Plain Talk: NAHBE Walkabout (266)

Episode 266 – Plain Talk: NAHBE Walkabout

Dr. Jim Tew: Hi, beekeepers. It's Thursday, and I've never done this in my life. I don't know how to describe it. I don't know how to put it into words. This is my first trip to the North American Honey Bee Expo here in Louisville, Kentucky. There are thousands of beekeepers here, hundreds and hundreds of vendors, people, and stuff. It's just inconsequential that this is beekeeping. This morning, walking over here because I walked over here from the hotel, I saw all those cars in the lot, I saw all these people, and I realized that my beekeeping experience is past. It's gone, it's dated, it's antiquated, and that all these people, all this equipment, all these devices, all these ultimate hive covers, that's going to be the next generation.

You people who are young to beekeeping, you're really coming into it at a good time. Listeners, I'm Jim Tew, and I come to you here once a week at Honey Bee Obscura, where I try to talk about something to do with just plain talk beekeeping. Right now, I'm at the Expo.

Introduction: Welcome to Honey Bee Obscura, brought to you by Growing Planet Media, the producers of the Beekeeping Today Podcast. Join Jim Tew, your guide through the complexities, the beauty, the fun, and the challenges of managing honey bees. Jim hosts fun and interesting guests who take a deep dive into the intricate world of honey bees. Whether you're a seasoned beekeeper or just getting started, get ready for some plain talk that'll delve into all things honey bees.

Jim: What do you want, Beekeepers? Everything's here. Every type of equipment, every cover, here's queen grafting stations. Here's queen castles. Everything in the world is here. There's woodenware everywhere. The odd thing is that there's equipment that I would love to have, but what would I do with it? Double-screen boards. Everything 10% off.

Here's a big Mann Lake exhibit. Of course, Mann Lake's a major player here. If you haven't been here, I'm trying to tell you that if you think you understand how big it is, then basically double it. Everything in the world is here. Here's Cowen with their commercial beekeeping equipment here. Automatic uncappers. Here's Swienty. They're doing the automatic honey packers. Pretty much suitable for sideline beekeepers. Small enough.

Protective gear. Could I do that thing when I was a boy? When I was a boy, you had a couple of bee suits made out of heavy cotton. They were modified painter suits, screen wire on the covers, and it was hot and miserable. Now there's all this nice protective gear. You can make a designer statement, it really looks nice. Want to go back this way for a bit. Hey, guys. Hey.

NAHBE Attendee: [unintelligible 00:03:52]

Jim: How you going, buddy? It's an adoring fan to the podcast listeners. Walking back toward Premier Bee Products. Hi. Hello.

NAHBE Attendee: Hello.

NAHBE Attendee: Here now.

Jim: There's a mob here, listeners. There's a mob here. I was trying to head back toward our bee table, where we have the podcast booth, and then I was going to go over here to our booth, and right across our booth is our sponsor. Let's take a break and hear from our sponsor.

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Jim: Here's Apis Engineering, instrumental insemination equipment, microscopes, technical beekeeping. Tennessee Beekeepers are here, as are Penn State. There's a group called Apiculture Extension Educators of America. I don't know exactly what that is, but it looks like it might be a good thing for me. Here's a company selling honey bee microbials, beekeeping gear. There's absolutely a lot to see. Here's all the software sensing and demo sessions for polystyrene beehives with—it's hard to describe—installation above the colony.

Here's the eating area. Of course, for a meeting this large, there's people everywhere there, eating all kinds of good-smelling Kentucky food. I'm going to take a break at this point. We'll come back later and finish. Hang on. There's mobs of people coming in here. I'm trying to get out because we'll go to the honey tasting area outside the door here. I've never seen too many bee shirts in my life. Everybody's wearing a different bee shirt. It's really interesting. Hang on, listeners, while I squeeze through the door. Here's the gigantic area where the honey tasting goes on. There's a lot of people walking around.

Right now, there must be 150 people tasting honey from Canada, from all across the world. It's called the North American Honey Bar. That really works out well. I'm going against the traffic flow, so I'm the odd guy causing confusion. Here's the people that are doing the beekeeping caricatures. If you want your funny face drawn. Hey, buddy. Talking to a guy here from Nashville by way of Michigan. I'm just walking around, talking to my microphone. Say hi.

NAHBE Attendee - Jeff: Hi. I'm Jeff from Nashville, Tennessee, by way of Michigan, small town Ottawa Lake. I listen to Jim's podcast every week. It's a great podcast. I highly recommend it.

Jim: Oh, wow.

NAHBE Attendee - Jeff: He does a lot of topics that you think about but never discuss. It's a great listening experience.

Jim: You're very kind. How much do we agree on? $20? [laughs]

NAHBE Attendee - Jeff: Yes, that was right. Oh, the speaker fee, though, that you're going to require, I'll cover that when you come to Nashville.

Jim: All right. I'll come to Nashville and make it up to you.

NAHBE Attendee - Jeff: Thank you.

Jim: Thanks, Jeff.

NAHBE Attendee - Jeff: Appreciate it. [crosstalk]

Jim: See you, buddy. All right. I'm sorry. A woman carrying a heavy box and I've made her walk around me. It's really an event. Listeners, I don't have a clue how much time I've got here, so I'm going to go ahead and sign off. I may do something else when I get a chance, but I'm signing off. I've had a great time here. Bye-bye.

[00:08:55] [END OF AUDIO]