400 Episodes of Beekeeping Today: Looking Back and Looking Ahead

400 Episodes of Beekeeping Today: Looking Back and Looking Ahead (400)

Becky Masterman

My name is Becky Masterman and I'm in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Jeff Ott

I'm Jeff Ott in Olympia, Washington.

Stephanie Slater

I'm Stephanie Slater in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.

Dewey Caron

Hi, I'm Dewey Caron from the Great Pacific Northwest, Portland, Oregon.

Jim Tew

I'm Jim Tew from Worcester, Ohio.

Jim Tew

Well, welcome to the Beekeeping Today podcast 400th episode. Now he said don't say podcast and then half of you said podcast.

Jeff Ott

Welcome to Beekeeping Today Podcast presented by Betterbee, your source for beekeeping news, information, and entertainment. I'm Jeff Ott.

Becky Masterman

And I'm Becky Masterman.

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Jeff Ott

Hey, a quick shout out to Betterbee and all of our sponsors whose support allows us to bring you this podcast each week without resorting to a fee-based subscription. We don't want that and we know you don't even. Be sure to check out all of our content on the website. There, you can read up on all of our guests, read our blog on the various aspects and observations about beekeeping, search for, download, and listen to over 300 past episodes, read episodes. Transcripts, leave comments and feedback on each episode, and check on podcast specials from our sponsors. You can find it all at www.beekeepingtoday.com. Wow, what an open to this special Beekeeping Today 400th episode if you didn't hear that in all of that today we have a very special episode.

celebrating our four hundredth episodes. How many times can I say episode in a line? Someone help me out here.

Becky Masterman

You're just showing off. So is this the four hundredth episode then?

Jeff Ott

This is the four hundredth episode. Who would have thunk it? Huh? Who would have thunk it? 400, that's quite a m that's quite a landmark, it really is

Jim Tew

I would have thought we'd all gotten better at doing it by four hundred times as time and again. We must be slow learners

Becky Masterman

It's gonna come together, right?

Jeff Ott

It all it'll all come together in the edits. So sitting around here, around the big Beekeeping Today podcast table, as we say, we have this great collection of guest. And co-hosts and special contributors to the podcast, Becky and me, of course. We have Stephanie Slater, we have Dr. Jim Tew. And Dr. Dewey Caron and thank you everybody for joining just to celebrate this uh landmark. This was fun. This is gonna be really fun.

Becky Masterman

Jeff, it's already fun.

Jeff Ott

It is already fun. It's early in the morning and there's no alcohol involved that anyone's admitting.

Becky Masterman

Hey, you're you're taking this a different direction. I know. Jeff I'm trying to keep it light. You're trying to keep it light. I'm I'm gonna go I'm gonna go heavy for a second. And Jeff, this is the beginning of the four hundredth episode. You were there in the beginning. You and Kim Flottum, can you just bring us back to the beginning? Why did you do it? And are you terribly disappointed with where we are at right now or are you really proud of yourself?

Jeff Ott

Oh, put me on the spot. So I'll do the easy part first. So I had written for Kim for many years and then I didn't for five or six years or so. And uh Sherry and I were in Medina visiting family, my family, and then we stopped in AR route to say hi to Kim. And Kim uh was at his desk and if you remember his desk anybody i it was always covered with books and just oh god it was horrible. I mean he was just had everything piled in his office. Anyways, he looked up, barely could see him, and he says, Well, Jeff, when are you gonna start writing for me? And I had been thinking about this because I missed writing and I missed contributing and being part of the bee world.

And I just said to him, Well, have you ever thought about up doing a podcast? And he looked at me and he said, Well, what's a podcast? And I explained to it what it was and he said, Well, let's do it. And that was really the beginning of it. And we started the week of uh pollinator week and we lined it up and so we had five immediate episodes of Beekeeping Today podcast. They're still out there available. And you can go back and if you really want to make your ears bleed, you can go listen to those first five episodes. I was still learning how to edit then and I'm still learning, but I was very new at editing then, so it's just it's kinda fun to listen to sometimes That's how it got started.

And as I look back at four hundred episodes now, I just enjoy doing this and I've always enjoyed uh being creative and sharing and the bees I love and putting them all together and to think we're here at four hundred and actually Quite honestly, if we look out at the catalog with all the specials that you all have contributed to and the extra episodes, we're well over like four hundred and fifty, four hundred and sixty actual listening segments or shows that w out there in our podcast on our website. So yeah, to think back on that where we are today, it's pretty amazing. I'm I'm surprised. I'm happy when people say that they enjoy listening to us.

