Steven Coy

Steven Coy is president of the American Honey Producers Association (AHPA) and a third-generation beekeeper with more than 40 years of experience in commercial beekeeping. A native of Brookland, Arkansas, Steven now lives in Wiggins, Mississippi, where he owns and operates Coy Bee Company, a queen, nuc, and honey operation consisting of approximately 1,800 colonies in Mississippi.

Steven has served on the AHPA Executive Committee since 2011 and became president of the association in 2025. Throughout his career, he has worked to advance the interests of commercial beekeepers and strengthen the U.S. beekeeping industry through leadership, research, education, and public-policy involvement. He was a founding member of both the Russian Honey Bee Breeders Association and the Pollinator Stewardship Council. He has served as president of the Russian Honey Bee Breeders Association and the Mississippi Beekeepers Association. From 2013 through 2017, Steven represented the U.S. beekeeping industry on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee, where he contributed the commercial beekeeper’s perspective to national discussions concerning pesticide policy and pollinator protection.

Steven co-authored the book Russian Honey Bees, has delivered numerous presentations on Russian honey bees at state and national beekeeping meetings, sharing his practical experience and knowledge of Russian honey-bee breeding, selection, and management with beekeepers throughout the country.

Steven earned a bachelor’s degree in plant science and a master’s degree in entomology from Arkansas State University. His combination of practical beekeeping experience, scientific education, authorship, and national industry leadership gives him a broad understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing American beekeepers.