2026 Midwest Honey Bee Expo – Part 3

[Bonus Short] Midwest Honey Bee Expo Interviews: Beekeepers and Innovations (Part 3)

Jeff Ott:

Welcome to Beekeeping Today Podcast Shorts, your quick dive into the latest buzz in beekeeping.

Becky Masterman:

In 20 minutes or less, we'll bring you one important story, keeping you informed and up to date.

Jeff Ott:

No fluff, no fillers. Just the news you need.

Becky Masterman:

Brought to you by Betterbee, your partners in Betterbeeekeeping.

Jeff Ott:

Hey everybody, welcome to this special short Produced from the floor of the Midwest honey bee Expo.

Becky Masterman:

I really enjoyed my time there at the expo, looking forward to next year, and I hope that our listeners enjoy these conversations.

Jeff Ott:

with our favorite honey judge. Yay! Stephanie. Stephanie, welcome back to the show. I mean, you're almost a regular. I'm gonna have to get you a regular seat.

Stephanie Slater:

I'm just gonna get a badge.

Jeff Ott:

Wait, I don't have a badge.

Stephanie Slater:

Oh my goodness, I would love a badge for my white judge. Wouldn't that be okay, Jeff, get on that because I got stickers.

Jeff Ott:

I got a table full of stickers.

Stephanie Slater:

I love your stickers. I have them on a few of my cups.

Jeff Ott:

Well Stephanie, w they they have a great honey show here at the Midwest Honey Bee Expo. You were a judges at this show. A month ago you were.

Stephanie Slater:

Were you in charge of the show? I was the chairperson of this show, so I brought in my staff. So thank you for having me here to talk about our honey show. I brought in staff from all over the Midwest actually. So I had two judges, Pam Carter from Illinois and Kelsey Gerhardt from Indiana. Okay. Then I had two secretaries, Dalton Day from Illinois, and Tara Capri. from Illinois and then I had three stewards helping help helping me and we had um sorry I'm really tired. Oh I feel so bad. So Angie Redecker from Missouri. Okay. Aaron Mullins from Missouri and David Mattis came from Oregon and he just finished his intro class. Oh, yeah. So I got to be the chairperson. So I worked with the organizers of the Midwest Honey Bee Expo to build a honey show. So the rules and the nineteen categories and bringing in the staff and coordinating the space and advertising and getting entries to come in. So that was the fun part. I just got to walk around and talk to people while everybody did the harder work yesterday.

Jeff Ott:

So how so How long does it take to prep for a proper honey show? So if someone was sitting there saying, I am gonna do a I have a state conference this this year, how long do you usually ask them to to prep for that?

Stephanie Slater:

So when we're setting up a show, we really want to get those rules out as far in advance as possible. So if you think about it, if I have comb honey categories in my honey show, people need to know in the spring whether or not they want to prepare some comb honey to be able to enter later in the year. So we really try to have them six months or further out. It's not always happening that way, but we really do try. When it comes to a competitor, same thing. I might be thinking in the spring, what are the some of the things I want to compete with in the winter? Like for example, I did pollen this year for the first time. So I had to I had to be collecting my pollen in July so that I had some to show in January. So those are a few things that you have to kind of think ahead about.

Becky Masterman:

If you do pollen, are you allowed to have legs in the pollen, Stephanie? No, no.

Stephanie Slater:

really uh question. Legs.

Jeff Ott:

Legs.

Stephanie Slater:

I was really questioning my life choices when I was cleaning the pollen that I was showing because I was sitting there with lights and fans and tweezers the day before I had to leave for the uh honey show, but it was a great experience. I got all those legs out. Okay.

Jeff Ott:

Legs out. All right. Well learn something every day. So is it you work under the auspices or the guidelines of the American

Stephanie Slater:

The American Honey Show Training Council.

Jeff Ott:

I almost had that. You did? I ha I almost had it. That's impressive. So if someone was saying, well I want to prepare for a honey show, but they haven't published the rules yet, maybe they could use what's published on the website as a maybe a starting point.