It's still valuable to folks. And you have some very valuable contributors as well, contributors that have stayed with it. Not only the listeners, but the but those that are willing to support. We've been very fortunate, very lucky, and I'm very, very happy that people are wanting to share in such a significant way their knowledge and their time to be with us.

Jim Tew

That is a good thing because there's a bit of a learning curve. You know, they don't do this three times a week the way you do, and they're not accustomed to working live most of the time. So you've got to have a finesse to hold hands. You go to the bottom right hand button and you click on that red button at the bottom. Do you see that? Do you see that? You gotta hold people's hands like mine to get them through this.

Jeff Ott

Now see that red button? Okay, don't click oh well don't click the start over. That's the one where you leave. Yeah.

Becky Masterman

Jim, just how many how many Honey Bee Obscura episodes are there now? And are we invited to number four hundred?

Jim Tew

I'm just asking for No, yeah, you'll be invited to number four hundred. I'll be ninety-one by then and we'll be kind of a cranky thing Uh we're at we're just short of three hundred right now, Jeff looked it up on September the 10th. It'll be 300. Excellent.

Jeff Ott

296 of the day of this recording.

Jim Tew

I've always labeled myself as the junior varsity team here. because I do kind of just an easygoing, laid back conversational thing and beekeeping today does the highbrow meaningful stuff. But I have a good time. At my stage of life it's really been a guidepost just to give me something to do. besides sit around thinking how bleak things can be at times. They're not all that bleak. I'm having a good time. Thank you. And the thing, Jeff, is addictive. You can do a terrible raw sound bite and think, oh Jeff can clean this up and we grew to depend on it.

Dewey Caron

Jeff and Becky, uh have there been some guests that have been really terrible to try to do, to try to get a hold of, to try to get arranged, and you know, I'm sure there are some others that have been Just easy, but are you know, true tales now. Are there some that you feel that um have made this more of a chore than uh than a pleasure? Yeah, Jack, call names, call names.

Becky Masterman

I think we should just call people out I will tell you I will tell you this, Dewey. That is that's a really good question. And if we more Jeff was really afraid of what I'm about to say, but if we more often or not got done with the segment and said, Oh, that was tough I wouldn't still be here. I really wouldn't. Instead, time and time again we stop a recording and we go Wow, that was a great guest. And I know and we will say, I know the listeners are going to be really excited to hear what they have to say, or I know they're going to appreciate how this guest was so honest or That was fun and funny. Or it just or I love it when I keep learning.

So I wouldn't be doing this. I wouldn't be stepping up if we didn't have story after story of the opposite of just like Fantastic guests and great information and challenging what we're thinking about bees and what we know about bees. So I feel like I'm it's a great spot to sit in. Jeff, do you want to go over the list of people you don't like though?

Jeff Ott

I really have enjoyed all of our all of our guests over the years. Even the folks that may or may not have the wildest ideas, they have a perspective on beekeeping that they're not a sole person with that thought. There are others with that thought and that approach. And so I appreciate what they can share and like all beekeepers I listen to, you know to what they say and then I take what I can use and I know that it's all pretty much locational dependent and what works and um Minnesota may not work in Olympia.

Becky Masterman

I think an another kind of good answer to that. Again, this is the positive answer. Nope. But it but Like we invited Stephanie Slater on to our program so many times that we were just like, you know, she's got so much to tell us and so much enthusiasm. Sorry, Stephanie, I'm talking about you like you're not there. But it just became really clear she's got enough to talk to the listeners every month and they're gonna love hearing about honey shows and competitions. and how they can better become better beekeepers and improve that part of their apiary practice. And so how exciting is it that Stephanie is here. And Stephanie, are you having fun being a part of Beekeeping today?

Stephanie Slater

I really am. And this was new to me. I had no experience with podcasts. I'm so glad that Jeff has so much practice editing that he makes me sound really good every month. So thank you, Jeff. But I'm I'm kind of just winging it and making it up as I go and So far, Jeff hasn't said that was a bad idea. Try something else. So I guess I'll keep trying.

Jeff Ott

No, actually I'really happy well so Stephanie since we're talking about you and you're right there. I'really happy that you joined us because I've going back over the literature and not that I've done a deeper review or anything, but just my time reading magazines. and listening to other podcasts and stuff, no one ever talks about honey competition. But it is such a big part of many conferences and after our Uh this was our three years at North American Honey Bee Expo, and this is going to be our fourth, right, Becky? And how big honey shows are becoming in the United States, and it's been a big thing in the UK. the big honey national honey show there and everything.

It's becoming so much bigger in the United States. I thought it was really good to give honey show competition side a beekeeping. some time of its own and I'm so happy that you did agree to join us and talk about how beekeepers can m better enter Contests and not only honey, but wax and quilting and all the different aspects of competition. That's fantastic.

