I’ve always been really afraid of bees, and of any animal capable of stinging me for that matter. But two years ago I somehow became really interested in the idea of one day becoming a beekeeper. If I remember correctly this interest began as part of an attempt for me to overcome my fears that led to me forcing myself to allow bees to land on me while I fought my instinct to flee. Surprisingly over time this tactic worked while my beekeeping aspirations were stalled due to timing and circumstances. That being said, today when I heard we were going to visit a local beekeeper excited did not even begin to describe my emotions.
From the moment I met Mark his enthusiasm and passion for his hobby was contagious. He started beekeeping 15 years ago with no prior knowledge about it. Apparently he just started by reading a book called “Beekeeping for Beginners” and now fifteen years later he’s an expert on everything bee-related. This was really encouraging to me because I sometimes feel like it would be hard for me to start something such as beekeeping or gardening because I do not have any immediate resources to draw on to help me get started, but I could easily just find books and soak up the knowledge from them. I loved seeing the bees and hearing Mark explain how bees behave and the complex social dynamics of the hive. I tried to be super brave by being one of the only people to not wear any protective gear while Mark opened the hives and being the first person to try the bee larvae, my bravery paid off and somehow we all escaped without any stings!
Getting up close and personal with the hive
It was also interesting to listen to Mark and his wife express their strong feels towards conventional agriculture and the spraying of pesticides on crops. I was alarmed to hear how some of the spray from the neighbor’s crops had drifted over onto their organic garden and killed off their plants To me it seems fairly obvious that if the chemicals being sprayed on corn and soybeans killed Mark’s family’s plants those same chemicals should not be being consumed by humans. While we have been hearing this same sort of anti-chemicals talk from the organic farmers we have met within the past few days it almost meant even more to hear it from your average Iowan (although, Mark with his extraordinary talent and numerous skills is anything but average). I found it fascinating that Mark works full-time at the Barilla Pasta factory yet still has managed to take so much time to devote to his beekeeping, and has even won the Iowa State Fair Grand Prize Beekeeping blue-ribbon twice. This made him a very different voice for alternative agriculture practices than the people we have met with at Table Top and the Wallace Centers.
Later we visited with an advocate of conservation practices within conventional farming, Dr. HN’s friend Glen Hodnefield, who talked to us about something we had heard a lot about but not in much detail: no-till farming practices. He was equally passionate about his work in tending his land in a way to make it the least susceptible to soil erosion and water run-off. I found it interesting that he considered one of his greatest assets to be the earthworms that lived in his soil. My favorite part of our time with Glen was seeing the buffer area he had let grow around the small creek right next to one of his corn fields. After hearing a lot about the terrible water quality of most of Iowa’s rivers due to soil run-off it was great to see a crystal clear body of water, right in the middle of a field nonetheless! This showed me that there is definitely merit to following basic conservation practices.
The lovely Crick
One theme that I have seen mentioned by people I have met in Iowa concerning their pursuit of their passions is how they made many mistakes, which turned out to be their best learning experiences. The message that mistakes are one of the greatest ways to learn something and improve was important for me to hear repeated by the many people we met with (Mosa, Luke, Sally, Mark, and Glen just to name a few) as I’m often afraid of getting involved in new things because I’m scared that I won’t be good at them. I have long considered this aversion to things I do not show an immediate talent for to be one of my greatest character flaws. But the people I have met here have really helped to encourage me to be less afraid of making mistakes and have given me the courage to start something new and out of my comfort zone.
Glen showing us his no-till field. (Note the progress of the corn only two weeks after planting)