Beekeeping Today Podcast

By: Jeff Ott Becky Masterman
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  • Summary

  • The podcast for the latest beekeeping news, information and entertainment for today's beekeeper. Hosts Jeff Ott and Becky Masterman bring you conversations with beekeepers, researchers and industry leaders, helping you become a more informed and knowledgeable beekeeper.
    2025 by Growing Planet Media, LLC
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Natural History Nature & Ecology Science
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Episodes
  • Dalan Animal Health – Vaccine Updates & Breakthrough Discoveries (329)

    Dalan Animal Health – Vaccine Updates & Breakthrough Discoveries (329)
    Apr 14 2025
    In this episode, Jeff and Becky welcome Amy Floyd and Everett Hendrixon of Dalan Animal Health back to the podcast to discuss the latest developments surrounding honey bee vaccination. With spring queen orders underway, many beekeepers are exploring the option of vaccinated queens to help protect their colonies from brood diseases and beyond. Amy, head of beekeeper relations and a former USDA researcher, shares her journey into beekeeping and how she came to work with Dalan. Everett, Dalan’s sales manager, offers insights into the commercial side of introducing this new technology to the industry. Together, they provide updates on the AFB vaccine’s acceptance and distribution, and importantly, highlight emerging evidence that the vaccine may also help reduce other serious threats, including deformed wing virus (DWV), chalkbrood, and sacbrood. The episode dives into how the vaccine works—not with needles, but via queen candy—and explains the principle of transgenerational immune priming. The team also explores recent field trials demonstrating up to 90% reduction in DWV, even in colonies with similar varroa levels, and how these unexpected benefits may shift how beekeepers think about disease prevention. Whether you’re a hobbyist or a sideliner considering new management tools this season, this episode offers valuable context on one of the most exciting health innovations for honey bees today. Websites from the episode and others we recommend: Dalan Animal Health: https://dalan.comHoney Bee Health Coalition: https://honeybeehealthcoalition.orgThe National Honey Board: https://honey.com Honey Bee Obscura Podcast: https://honeybeeobscura.com2 Million Blossoms - The Podcast: https://2millionblossoms.com Copyright © 2025 by Growing Planet Media, LLC ______________ Betterbee is the presenting sponsor of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Betterbee’s mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent customer service, continued education and quality equipment. From their colorful and informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational activities, including this podcast series, Betterbee truly is Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at www.betterbee.com This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global offers a variety of standard and custom patties. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode! Thanks to Bee Smart Designs as a sponsor of this podcast! Bee Smart Designs is the creator of innovative, modular and interchangeable hive systems made in the USA using recycled and American sourced materials. Bee Smart Designs - Simply better beekeeping for the modern beekeeper. Thanks to Dalan who is dedicated to providing transformative animal health solutions to support a more sustainable future. Dalan's vaccination against American Foulbrood (AFB) is a game changer. Vaccinated queens protect newly hatched honeybee larvae against AFB using the new Dalan vaccine. Created for queen producers and other beekeepers wanting to produce AFB free queens. Retailers offering vaccinated queens and packages: https://dalan.com/order-vaccinated-queens/ More information on the vaccine: https://dalan.com/media-publications/ Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about their line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com Thanks for Northern Bee Books for their support. Northern Bee Books is the publisher of bee books available worldwide from their website or from Amazon and bookstores everywhere. They are also the publishers of The Beekeepers Quarterly and Natural Bee Husbandry. _______________ We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments in the show notes of this episode or: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com Thank you for listening! Podcast music: Be Strong by Young Presidents; Epilogue by Musicalman; Faraday by BeGun; Walking in Paris by Studio Le Bus; A Fresh New Start by Pete Morse; Wedding Day by Boomer; Christmas Avenue by Immersive Music; Red Jack Blues by Daniel Hart; Original guitar background instrumental by Jeff Ott. Beekeeping Today Podcast is an audio production of Growing Planet Media, LLC Copyright © 2025 by Growing Planet Media, LLC
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    45 mins
  • Judging Honey Shows With Stephanie Slater (328)

