Kim Kester, the 2016 American Honey Queen, will visit Coogan Farm Nature & Heritage Center on Friday, June 3 at 3 p.m., as part of her week-long Connecticut tour.
She will be in Connecticut June 1-7. She will be a guest of the Connecticut Beekeepers Association and will participate in their 125th annual conference on June 4. She will be a guest speaker, talking to attendees about how honeybees are the connection between plants and our plates and the many uses for honey, including how it can sweeten your entire home. Kim will also speak in area schools and venues about the importance of honeybees to the United States, including her talk at Coogan Farm.
Kim is the 23-year-old daughter of Jim and Barb Kester of Nekoosa, Wisconsin. She is a graduate from the University of Wisconsin, where she double-majored in dairy science and poultry science. Kim began beekeeping in 2014 and now owns six hives. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Agricultural Education at Iowa State University.
As the 2016 American Honey Queen, Kim serves as a national spokesperson on behalf of the American Beekeeping Federation, a trade organization representing beekeepers and honey producers throughout the United States. The Honey Queen and Princess speak and promote in venues nationwide, and, as such Queen Kim will travel throughout the United States in 2016. Prior to being selected as the American Honey Queen, Kim served as the 2015 Wisconsin Honey Queen. In this role, she promoted the honey industry at fairs, festivals, and farmers’ markets, via media interviews, and in schools.
The beekeeping industry touches the lives of every individual in our country. In fact, honeybees are responsible for nearly one-third of our entire diet, in regards to the pollination services that they provide for a large majority of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes. This amounts to nearly $19 billion per year of direct value from honeybee pollination to United States agriculture.