Young chickens which produce eggs are called pullets and older egg-layers are hens, while chickens raised for meat are broilers. More than two million turkeys are raised for meat each year in this state. The Holstein breed is the most common dairy cow. South Dakota cheese processors produce about 150 million pounds of American, cheddar, colby, jack, and other types of cheeses each year. With more than 200,000 honeybee colonies, South Dakota is one of the nation's top honey states, producing about 30 million pounds a year.
Honeybees are also useful as pollinators.
In most areas of South Dakota there is at least one bee yard within flight range of any field crop. Hard red winter wheat is planted in the fall and is harvested in mid-summer. Hard red spring and durum wheats are planted in the spring and harvested in late summer to early fall. The hard wheats grown is South Dakota make some of the world's best bread-baking flour because they are high in protein. Wheat protein combines with liquid to form gluten, which provides the structure for baked products.