MSU offers beekeeping program for military vets

Heroes to Hives is a new program at Michigan State University designed help veterans by teaching them beekeeping skills. We use beekeeping to address the financial and personal wellness of veterans through professional training and community development.

Veterans work in teams to manage hives, so they leave our program with personal with professional relationships that open opportunities and ensure long-term support along with the skills to successfully manage a small beekeeping operation. Heroes to Hives graduates will have opportunities for small business ownership, employment in commercial beekeeping operations, and ways to diversify their farm incomes.

The partnership between veterans and honey bees represents a new mission for our nation’s heroes as they learn to manage our smallest and most important livestock.

Heroes to Hives supports the financial and personal health of Michigan’s military veteran community through a formal 9-month beekeeping education program. Our program objectives for our students include proficiency in the following areas:

• Honey bee biology and behaviors
• Hive handling
• Diagnosing and treating honey bee pests and pathogens
• Producing high quality honey
• Overwintering bees in northern climates
• Michigan Beekeeping Laws and Regulations
• Habitat management for pollinators
  
• Small business development

Click here for more background on the Heroes for Hives program. A copy of the 2017 application can be found here.

Contact Lacey Ingrao with questions at (517) 492-7474 or ingraol1@msu.edu.