Jim Tew

There's no other source for that. Do you judge Stephanie or I do, Jim.

Stephanie Slater

Thanks for asking. Yes, I'm a certified judge through the American Honey Judges Association. And so when I go to an event, sometimes I choose, do I want to compete at this event or do I want to judge at this event? And then I also coordinate the show at the Midwest Honey Bee Expo. So I kind of dabble in all of it and it's just a lot of fun. And then I can use all those different perspectives as I'm working with other beekeepers and of course putting together content for the podcast.

Jim Tew

Well, I admire you for that. I found that to be a very difficult job. You make two or three people happy and then you annoy everybody else. So when I used to judge for Dr. Caron when I was his student, I would do the judging and I'd get out of town. Don't hang around to make small talk.

Dewey Caron

And I would always say, Oh, that must have been a student that did that.

Stephanie Slater

Well one of one of our priorities is making sure that we use this as a learning opportunity. So Our comment cards are going to tell you what you did well as well as some opportunities for improvement because never do we want to make somebody feel bad or you know, have an effect on their confidence, we want to get them to the point where they're even more confident next time. So we're happy to talk to the competitors when they have questions.

Becky Masterman

I just have to repeat one of the one of the actual hints that you gave everybody was when you're buying your glass jars that you actually look through them and you pick out the ones that don't have imperfections. And I mentioned it to David Peck at Betterbee and he's like yeah we'll do that for people and I said you'll do what? And so Betterbee please don't hate me for repeating this But he actually said that they have they have like actually sorted some. So I we might be in trouble for me saying that. You might have to cut this out because on a scale I don't see how it works. But maybe if you buy a certain number Maybe they're they're really willing to pick out those perfect jars.

But it but the fact that all jars are not the same was just astonishing to me and obviously made me not ready for competition because I'm not there yet. I'm looking Dewey's in the center of the of my screen right now and Dr. Caron, boy, do you bring science and respect to this podcast with your segments.

Jeff Ott

Science and respect.

Becky Masterman

I know. I They are so well prepared and there's they're they're an updated deep dive into different subjects. You might talk for 20 or 25 minutes, but you're putting in so much time to prepare these lessons and you're making them so easy to understand. I'm just gonna say thank you and I hope I hope that the listeners recognize how just how much you're putting into it because it's so clear.

Dewey Caron

Oh, you were so kind, Becky. Um I can't uh do as well the uh off the cuff as you can to pick up on something what maybe one of your uh your guests is talking about, which you can do so easily the two of you integrate so well. So I do. I have to I have to be prepared. Uh Jim on the other hand, you know, he's very well prepared by a lifetime of doing this. But he can talk, you know, and follow a thread. If I tried to do this just off the cuff, I think I wouldn't have that thread. So uh you know, I do take pride in being able to try to take a topic and cover uh cover it on through. Uh The issue is that maybe I'm I talk it too long, talk it to death, but boy, I enjoy doing it.

Becky Masterman

No, it is it is such a it's a great library of resources for and uh to have somebody who understands each subject to do it a deep dive and to summarize it for the listener because a lot of our listeners are out there in their bees listening to you talk about their bees and the science behind their bees. And so I think it's it's just a great compliment. And talk about following a thread, Jeff. You get You I don't follow the thread, do we? I just ask what's on the which comes to mind, which sometimes works out. But Jeff brings us back. He's steering the ship. And so the listeners get to thank Jeff for making sure that we're we're on course.

Jeff Ott

Or blame.

Dewey Caron

Well he's got that red button, remember that? He's got that red button there.

Jeff Ott

Well speaking of ruddering the ship, let's uh take this quick opportunity for a quick break to hear from our very wonderful sponsors. And we'll be right back.

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Jeff Ott

Welcome back everybody. I'm sitting here with a great cohort of individuals and beekeepers. I've had a real great pleasure of joining us here on our 400th episode. We are here with Stephanie Slater, Dr. Jim Tew, Dewey Caron, Becky and me. We have, as a regular part of our podcast for the last uh, I think nine months or so, a hive IQ. listener question. Let's get to that now. Becky, who do we have today?

Becky Masterman

This is exciting. I'm kind of wondering if I'm gonna read the question first and then I think we should decide if this is an anonymous question or if we actually read their name I gave a nucleus colony to some friends this spring. They've taken great care of it and it grew quickly and it produced over ten gallons of honey. They are so excited and planning on expanding next year. So basically this could be Anybody, right? This is this happens a lot, the first year of beekeeping. The question is, they have plans to build a honey house and get big. While I'm excited for them, I'm nervous that they may be overdoing it took me several years before my losses were manageable.