Stephanie Slater:

Yeah, that's a really good suggestion. So there's templates out there and also events like this and some of the other events like the North American Honey Bee Expo or other events we do, you know, if you look at last year's rules, you can get an idea of what they have. Things could tweak, things could change. Classes or categories might be added or taken away. It might tweak a little bit of language, but at least you get have an idea of what that honey show is going to look like. So you can prepare some stuff as you're waiting for those rules to be published for that particular. particular year. Yes.

Jeff Ott:

Very cool.

Becky Masterman:

I want to go back in history because there was a honey show here last year. And did you organize it? I did. Okay.

Stephanie Slater:

Okay. Tell us the difference between last year's honey show and this year's honey show. Well what is so amazing is that we have almost doubled our entries over last year. So this year we had um fifty one exhibitors bring a hundred and forty four exhibits. Last year was in the seventies exhibits. Nice and there were four 30 black jar entries, 20 last year. Wow. So I'm really excited at the huge growth in one year. So I add I added to the staff and we you know we added to the space. The rules were pretty much the same as last year. So we'll look now in year three maybe we wanna add a few things because I didn't want to start out with this huge show that would look a little bit you know bare right I wanted to give some good categories that would appeal to a variety a lot of people and then And then now as we grow, we can add to those categories. So I'm really, really excited to see the growth.

Jeff Ott:

Just for those who may not know what a black jar honey is, can you what what is that?

Stephanie Slater:

Yeah, so most of our categories are how Pretty can you make it? Except for the black jar contest. We specifically have the competitors put their honey inside a black jar so we can't even see how pretty the honey is. And it's based on flavor alone. Oh wow. really an honor to have won an award in a black jar because we want to brag about how good our honey tastes and so now now we can use that in our marketing. Exactly, I like that. I think I'm gonna start using that analogy.

Becky Masterman:

But wait, explain the black jar. Like How do you hide your honey? It's actually a black jar.

Stephanie Slater:

So I have to get a black jar in order to do this? Nope. I provide them when you come. You can bring your honey in any container you want. Okay. We only need two to four ounces. Oh, inches. So you can fly you can fly with with your little two-ounce bear if you have to. I'm learning so much. Yes. So I really hope I really hope that I see you at the table next year with an entry. I was so close.

Becky Masterman:

And is it one entry per person?

Stephanie Slater:

One entry per person. You can enter multiple categories.

Becky Masterman:

I know but black too.

Stephanie Slater:

Yes, you'll have to pick your favorite of all your seasons, Becky. And you can put one of those in. Okay.

Jeff Ott:

This is very exciting. Well Stephanie Slater, it's been so wonderful having you again as a guest on the podcast and ha seeing you here at the show and and uh And and learning about the honey show here at the Midwest Honey Expo.

Stephanie Slater:

Thank you both again for having me here. And I hope everyone is marking their calendar for the last weekend in January in 2027 to come back to the expo and bring your honey show entries.

Becky Masterman:

actually made an announcement. I know it's in in the actual program. But but no no no it's in the program so it's public but but I don't think we've talked about it with listeners. So it's the is it the twenty s 29th I think.

Jeff Ott:

Twenty ninth twenty ninth is one of the days.

Becky Masterman:

I know it's one is that the first day

Jeff Ott:

I think it's 2029.

Becky Masterman:

Okay, so so that's pretty exciting that there's already a date for 2027. Yes, very exciting. Honestly, Stephanie, congratulations, because you're you're just doing such a great job. And and I love that you took your your ribbons home from ABF and now And then you're in charge of the Midwest Honey Bee Expo Honey Show. So thank you. We're gonna have to get your autograph. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. We are in the booth with uh two people who I'm very excited. excited to talk to. We've got Isabel Derby Wright and Jessica Helgen, both from the University of Minnesota bee lab. And I'm just gonna have each of you quickly introduce what you do in the bee lab right now.

