About Mel Disselkoen

Mel Disselkoen was born on a farm in a Dutch settlement in South Dakota. He grew up with an independent farming mentality of hard work and creative problem solving. He has kept bees for over 40 years and is familiar with all facets of beekeeping. Today Mel enjoys observing honeybee behavior and teaching beekeepers how to use his OTS queen rearing method to self-sufficiently reach their objectives.

Mission Statement

Mel Disselkoen strives to identify the natural behaviors and seasonal reproductive cycles of the honeybee and then direct those behaviors toward a profitable objective.

"Since honeybee behavior is naturally directed towards survival and increase, beekeepers can adapt their management and business models to the honeybee's natural instincts so that stress is minimized and performance is optimized. By working within this philosophy of cooperating with nature, I have found that the best bee is the bee that can overwinter in your area."

-Mel Disselkoen

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