NSF hosts honey extract demo

The Nebraska Beekeepers Association took the Competitive Exhibits Stage to talk about their favorite critters. They walked the crowd through how they extract honey.

They used honeycombs they had set up by their booth that had at least 8 thousand bees buzzing around them. They showed the whole process from start to finish and even let the crowd taste test the finished product.

The presentation was given by the 2019 American Honey Princess, who is from New Jersey but travels the country giving these types of presentations on beekeeping. She says this presentation was a little different because Nebraska has a special role in beekeeping.

You guys have Cook & Beals which is an extraction company. They make and sell extractors so that's how we get our honey from hive to home," Nicole Medina, the 2019 American Honey Princess, told Local4 News. "That's something that makes Nebraska unique as well as your very diverse dairy industry. We tell people that honey bees populate alfalfa as well as 1/3 of our food population every year, driving the quantity and the quality"

They say these presentations are fun for them in any state because they enjoy their sweet hobby with the public.

"Bees are a passion of mine. The more you get into the bees, it's just so fascinating," Brian Nilson, Vice President of the Nebraska Beekeepers Association, said. "To be able to share that with young people and see their excitement as they're trying to find the queen in our observation hives, it's really a pleasure for me to do."

The group does have that booth set up at the fair each year, which serves as their big fundraiser for their annual scholarships. They pick students to help get started as beekeepers.

If you missed Thursday's presentation, they will be back this weekend. So grab your honey and buzz over to the competitive exhibits stage Saturday at 11 or Sunday at 2:30.