What are your recommendations for growth to new beekeepers?

Jeff Ott

That's a tough question.

Jim Tew

That is a tough question.

Becky Masterman

Why do I think that's an easy question, everybody? Oh, I need to know more.

Jim Tew

How old is how old is the new beekeeper? What's her lifestyle? What's their physical strength? What's their location on land? Bank balance?

Jeff Ott

Yeah, what's their financial risk?

Jim Tew

Tolerance So I need to know more about this ghostly beekeeper. Did he or she have a lot of potential and could do it or are they just in euphoric situations and just think this is easy to do and I'm gonna do it for the rest of my life. I don't know.

Becky Masterman

I think that's a lovely answer to the question is that it's such a complex pursuit that everything needs to align.

Jim Tew

And the bees would fit right in and they've already got several outbuildings. Or are they just going crazy? They're in a subdivision and they're going to build a honey house in the backyard. That's not going to work. That's not going to work So I didn't really have an answer there, Becky. I growth it I remember that honeymoon session so well all those years ago where Everything I did, everything I talked about, I drove people crazy. With this bee thing, I couldn't sleep. I was excited about everything. And you know you mellow, you stay in it for the long run, but you become more mature about it. And then you can see other people. I want to know how big that nuc was.

That was that was a lot of productivity. Was it a was it a two deep nuc, twenty frames or what? That's a lot of honey from a from a build up from a nucleus colony. So I don't know if it was just a great year or It really is a good bee. I would have to say it depends on the person and the person's situation.

Dewey Caron

I would add that yeah, there are there are a number of variables here and you know beginners look I mean that's a fantastic production from nucs but it does happen. A new area, new management, new managers for example, and of course good stock. applaud the person that sold that nuc. They know what they're doing. They apparently set them up very, very well. Like anything, you know, beekeeping, there is this learning curve. We talk about the steep learning curve of bees and beekeeping. I've I try to teach the uh the biology and you can't get all that biology in one year. We You can read books and you can watch the YouTubes and listen to the podcasts, which are all very, very helpful and very useful, but it's the bees, the bees that are giving you your final exam.

And in just one season, you know, an end of one, anything can happen. In this case everything apparently lined up just right, but You know, it's a it is an investment and to uh to go from one to X is going to be, you know, uh a great, a rather great investment. I would recommend that they're ask uh they're obviously having fun and they're enjoying the rewards, that they seek to try to uh to expand gradually, trying two, three ye uh bee I would say if you're producing that much honey, one of your one of your hurdles is going to be what to do with it, to try to turn it back into bees. Yeah, you they may be all ready for a honey show, Stephanie.

I'm not sure. You look after one season.

Jeff Ott

Beginners love we have them in honey shows. Someone has never before put in the Honey show wins the big prize. So and that won't anything can happen. I you know, all of us I think would probably say Well, slow down just a bit. You know, get a few more seasons and get a little more experience before you want to go from one to two hundred and fifty.

Stephanie Slater

Yeah, I think about that new bee that new beekeeper excitement, it's tough to harness, right? So how do we how do we help guide them in an appropriate way? If they're in a position where they really can't afford to move a little more quickly than we would typically recommend, then work with them, be that resource, help them set up the honey house properly. You know, continue to guide them. And then I've learned that it's great to have friends with more equipment and nicer equipment and honey houses that I don't have because then you know you can you can share that burden, right? I can uncap all day long if we work together to extract. So there is an opportunity there, but yes, you know, start with Are you sure you want to go this fast?

Do you realize what some of those pitfalls might be? And if you can't slow them down, then just try to guide them the best that you can.

Jeff Ott

It is an investment too. I mean th the equipment that they're going to buy is not going to lose its total value. So I mean if it does go bust in two or three years you know, they would have something to recoup, but you know, certainly not a dollar on a dollar. It's going to be less than that. But it I mean, there is value in the bees the equipment and of course in the equipment that they might buy to equip a honey house.

Jim Tew

I would like to add that just yesterday, following along with what Dr. Caron said I was at a little farmer's market, a Wednesday afternoon farmers market, and there was a person there from Akron, Ohio selling honey I stayed incognito. I didn't know him and I didn't feel like talking about it.

Jeff Ott

It might have been your beard.

Jim Tew

Right. He didn't know me. But I bought a jar of his honey and it was twelve dollars. And this past weekend I saw honey a pound of honey for $15. Dr. Caron, I remember when it was a buck and a quarter, and we were happy to get it So with these kind of prices for honey, I don't really know if my advice is dated because the value of those 11 gallons that person produced is significantly higher than anything I was familiar with at that stage of my beekeeping journey. So the cost of honey now, if you can get it, I mean there was not a line in front of the guy's booth But that's what he was asking for it.

