NEW GLARUS - Jonah Thompson, son of Rebecca and Mark Thompson and an eighth-grade graduate from New Glarus middle school, is already playing an active, local role in increasing America's crop production, farming out his hives of Italian bees.
Now he's working closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop a computer application model to help farmers calculate how much better their crop yields could be with the use of the humble honey bee.
Thompson won the Wisconsin YES! grand prize for his application idea in early June, and he is funneling some of that cash award toward its development. The contest, produced by the Wisconsin Technology Council with major sponsorship from IBM and WEA Trust, is designed to teach students how innovation in science and technology fields can be developed into plausible business plans.
The USDA estimates honey bee pollination supports an estimated $15 billion worth of agricultural production, including more than 130 fruits and vegetables.
Thompson believes that value amount can be increased.
"Bees (populations) have been declining; they've fallen 50 percent since 1950," he said.
Thompson gravitated toward the bee industry out of curiosity, researching and studying it on his own, after seeing his uncle's hives.
He dove into it himself after recognizing the benefits of bees for crops, he said. The honey and wax seem to be an added bonus.
Self-taught in honey bee care and honey extraction, and with five years of experience, Thompson is looking to expand his five-hive business, T Boys Honey LLC, to 10 hives.
This summer, one hive is all abuzz near the garden in the backyard of his family's home; the bees in four other hives are going about their work in the fields of local farms.
Thompson raises a Golden Italian breed, which are gentle, prolific and faster honey producers than the hardier Carnolian or hybrid Buckfest breeds.
Each hive produces about 80 pounds of raw honey each year, which Thompson sells at farmer's markets in New Glarus and Paoli, along with a potential bulk order from a local bakery. The wax is gathered to make scented candles.
But Thompson is intensely interested in increasing the number of hives for rent to farmers who want bees to pollinate but don't want all the work of caring for the hives.
A hive typically has one queen and a couple dozen drones to wait on her, but it also has 40,000 to 80,000 worker bees, the chore horse for spreading pollen.
Thompson builds his own hives to save about one-third of the cost of purchasing, and he's developing an insulated, vented, winter covering to keep his hives between 40 and 85 degrees during Wisconsin winters. He lost many bees last winter, when the hives' internal humidity iced over them during the severe cold.
Bees are also susceptible to drought. During the summer of 2012, Thompson's bees could produce only 40 pounds of honey.
"That was a bad year," he said.
Recent studies have shown that beekeepers are losing approximately 30 percent of their honey bee colonies each year, up from historical norms of 10 to 15 percent overwintering losses experienced prior to 2006.
"The future security of America's food supply depends on healthy honey bees," USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in February 2014.
Through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service will now provide almost $3 million in technical and financial assistance for farmers and ranchers to implement conservation practices that will provide safe and diverse food sources for honey bees and to help improve the health of bees. In turn, it should help America's beekeepers combat the current, unprecedented loss of honey bee hives each year.
The funding is a focused investment to improve pollinator health and will target five Midwestern states, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Midwestern states were chosen, because from June to September the region is the resting ground for over 65 percent of the commercially managed honey bees in the country. It is a critical time when bees require abundant and diverse forage across broad landscapes to build up hive strength for the winter.
Thompson's computer application can make a big impact in USDA efforts, as farmers look for ways to increase their harvests and provide quality forage and habitat for honey bees and other pollinators.
Meanwhile, Thompson is "looking for things to make with honey."
"If you eat local honey, getting stung by the bee is not as bad," he said.
Now he's working closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop a computer application model to help farmers calculate how much better their crop yields could be with the use of the humble honey bee.
Thompson won the Wisconsin YES! grand prize for his application idea in early June, and he is funneling some of that cash award toward its development. The contest, produced by the Wisconsin Technology Council with major sponsorship from IBM and WEA Trust, is designed to teach students how innovation in science and technology fields can be developed into plausible business plans.
The USDA estimates honey bee pollination supports an estimated $15 billion worth of agricultural production, including more than 130 fruits and vegetables.
Thompson believes that value amount can be increased.
"Bees (populations) have been declining; they've fallen 50 percent since 1950," he said.
Thompson gravitated toward the bee industry out of curiosity, researching and studying it on his own, after seeing his uncle's hives.
He dove into it himself after recognizing the benefits of bees for crops, he said. The honey and wax seem to be an added bonus.
Self-taught in honey bee care and honey extraction, and with five years of experience, Thompson is looking to expand his five-hive business, T Boys Honey LLC, to 10 hives.
This summer, one hive is all abuzz near the garden in the backyard of his family's home; the bees in four other hives are going about their work in the fields of local farms.
Thompson raises a Golden Italian breed, which are gentle, prolific and faster honey producers than the hardier Carnolian or hybrid Buckfest breeds.
Each hive produces about 80 pounds of raw honey each year, which Thompson sells at farmer's markets in New Glarus and Paoli, along with a potential bulk order from a local bakery. The wax is gathered to make scented candles.
But Thompson is intensely interested in increasing the number of hives for rent to farmers who want bees to pollinate but don't want all the work of caring for the hives.
A hive typically has one queen and a couple dozen drones to wait on her, but it also has 40,000 to 80,000 worker bees, the chore horse for spreading pollen.
Thompson builds his own hives to save about one-third of the cost of purchasing, and he's developing an insulated, vented, winter covering to keep his hives between 40 and 85 degrees during Wisconsin winters. He lost many bees last winter, when the hives' internal humidity iced over them during the severe cold.
Bees are also susceptible to drought. During the summer of 2012, Thompson's bees could produce only 40 pounds of honey.
"That was a bad year," he said.
Recent studies have shown that beekeepers are losing approximately 30 percent of their honey bee colonies each year, up from historical norms of 10 to 15 percent overwintering losses experienced prior to 2006.
"The future security of America's food supply depends on healthy honey bees," USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in February 2014.
Through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service will now provide almost $3 million in technical and financial assistance for farmers and ranchers to implement conservation practices that will provide safe and diverse food sources for honey bees and to help improve the health of bees. In turn, it should help America's beekeepers combat the current, unprecedented loss of honey bee hives each year.
The funding is a focused investment to improve pollinator health and will target five Midwestern states, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Midwestern states were chosen, because from June to September the region is the resting ground for over 65 percent of the commercially managed honey bees in the country. It is a critical time when bees require abundant and diverse forage across broad landscapes to build up hive strength for the winter.
Thompson's computer application can make a big impact in USDA efforts, as farmers look for ways to increase their harvests and provide quality forage and habitat for honey bees and other pollinators.
Meanwhile, Thompson is "looking for things to make with honey."
"If you eat local honey, getting stung by the bee is not as bad," he said.