Jessica Helgen:

This is Jessica. I am the program director for the Bee Squad. So the Bee Squad is part of the Honey Bee Lab and we also coordinate with the Extension Program and the Native Bee Lab. At the University of Minnesota we do a lot of extension and outreach and We manage about 200 to 250 colonies. So as the program director, I'm in charge of keeping track of our programs, managing people, and then also getting to work with awesome people like Isabel. Hi, I'm Isabelle.

Isabell Dyrbye-Wright:

Well, Derby Right. So I recently graduated with my master's last May under the direction of Marla Spivak. And so now I'm employed by B Squad as a researcher. So I do research projects, I help with the mentoring API program. Um work with Jess and other B squad members and come to conferences like this and give presentations and disseminate research to the public, which I'm really passionate about.

Jeff Ott:

Well so I'm probably the only one here doesn't know what the B Squad is. So can someone someone tell me what is the B Squad and and when you say you do projects, what kind of projects?

Jessica Helgen:

Yeah. Well the B Squad is a is a ever-changing program. So we've had lots of different things that we do over time. So we started as a pretty small program in 2011. So Dr. Marlis Bebek who was the head of the honey bee Lab got money from a MacArthur Genius grant. And so she used part of that money to start this program that was really aimed at beekeeping education. So, you know, with the idea that um there's a lot of new beekeepers, a lot of hobby beekeepers, and there was this need to give them education and kind of do more hands- on outreach and go to their hives and have them come to our hives. So it started as a pretty small program and then it grew over time. So our first program director was Jodi Gertz and then she actually went to Australia. And then we had Becky and Becky just explained The program in many amazing ways and took it into a lot of new directions. And then we had Bridget Mendel, who is the person before me and Naomi. And so one thing I think that's been really cool over time with between Jody. And Becky and Bridget is that we've expanded to do more Native B research and collaboration with a Native B extension educator at the University of Minnesota.

Becky Masterman:

So Isabel, you gave a talk yesterday. Have you been having conversations with beekeepers after that talk? Uh and have they been interesting? I'm hoping you say yes. Yes.

Isabell Dyrbye-Wright:

Um beekeepers have come up and asked me lots of questions, some of which I don't know. exactly the best answers for. They're like, how do I get the pull line in my bees? Which I'm like, great question, because I got them from the USDA and I don't think that that is very normal for an for uh you know for a non-research university. university, you know, because that's how we do it through our through the university. So that's been the main question is how do I get a uh resistant line a ri and a a stock into my bees? Like who do I buy from? And I don't know that answer. So I need to fill that gap. That's something I need to learn about is who Who are people that you can buy bees from. So my answer has been to talk to your beekeeping groups and your local beekeeping community and see where they're getting their bees from and like collaborate together has been basically what I've been saying.

Becky Masterman:

Yeah, you do find out when you leave the the university.

Isabell Dyrbye-Wright:

Yeah. Yeah.

Becky Masterman:

We have access to a lot there.

Isabell Dyrbye-Wright:

Yeah, there's so many resources that most people Yeah. And that's part of B Squad's mission is to make these resources accessible. You know, to talk about ways that you can use the research we do in your in your practice in everyday life too.

Becky Masterman:

So Jessica, have you been talking to beekeepers at this at this meeting? And and what because I know that I think we we ask you things when you're in the audience and we we make you identify yourself because you're leading a program that's really helpful to beekeepers, but what what's that look like for you?

Jessica Helgen:

I actually think the most fun thing has been recognizing a bunch of Minnesota beekeepers that I've seen at a bunch of different Minnesota events. Like we have our beekeeping for veterans programs and there's several beekeepers that I've only known from that. There's some beekeepers from the Minnesota Hobby Beekeeper Association, some from the Tri-County Beekeepers. So it's also fun to like sit at a table with some of them and then be like, hey, here's another Minnesota person, and bring together all these Minnesota beekeepers that like I just noticed today, like two people realized that they both live in Forest Lake and they've never met each other before. And now they met in Wisconsin and now they can collaborate, you know?

Becky Masterman:

I think I saw both of those Forest Lake beekeepers because I have my bees there too.