Becky Masterman

But Jim, I'm gonna remind you of the cost of bees. And one of the pieces of advice Megan Milbrath gave us when we did an expanding your operation series, she said, and I love this, grow, but grow as much as you can divide your own bees. don't grow by buying an operation necessarily or don't grow by buying lots of packages and nucs. Like if you decide you're going to scale it, if you scale it within your own operation then you're probably gonna scale your skills at the same time. The price of honey compared to also like what we're looking at for the price of a nuc or a package Which is, you know, definitely worth it, but at the same time losing that package or nuc if they don't make it through the winter is, you know, that has its costs.

Jeff Ott

I actually I like that answer because it's a natural limiter, a governor on someone's growth. If you keep it all within your own bees, that growth, then if you're really successful and you're managing those bees, then you can grow with them.

Becky Masterman

I will warn you though, if you if you are growing and you're suc doing it successfully, boy do you have to buy a lot of new equipment when you go to the next year and do your divides. And so you do get to the point where you are investing a lot in your in your operation because those bees need to go someplace. And if you if you do it gradually over a few years your numbers will just get there. And we've talked to a number of beekeepers who've really made huge leaps in their operations just by being able to manage their bees through the winter. and successfully and then and then do their divides each spring. So Dr.

Jim Tew

Masterman, how do we leave this on a positive note? Because we made it sound like beekeeping is almost prohibitively expensive.

Becky Masterman

That's a good question, but I will tell you Jeff is going to answer this for us. Because Jeff I know you have this answer because I've heard you talk about it before and I think you've had a really responsible approach to the beekeeping as part of your life. And you've looked at the economics of it. So Jeff, take it home.

Jeff Ott

That was really smooth, Becky. That was smooth. Well, the first thing you do is you look at the balance on your credit card.

Becky Masterman

Oh no.

Jeff Ott

I still think that you have to grow organically and take it in small steps and ultimately you'll get there. My approach has always been when I started beekeeping in Ohio and I got serious about it, I wanted it to be the first hobby to actually pay for itself. And so I kept meticulous records. And I wanted to prove to everyone that I could make it pay for itself. And so I did. And I was very happy that By the time I don't know how many seasons it took, but I was able to show on paper that the bees were paying for themselves each year. and that I was selling enough honey through the different farm markets and farmer stands there in Ohio and for pollination fees for the pumpkin fields and apples.

that the bees were really paying for themselves and that was really that was a proud moment and I really enjoyed that a lot.

Jim Tew

I'm feeling put upon here because I'm at a stage of life where I want bees but I don't want to have to work real hard So where does that leave me? I'm not going to be going to honey shows. I'm going to always have bees in the backyard, and they're going to always need a beekeeper, but I want them back there. But I'm through all the stages. So what do you do with people who just want bees because they want to see bees on the flowers in their yard and they want to give some pollination activity back to nature, but they're not really all sweaty about producing honey. How do those people decide how much money to invest? Is that how much you're going to spend on birdseed and how big the garden is you're going to have and how much you can contribute to the two beehives you've got?

But there are other kinds of beekeepers other than the income generators.

Jeff Ott

One answer is if you want to have bees on your property and you want to have the enjoyment of having bees on your property and going back and listening to 'em and watch 'em is to find a beekeeper who wants a new bee yard and tell them they can have this space for their bees and then you have the pleasure of having bees on your property without the cost and the time commitment to maintain them.

Jim Tew

Is there any insurance obligation there? With you have somebody else having bees on your property?

Becky Masterman

Always, right? I think I mean have you talked to your own insurance company about bees on your property? Because I know that it's in my policy that I can't have bees on my property. So be careful what you ask, Jim.

Jeff Ott

I think we ought to contract this person that got uh what uh you know eleven gallons in the first year on a nuc. You know, ask them to put them in my backyard because like Jim, the boxes have gotten heavy somehow. And even though I've I've I've staged from ten frame to eight frame from full size boxes, you know, standards to shallows, they're still Damn heavy. I've got the kids involved. I got the two of the three kids involved that you know, do more than lifting to actually be beekeepers, but Maybe that's that's um that's because uh you know the I've had bees for, you know, some I don't know, sixty-five years now. Maybe I just didn't remember how heavy they were when I first started.

And I've never had a problem with giving honey away. Well, this has been a long answer to Michael's question. Michael, you will receive a bright, shiny, brand new hive IQ tool in the mail. I will have to get your address. And uh I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for your question. Let's take this last break and hear from our sponsors, and we'll be right back.

