The current Iowa Central Community College student and Fort Dodge native has risen up the ranks of the state’s apiculture or beekeeping trade. From a humble beginning at age 14, McCollum and her family have developed the hobby into a honey-making business and beyond. 

It all started when Britta’s mom, Amy Synarong, presented a scholarship idea to her a few years back.

“How would you like to work with bees?” McCollum said, reflecting back on that conversation. “She had brought home some information from the Iowa Honey Producers Association.”

The scholarship was for boys and girls ages 13 to 16 and grants them hive set up, equipment and mentorship from fellow beekeepers with the only requirement of the student being that they show some progression during the process. Despite a city setting and not much land near Dodger Stadium, McCollum transformed the backyard into the place of bees’ dreams.

Britta McCollum, Iowa Honey Producers Association queen, gives a presentation to students at the Valley Junction Activity Center in West Des Moines.

Those little winged creatures also helped the teenager realize a bit of her own dreams.

“As state bee queen, I get to do presentations all over the state,” she said. “I’ve been to Greene, Mount Pleasant, and Dumont recently, with more destinations including some possible county fair visits on the calendar.

“I love going to talk to adults and kids about bees,” she added. “It’s so fun to see their faces light up. My hope is that, with these kinds of presentations and visits around the state, that I’ll help attract more people into the trade. After all, it’s something you can do for a lifetime.”

The five-year path to her current role as Iowa Honey Producers Association queen didn’t occur without a few bumps along the way. As an example, an ordinance nearly cost the family $500 early on due to not being able to have bees in the city limits and a hive was stolen at one point. In both cases, the neighborhood and the Boone River Beekeepers were behind her.

“We petitioned the city, getting signatures from people all over the neighborhood and across the country,” she said about the ordinance situation. “It was COVID that year so people were looking for something to do — something to get behind — so we took to Facebook and had folks from as far as Texas supporting us.”

Britta McCollum’s beekeeping operation is now 28 colonies large, which comes out to more than a million bees.

“The stolen hive was difficult, but again, some individuals from our club and around the area pitched in and helped us get some more bees and sort of rebuild,” she added.

Despite those types of issues, the operation is now 28 colonies large which comes out to more than a million bees. 

It’s led to the creation of 8th Avenue Honey, a business developed by McCollum and her mom where they sell the product to her dad, Larry McCollum, a produce manager at Hy-Vee in Fort Dodge. The sweet treat doesn’t stay on the shelves long, either, according to Britta McCollum.

“We’re out right now,” she said. “However, we’re looking to get it back on the store shelves as quickly as the bees can produce it.”

The Iowa Central student is working through studies in her collegiate path that would allow her the chance to work with prisoners and their rehabilitation as a career goal.

“It’d be great to help these men and women get back on their feet,” she said.

A goal of sharing goodwill — something Britta McCollum knows full well as a queen of the bees.