Follow-up from NAHBE and ABF

What could be more fun than starting the new year off with a series of beekeeping conferences? Different crews from different departments within Betterbee traveled far and wide to take on NAHBE and ABF in January 2024. Check out some of the takeaways from the shows below, and let us know what you'd like to see from Betterbee in 2025 by sending an email to shows@betterbee.com.

Betterbee's experience at NAHBE 2024

Our NAHBE team!

First, the North American Honey Bee Expo (NAHBE) in Louisville, Kentucky drew thousands of attendees, and our crew said it was “the happiest crowd [they’ve ever] been in at a show.” Beekeepers from all over the country, and even the world, came to talk to each other, hear talks, and see what the vendors had to offer. You could feel the buzz of excitement in the air.

Betterbee’s Anne Frey, Dr. David Peck, and John Rath had a great time showing off our favorite products, and quickly sold out of some of our really popular new equipment. They spent a lot of time explaining the queen introduction cage, the queen isolation cage, and their various use cases. The Hogg Halfcomb comb honey system and Lyson 6 frame polystyrene nucs flew off the shelves. There was great interest in our BetterComb product, especially from beekeepers looking for drawn frames for strong nectar flow. We were excited to meet many long time customers who came to visit the booth and to chat in person for the first time. Many stopped by to praise their favorite customer service rep or other employees at Betterbee! 

At other booths, we had a great time connecting with our friends at Dogwood Ridge Farms where many larger Lyson uncappers, extractors, and honey processing equipment were on display. Customers enjoyed seeing the larger Lyson equipment in person. We sampled and bought some delicious creamed honey produced with a Lyson creamer at the Farris Farms booth. Perhaps most entertaining was our interaction with Laurence Edwards from Black Mountain Honey in the UK, who had the great idea to put a Lyson jacket on a statue outside the conference center!

Our only complaint about NAHBE was that the vendor hall was so big, and our booth was so busy, that we didn’t have time to go talk to all the other vendors before the show ended! We’re already looking forward to next year!

Betterbee's experience at ABF 2024

Then, the American Beekeeping Federation (ABF) held its annual meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. In addition to the great food (beignets, anyone?), we were able to meet old friends from across the beekeeping industry, and to make plenty of new ones, too. 

Of course, Betterbee spent a lot of time in the ABF trade show hall, primarily showing off and teaching people about all of the great Lyson products we carry. We also featured some favorites, like the Colorado Bee Vac and the Hogg Halfcomb comb honey system.

Our booth set up and ready to go for the ABF conference!

The speakers at the ABF conference came from many different beekeeping backgrounds, and covered many different topics. You might find one room with university extension educators holding a new beekeeper Q&A, while another speaker covers advanced bee nutrition to boost nuc growth, and yet another speaker shares his decades of experience running a commercial migratory pollination business. The breadth and diversity of the beekeeping industry is truly on display at the ABF meeting.

Added bonus: American Bee Research Conference (ABRC) and Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA)

The added fun of the ABF meeting was that two other exciting conferences happened in the same place at the same time. The American Association of Professional Apiculturists (AAPA) put on their annual American Bee Research Conference (ABRC) at the same venue as the ABF meeting. At the ABRC conference, passionate beekeepers like Randy Oliver (scientificbeekeeping.com) or James Lee (sbgmi.org) sit right next to USDA scientists and university professors to hear lightning-fast 12-minute presentations on the most exciting bee research happening around the country. Our own Dr. Peck was excited to hear updates from his scientific colleagues, to make sure whenever Betterbee answers beekeeping questions we’re always sharing the most cutting-edge science. 

The Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) also held their annual meeting alongside the ABRC and ABF meetings. Various state bee inspectors came together to talk shop, but they also talked to scientists and beekeepers to make sure we’re all following the best science, and all working together to keep bees healthy across the country. 

These multiple overlapping meetings mean that state apiary inspectors, bee scientists, commercial beekeepers, people who sell beekeeping products, and anyone else interested in beekeeping can all see each other at once, ask questions, watch talks, and eat dinner together. (And this year, attendees could even head out to Bourbon Street to experience the French Quarter of New Orleans while talking about beekeeping!)

Final thoughts on the big beekeeping conferences of 2024

Those of us who attended both shows felt like the Bee Expo embodied the raw spirit of the whole beekeeping community, while the ABF meeting was really the place for movers and shakers in the bee industry to see each other and to discuss issues that affect us all. The Expo vendor hall was massive, and lots of beekeepers came to shop and didn’t go home empty-handed. Meanwhile, the ABF meeting showed off major players across the industry. It allowed for lots of important cross-pollination between beekeeping, bee science, apiary inspection, and beekeeping equipment suppliers. Both meetings were great fun, and Betterbee’s teams were proud to attend both of them since we’re proud members of both the beekeeping community AND the beekeeping industry.