YANKTON, S.D. — The South Dakota Specialty Producers Association (SDSPA) has coordinated an upcoming farm tours and educational events to feature small scale, bio intensive farming and honeybee keeping and honey extraction on Sunday, Aug. 19 from 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. M.T. in the Belle Fourche and Spearfish region.
The tour will begin at Backyard Produce & Cut Flowers located at 11144 Eaton Lane, Belle Fourche, SD, at 9:00 a.m. M.T. with tour hosts Neal and Kristy Drurywho will present the ‘Why and How of Small Scale Farming.’ The Drury’s will then lead a tour of their one-acre farm, guiding you through vegetable gardens and flower rows. They will share information on their sustainable farming techniques, affection for pollinators, and marketing approaches.
Be cautious of GPS directions to Backyard Produce & Cut Flowers. When driving north on Highway 85, turn right onto National St. and head east for about two miles. When you arrive at Snoma Estates subdivision, turn north on Garnet Ln. At Eaton Ln. turn east and drive until you reach the third house and a high tunnel on the left.
At 11:30 a.m. participants will travel to the Green Bean Coffee House at 710 State St., Belle Fourche, where a meal will be available for $12. Those interested in the meal must pre-register by Aug. 17 by emailing SDSPAinfo@gmail.com. The meal is purchased from the restaurant on the day of the event. If not interested in the meal, just join the tours at the specific locations.
The Sunrise Hives event begins at 1 p.m. and is located at 212 Upper Valley Rd., Spearfish, SD.Event hosts Carl and Kiah Crowley will present ‘Honeybee 101 and Making Honey.’ They will provide a honey extraction demonstration. Sunrise Hives is family owned and operated apiary that produces raw, unfiltered honey, straight from the hive.
The public is invited to these free events. Bring your family and enjoy the day learning about how your food is produced. Local producers, chefs, consumers and organizations involved in local and specialty foods are encouraged to attend. Participants may attend one or both sessions. No registration is required unless participating in the meal.
Please note that chefs can receive 2.0 CEH’s for each tour they participate in. Master Gardeners can earn continuing education hours for the horticultural tour.
You will be a guest on tour hosts’ property, so please use common sense and follow directions. You come at your own risk.
The event is sponsored by SDSPA in partnership with SDSU Extension, the American Culinary Federation- Black Hills Chapter of Professional Chefs, and the South Dakota Department of Agriculture.
Additional tours featuring specialty crops and local foods are scheduled this fall. The next tours are scheduled for Sept. 8 near Brandon and Sioux Falls, SD, featuring eggs, mushrooms and microgreens production and Oct. 6 near Brandon, SD, featuring agritourism. For a full listing of events visit http://sdspecialtyproducers.org or https://www.facebook.com/sdspa/.
For more information contact SDSPA at 605-681-6793 or SDSPAinfo@gmail.com.
— South Dakota Specialty Producers Association
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