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Becky Masterman

Welcome back everybody. Well this has been such a fun conversation because there's a lot of knowledge in this podcast episode I'm wondering we want to go positive and Jeff hasn't told me what I have to say, so I just I just I just would like when somebody is a beekeeper or wants to start beekeeping and they ask you for advice, what's the best piece of advice you can give them?

Stephanie Slater

I'll start. I always ask, are you a member of a club? Let's look at the list of local clubs in the area. And then from there we talk about getting, you know, Bee Culture and ABJ, and then we talk about the state organizations and the national organizations, and then we talk about all of the big conferences and all that stuff to try to help them see they have to continue to keep educating themselves and not to just jump in without learning a little bit and immersing themselves in with some other like minded beekeepers.

Jim Tew

That's a good one. Yeah. I like everything Stephanie said, so I'm going to say that's my comments too. No, I'd actually like to ask that new person, how have you been stung before How many times have you been stung because under the right conditions they can light you up and that can frequently drive people away. I know most of the time the beekeepers, the new beekeepers, are covered from head to toe But in South Alabama you're gonna die from heat exhaustion if you do that indefinitely. So just be sure they have good health and know what they're getting involved in and no bad backs and then just like Stephanie said, you've gotta find somebody to help you can read about bees and watch listen to podcasts and watch videos all you want, but one day you gotta be out in that suit with the smoker going and actually have live bees around you, and that's the day of reckoning

Dewey Caron

And I and I like to now Stephanie handling the product, the final product, and your expertise and judging and training other judges, I think that has been one of the great the developments that we've had. Honey shows is kinda were very popular, you know, fifty, sixty years ago, big state uh fairs. And then they kind of went in a hiatus, but I think they're coming back. Uh what's your what's how what's your take on the honey shows and how much that is of value to those newbie keepers.

Stephanie Slater

Well, you hit the nail on the head, Dewey. The whole the whole purpose of a honey show is to help you become a better producer. you know, how to handle the product properly and so forth and make sure that it's prepared and handled in a way that the consumer can expect this high quality and the consumer then can see at their county and state fairs what a high quality hive product should look like So they can tell the difference. And so that's that's our whole goal. Become better beekeepers, better producers, and yes, there is there is a resurgence. We're we're getting more honey shows and then we're getting bigger honey shows. So it's really an exciting time.

Jeff Ott

Stephanie, you were very nice and joined us, and you're at a bee event right now, and actually I see an observation hive sitting behind you in the car. What are you doing?

Stephanie Slater

I am at a corporate event today. You know, large employers will contact me and say, I want to do some sort of employee event And so I'll bring an observation hive in, I'll maybe bring some honey sticks or even some little bears of honey and just set up my table in their cafeteria or in their break room. And the employees just get to come hang out, talk with me, look at the bees, get some honey. It's fun for me. It's better than being in my office, don't tell my boss. And it's great awareness for people around. Yeah, I love it.

Jeff Ott

That's fantastic. I'm gonna say goodbye now because I know you need to get in and fulfill your commitment. Thank you for joining us and helping us celebrate the 400th episode. And look forward to your next episode of Winning at Honey with Stephanie.

Jim Tew

Stephanie, before you go, I enjoyed meeting you. I haven't met you before, and I'd like to think that I can call you Stephanie and we'll get along just fine. I know you've heard a lot of crap about me, but don't believe that. I'm actually a good guy. I just got old and I helped it.

Jeff Ott

Now some of it's true, Stephanie.

Jim Tew

Don't listen to him. I was terrified when Jeff was putting out his list of bad names that I was gonna be on it, but He didn't call me. All right. 321, Jeff. Stephanie's gotta go.

Stephanie Slater

Thank you, Jim. It's it's really been an honor to be on the podcast with all of you. Thank you.

Jeff Ott

Bye, Stephanie. Bye-bye.

Jim Tew

Bye-bye.

Stephanie Slater

Bye-bye. Bye

Jim Tew

For all the rest of you, don't push that red button, we're still here. Right, we're still here.

Becky Masterman

I would like to add to everybody's advice that knowing your nectar flows, the timing and what they are will make you a better beekeeper. You'll be able to prepare your populations so that They are peak foraging age when those nectar flows come on. And you'll also be a better beekeeper when you go to sell your honey if you're able to talk about what's in that jar. So I think that's that's key. And also understanding what your bees need and, you know, do they need that early spring? And do you should you know, wait to start making honey until they fill up the brood nest and not too much so they swarm. and then when to give it back to them at the end of the season, when to let them collect for their winter stores.

