2017 American Honey Princess visits Decorah to stress the importance of honeybees

Hope Pettibon has been traveling all over the United States to stress the important role honeybees play in the pollination of crops.  She's been to California, Florida, Arizona, Ohio and Alaska and is heading to Maine soon.

On Wednesday she was at the Winneshiek Farmers Market in Decorah, with her visit sponsored by Johnson Honey Farm of Guttenberg.

Hope says one-third of the food we eat is raised because of the pollination of flowers by honeybees.  Honeybees even pollinate the cotton plants used in making clothing and the alfalfa fed to cows by dairy producers.  In all, it's a $19 billion per year direct impact on American agriculture.

Hope has seven beehives at her family's home in McKinney, Texas.  She was chosen to be the 2017 American Honey Princess in a "knowledge-based" contest held by the American Beekeeping Federation, an industry trade group.  She began her year-long job in January and will work for 340 days in 2017.

Her travels and other information about beekeeping and about pollination can be found at: http://www.buzzingacrossamerica.com/