So us as commercial beekeepers, we're actually keeping those hives alive."
Of course, extracting honey makes the apiary profit, however Drange explained that the bees pollinating California almonds is what keeps the company afloat.
"The farmers need us to pollinate the crops... Without us, there wouldn't be agriculture," she said.
The honey extraction process takes 11 employees at the apiary to make possible.
"It's hard work, and everyday work," said David Botha, one of the apiary's employees.
Botha is one of five employees at the apiary who are from South Africa. They are a part of the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Program, which allows interested employees from foreign countries to do agricultural-related labor in the United States.
"We love being here and teaching this. I never thought in my wildest dreams I would ever love beekeeping this much," said Botha on Wednesday.
Botha said when he returns to South Africa in October, he plans on taking his beekeeping skills home.
"The skills that I'm learning are of the best in the world," he said. "Beekeeping (is) such an important, very low-key, sort of profession. Nobody really talks about it."
"We have a hard time finding employees here that want to work in a sticky, hot, and get stung, operation," said Drange. "They're really great guys. They've become family."
Both Drange and Botha agree, the hard, laborious work is rewarding though.
"Bees are responsible for one third of all the food we eat," said Drange. "There wouldn't be Montana agriculture without beekeepers."
"Everything starts and ends with the bees in our agriculture," Both said.
To learn more about the Drange Apiary and how to take care of bees in Montana, visit the apiary's Facebook page at this link.