    Judging Honey Shows With Stephanie Slater (328)
    Apr 7 2025
    In this episode of Beekeeping Today Podcast, certified honey judge Stephanie Slater joins Jeff and Becky to demystify the art and science of honey shows. From understanding how entries are judged to tips on preparing award-winning honey, Stephanie shares her journey from entering her first show in 2019 to becoming Wisconsin’s first certified judge through the American Honey Show Training Council. Stephanie discusses what makes a honey show entry stand out—from reading the rules (yes, seriously!) to selecting high-quality jars, preventing bubbles, and even traveling with honey safely. She shares insights into the Black Jar competition (hint: it’s all about flavor), gives pro tips for preparing entries, and explains why feedback from judges is so important for improving and learning. The conversation also explores the steps required to become a certified honey judge, including training, stewarding, judging exams, and why these standards matter to elevate honey and beekeeping as a whole. Whether you’re new to honey competitions or considering becoming a judge yourself, this episode is packed with guidance, encouragement, and a healthy dose of enthusiasm. If you’ve ever thought, “I could enter my honey,” or “What do judges look for?”—this is the episode for you! Websites from the episode and others we recommend: American Honey Show Training Council: https://www.honeyshowusa.comStephanie's Website: https://www.awardwinninghoney.com/ Honey Bee Health Coalition: https://honeybeehealthcoalition.orgThe National Honey Board: https://honey.com Honey Bee Obscura Podcast: https://honeybeeobscura.com2 Million Blossoms - The Podcast: https://2millionblossoms.com Copyright © 2025 by Growing Planet Media, LLC ______________ Betterbee is the presenting sponsor of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Betterbee’s mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent customer service, continued education and quality equipment. From their colorful and informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational activities, including this podcast series, Betterbee truly is Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at www.betterbee.com This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global offers a variety of standard and custom patties. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode! Thanks to Bee Smart Designs as a sponsor of this podcast! Bee Smart Designs is the creator of innovative, modular and interchangeable hive systems made in the USA using recycled and American sourced materials. Bee Smart Designs - Simply better beekeeping for the modern beekeeper. Thanks to Dalan who is dedicated to providing transformative animal health solutions to support a more sustainable future. Dalan's vaccination against American Foulbrood (AFB) is a game changer. Vaccinated queens protect newly hatched honeybee larvae against AFB using the new Dalan vaccine. Created for queen producers and other beekeepers wanting to produce AFB free queens. Retailers offering vaccinated queens and packages: https://dalan.com/order-vaccinated-queens/ More information on the vaccine: https://dalan.com/media-publications/ Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about their line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com Thanks for Northern Bee Books for their support. Northern Bee Books is the publisher of bee books available worldwide from their website or from Amazon and bookstores everywhere. They are also the publishers of The Beekeepers Quarterly and Natural Bee Husbandry. _______________ We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments in the show notes of this episode or: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com Thank you for listening! Podcast music: Be Strong by Young Presidents; Epilogue by Musicalman; Faraday by BeGun; Walking in Paris by Studio Le Bus; A Fresh New Start by Pete Morse; Wedding Day by Boomer; Christmas Avenue by Immersive Music; Red Jack Blues by Daniel Hart; Original guitar background instrumental by Jeff Ott. Beekeeping Today Podcast is an audio production of Growing Planet Media, LLC Copyright © 2025 by Growing Planet Media, LLC
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    53 mins
  • [Bonus] Short - Dr. Dewey Caron, "Honey Bee Communication Dynamics"

    [Bonus] Short - Dr. Dewey Caron, "Honey Bee Communication Dynamics"
    Apr 2 2025

    In this Beekeeping Today Podcast Short, we welcome back Dr. Dewey Caron for a quick yet insightful Audio Postcard on honey bee communication – Bee Scientist to Beekeeper, Beekeeper to Bee, and Bee to Bee. Dr. Caron shares timely advice for beekeepers, from colony assessments to spring preparations. Whether you’re a beginner or experienced beekeeper, this short episode is packed with valuable tips to keep your colonies thriving. Tune in for expert insights from one of beekeeping’s most respected educators!

    Links & Resources:

    • Beekeeping Today Episode with Dr. Priya Basu: https://beekeepingtodaupodcast.com/309
    • Pollen Database and Missouri State: https://www.msstate.edu/newsroom/article/2021/10/msu-scientist-building-pollen-database-improve-bee-nutrition-asks-citizens
    • Couvillon, M.J. et al. 2015. Honey bee foraging distance depends on month and forage type. Apidologie 46:61-70.
    • BD Ohlinger, R Schürch, MR Silliman, TN Steele, & MJ Couvillon (2022). Dance-communicated distances support nectar foraging as a supply-driven system. Biol Letters 18 (8), 20220155

    Brought to you by Betterbee – your partners in better beekeeping.

    ______________

    Betterbee is the presenting sponsor of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Betterbee’s mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent customer service, continued education and quality equipment. From their colorful and informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational activities, including this podcast series, Betterbee truly is Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at www.betterbee.com

    Copyright © 2025 by Growing Planet Media, LLC
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    13 mins
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Profile Image for kayakryder

mites are in our future, Sammy has the answers

very informative, formic pro and heat seem to be in our bee keeping future.

thank you for a great show

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Profile Image for Cody Stevens

found a new podcast for bees

good episode. I can't wait to see or listen to what comes next from this podcast

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Profile Image for Fly4fun

Great Podcast!

I enjoy the humor and teaching of many of these podcast. They have a lot of popular and informative beekeeper guest.

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Profile Image for Kimberly

Love This Podcast

I started listening to Honeybee Obscura, and took up listening to this podcast because it was the next best thing. Different styles, but I am now just as fond of this podcast

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