Let's be healthy: No one can tell as much about the benefits of honey and bees as the dynasty of professional beekeepers
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan, within the framework of the Let's Be Healthy project, talks about the most interesting projects in the agricultural sector that help maintain health.
Noone in the Yelabuga region can tell as much about the benefits of honey and bees, as the members of the Trofimov-Zhegulin dynasty of beekeepers. They have been producing honey since 1982. The head of the family business is Raisa Trofimova. Raisa Trofimova got the idea of becoming a beekeeper as a child thanks to her usual curiosity and rebellious character.
They started with a state apiary. And when individual entrepreneurship was officially allowed in the country, they opened their own apiary.
“My uncle used to keep bees, but for some reason he didn't want to share the secrets of the craft with me. This made me want even more so I entered the Menzelinsky technical school, the beekeeping department. Later I graduated from the Institute of Beekeeping, then the Academy, and then for another 15 years I took state exams at the Menzelinsky technical school, ”recalls Raisa Trofimova.
Today more than 100 bee families are kept on the farm. All bees in the apiary are subdivided into bee colonies, each of which consists of about 60 thousand bees.
“I started beekeeping at an early age. At the age of 10 we owned ten bee colonies. The honey production process is not easy. Bees require a special approach. This also applies to the beekeeper's costume - the front mesh alone is worth something! By the way, every beekeeper should have a smoker with him when he is in the apiary, "says young beekeeper Yuri Zhegulin.
Yuri began his work as the chief beekeeper of the district, actively using social networks.
“Now there are about 200 beekeepers in the region, including small beekeepers who own two or three bee families. For closer communication with each other, he created a group in the messenger, where all the beekeepers of the region are. The group is called Elabuga Beekeepers. There beekeepers exchange experience, and also post information about the processing of fields. This is done so that beekeepers are aware of the danger, being able to save their bees”, Yuri Zhegulin says.