So it's it's there's a lot to it and it's I think it's one of the hardest things about beekeeping. Maybe Varroa is number one, but I think right behind it is understanding that nectar flow the nectar flow dynamics.

Jim Tew

That's another reason and that previous question we just discussed for two and a half hours. You only get that nectar flow experience by season after season. You can look at a calendar and you can talk to other beekeepers, but every year of the season its own time, but it fluctuates So to read your own season and to know when there's whiting going on or frosting on the colony frames or whatever you want to call it, that it's time to really super up and get ready. You learn you learn to read that, you sense it.

Becky Masterman

And I think I want to tell like if there are any newer beekeepers, the reason why we were also impressed with the eleven gallons is one, it's just a good take, but that take usually you would see in a more um a wintered colony that has a bigger population during that nectar flow. So to have it the first year a colony has started to have such production when they don't go to divide next year and they have a strong colony to hit that nectar flow they should expect more honey if everything aligns and the colony's healthy and populous. So I think we all kind of did the math of first year colony, wow, second year colony, oh my gosh, that could be epic

Jeff Ott

I do want to add to both yours and Jim's observation about well Jim's earlier observation about the price of honey and your talking about the nectar flows is one of the things I learned long ago was We as beekeepers have to be able to market our honey. If we want a high price for our honey, we have to be able to describe our honey and sell it. And we've had guests on the show selling the little eight ounce jars for forty dollars or something just because they're able to sell a story along with the honey and say it's better than what you find on the grocery store. The understanding that nectar flows will help you drive a higher price for your honey and sell it at a greater price at the farm market.

So you can get fifteen or twenty dollars for a pound of honey, which at that point then That does help your business pay for itself.

Becky Masterman

We can talk about Stephanie now that she's gone. But one of the things that makes her such a success is that She wins show after show and she saw she had great success early on and it's what makes her such a great judge and continuing participant, but she's had great success, but when she goes to sell her honey, she can say, This is award winning honey So it's that adding that value, it's it's one of the ways to do it is get in those shows and get that blue ribbon. Get a ribbon. Any ribbon.

Jim Tew

Get a ribbon. Get a ribbon. One thing I'd like I'd like to add just from my experience with selling honey at Ohio State. You spend a lot of time loading and unloading and setting up tables and putting out banners and setting up displays and then standing there waiting for the crowd and then talking about swarming and don't you ever get stung and then finally You sell a jar. Sometimes. It's a commitment. When Jeff says sell your own honey, I suspect he's thinking bulk sell to a grocery store. But if you like that guy yesterday, it's like he's just fishing. On Wednesday afternoon I'm going to say, didn't you have something better to do besides stand here and sell six jars of honey?

But he seemed to be enjoying it But there's a lot of time that's committed when you sell your honey piecemeal instead of being able to sell it in bulk It takes time.

Dewey Caron

And I one of the issues is a new beekeeper, the good markets are already taken. There's already a couple of honey salespersons there. And so you go into one of those markets that You know, where the there isn't the traffic and you sell one jar instead of six jars or sixteen jars. It's it's a it's a tough it's a tough uh road, it really is. But that's, you know, I mean, versus selling from you know, people that can sell from their work or have a greater uh association with the local um local market that they can sell it from a local market It if it takes work to get that market that is going to be the market that's worth your time to be there We say that, you know, you're giving them a hundred dollars worth of advice talking about swarming and how you start with bees, etc., etc., to sell your ten dollar jar of honey or twenty dollar jar of honey.

Jeff Ott

I started with going around well in Ohio, of course, in the Midwest, the sweet corn stands in the fall or in the late summer are plentiful. They're all over the place. And I went around to those sweet corn markets, farmers stands, offered them a case of honey And on their goodwill, my goodwill, gave them a to sell it. And I said, if you sell it's X amount of dollars a jar. And I'll take back anything that you don't sell. And most of the time they were calling me asking me for more honey. And so I was I was taking the honey to those markets. They stood there behind the counters. I found that very effective. Even to today, where I saw my it's an established market and it's right there next to somebody else's honey package from who knows where.

But my honey is local Olympia Honey Company honey right there, right next to somebody else's honey, and it's it sells because it's local and people want local honey. And that's what you saw.

Becky Masterman

Did you two just hear Jeff Plug his own Honey?

Jeff Ott

Yeah, Olympia Honey Company

Becky Masterman

Give us your uh your uh internet sales uh Jeff, do you want to just give us your website? Put your price list out there too. How can people buy your honey Jeff

Dewey Caron

Yeah. One of the markets that people seem to like is like the holiday markets, if you can get into them. They say that you know they're they're a more limited time. It's not every Saturday or every Thursday, you know These markets want you to be there, so they you have a contract, you need to be there if it's raining, if it's snowing, if it's sleeting, you know, the tornado is in the next community over. Whereas these holiday markets Mm, they're they're it, that's you know, one event and people come to by.