Jessica Helgen:

So we're all coming together. Sorry to interrupt you. Yeah so I think that's been neat to hear, you know, what they've been taking away from it 'cause some of them are brand new, some of them have been doing it for many years. Some of them are sideliners, some of them are commercial. And so yeah, even just being able to chat with like a commercial beekeeper from Minnesota and bring them together to talk to a a hobby beekeeper from Minnesota's been really fun.

Becky Masterman:

And I I just one more quick question. You maybe have noticed but a lot of the recurring themes are beekeepers need more support, they need more help. And so both of you are working in that capacity, but do are putting on the Did you have any ideas after you know or have you been talking about any ideas as far as like what can we do differently? I I know you mentioned a a little bit, Isabel.

Jessica Helgen:

I think some of it is that we you're right, we do like the lab has a lot of resources, but then a lot of them are online. Yeah and so I think just being able to chat with people and then even if we're not like directing them or like handing them a resource directly if we can like be a friendly face and then encourage them to go find these online resources like you talked about yeah you know in your talk.

Isabell Dyrbye-Wright:

Um yeah, because we have like even I don't know about all the resources that we have on our website. So like yeah, I try to put in a QR code on on in my talk for like Varroa testing and ways you can treat and because there's so much information about Varroa management out there and so we have a resource where you have put it kind of all together with our recommendations. So yeah I think that's why conferences are really great and these types of meetings are really great because we can like actually talk to beekeepers, hear their needs, you know, and then like direct them to resources. because th you know I can't remember everything but uh my our website has a lot of really cool stuff.

Becky Masterman:

Okay I've got one more I lied I have one more question.

Isabell Dyrbye-Wright:

Okay.

Becky Masterman:

We know that Jessica this is this is your passion. You are in the job and and you're you're good. Isabel you seem pretty excited about this. Y y I know you love the research, but it also looks like you like the the outreach. What's the the next five year plan for Isabel? Wow.

Isabell Dyrbye-Wright:

Yeah, I don't know. I think well w the bee lab we're kind of in a really a fun time of transition because Dr. Spivak has retired and we're looking to fill in that role. So as to what the next five years of B Squad looks like as well, it's kind of depends a little bit on who takes on Marla's role, who fills that role and what their vision is for B Squad and how we can collaborate with them. So that kind of is gonna dictate also part of what I I think the next five years look like. Um, as well, you know. It's not it's hard to be a scientist right now, um, a young scientist I think. And I hope that sentiment about science in the administration will will change within, you know, the next couple of years and I think it's easy to be a little disheartened, but uh I'm still I'm optimistic, especially here at these meetings. It's great to talk to beekeepers and We're all on the same page about valuing science and valuing research.

Jeff Ott:

Um so Jessica, real quick question. You're looking forward to this summer. What do you what's a major project that you're looking forward to or working towards for this summer in the Minnesota Beastwater?

Jessica Helgen:

So one thing that we've been trying to do is we have a lot of APRA scattered around the Twin Cities. We have about 45 different sites. And so as much as possible, we've been trying to take queens from the U of M breeding program and then move them out into those apiaries. And at this point, like we've been through several cycles of colonies superseding or swarming or raising new queens or, you know, doing water. walk away divides and so we've been following those you kind of like original genetics in these more dispersed and diluted settings and so it's been really nice to have Isabel to be a researcher who's doing all of the stats for us and so as we've been following them I feel like we're at a good point where we can do some culling or some re-cleaning and really see the ones that have done well over the last three years and then take out the ones, you know, that have not been keeping their mites down or not been gentle or you know getting really cranky and then having a new influx of genetics and then also possibly working with you know some external breeders and putting some of those queens in the system. So I just think that's really fun to be able to follow them from year to year in these different sites and see how they do in different parts of the twin cities.

Jeff Ott:

Have that story to tell.

Becky Masterman:

I I think that you two have a talk to go to, but we were really excited to talk to you and hopefully we can talk again. So thank you.

Isabell Dyrbye-Wright:

Yeah thanks for having us. Thank you. Thanks for joining us.