Becky Masterman

And also I think it's a good idea You can definitely get more per jar if you are selling your honey because you're not going the wholesale route. But if before you commit to a regular gig, know that you don't hate it. Because you will be asked the same questions. You will have to talk about flavors. Like if I start talking about how I extract honey and the different flavors, uh do you see now I'm doing an app from my honey? But if I start talking about it, I generally am enthused about it. But at the same time, I know that I don't want to commit to a weekly farmer's market. So I do those one offs, but I also know that I really enjoy that communication with people.

Jeff Ott

You do some other things too with your honey. You're working with local producers making specialty drinks with honey and you package it a little bit differently. You do a different jar I just do regular queen line jars. You do you spend the effort to put in different types of jars. I think that's great.

Becky Masterman

Well I extract it over the season 'cause I literally don't have enough equipment, but that turns out to be this huge gift because I'm extracting the different I just had a big basswood flow and now I'm into a more mild honey and some clovers and Got some Japanese knotweed that's amazing. So I separate it. So what I did do is I use lid color to describe to discriminate what kind of honey it is so that I can tell and I can bottle it differently and then tell people the general flavors. And then I took five different flavors to a distillery slash brewery operation. and said, here are some jars of honey. If you're interested in any of these flavors, let me know.

And they did buy some, which is very, very exciting. So

Jeff Ott

Did they buy us stronger honey or lighter honey?

Becky Masterman

They bought every single kind of honey I had to sell. Which is because if they are into flavors. I also I have a bartending gig, so I also put honey syrup in my craft drinks. And I and I use a different kind of honey depending upon the cocktail. And that makes a difference and people get very excited about they can taste the honey in a margarita. They can they can taste the difference. So it's it's it's kind of fun.

Jim Tew

So you're putting honey in the margarita or you're making simple syrup out of the honey to put in the margarita?

Becky Masterman

It's honey but it's through a simple syrup because otherwise you get a blob of honey. So but I will make up simple syrups and use those during my shifts and I'll have usually have a couple of different flavors, not flavors, but different sources. It I mean it to put a to put uh Japanese knotweed, which tastes a little bit like buckwheat, to put that into an old fashioned people really like it. So you it's just it's kind of fun to be able to take those flavors and Bring em to the bar.

Jim Tew

French and Sinatra drank rusty nails. Drambuie made with honey and rye.

Becky Masterman

Ah

Jim Tew

I love it. And I went in and ordered a rusty nail and I asked the bartender if they could make it and she said, yeah, another old man comes in here and asks for that drink. I had to call her on that right away.

Becky Masterman

I love that.

Jeff Ott

I think I think this is a great opportunity to wrap this up. We ended up in the bar at the end of our show.

Becky Masterman

We should end up in the bar.

Jeff Ott

This is fantastic. And thanks Stephanie who in absentia but to Jim and Dewey and Becky and everybody for listening to a great 400th episode of Beekeeping Today. And you know, the one thing we didn't talk about, and I'll just do this one little shameless plug, Becky. And I apologize for going backwards here on this, but someone asked about the what's it feel where did I think 400th episode would lead to, or did I think about this? Not only did it long ago in twenty eighteen did this start to a four hundredth episode, but Becky and I have a book titled Beekeeping Today that's coming out in January of 2027. And so yes, to think about the humble beginnings of Beekeeping Today.

in Medina, Ohio, talking to Kim Flottum to now, and we had uh all these great contributors to the podcast. It is pretty em in a book. I really appreciate everyone's participation and uh making it what it is. So thank you for joining today on the 400th episode. Happy 400th!

Becky Masterman

And on to 400. On to 500. Yeah, I love that. I love that. And thank you, Jeff, for making us all sound good. Right.

Jeff Ott

Totally my pleasure. And that about wraps it up for this episode of Beekeeping Today. Before we go, be sure to follow us and leave us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts or wherever you stream the show. Even better, write a quick review to help other beekeeping. Discover what you enjoy. You can get there directly from our website by clicking on the reviews tab on the top of any page. We want to thank Betterbee, our presenting sponsor, for their ongoing support of the podcast. We also appreciate our longtime sponsors, Global Patties, Strong Microbials, and Northern Bee Books for their support in bringing you each week's episode. And most importantly, thank you for listening and spending time with us.

If you have any questions or feedback, Just head over to our website and drop us a note. We'd love to hear from you. Thanks again, everybody.