The future generations of beekeepers are key to driving forward the field of apiculture through innovation, collaboration, and leadership. The 4-H youth development program offers a wide variety of resources that support young members’ interests. In particular, 4-H provides support to young beekeepers through resources, projects, scholarships, and curricula. With existing evidence from extension education research, it can be inferred that young beekeepers in 4-H are more likely to continue their pursuit of apiculture and become involved in local beekeeping organizations. With both the benefits of personal growth members obtain through 4-H and the plethora of resources available to young beekeepers, 4-H is preparing the next generation of apiculturists to succeed and create an impact in their field.

The impact of young beekeepers can be tied to their career readiness. No matter the scale of the operation, beekeeping is a job that requires time and patience in order to succeed. Evidence suggests that 4-H equips youth with the career readiness needed for future success; one study found that 77% of 4-H alums view their experience in the program as highly beneficial to later success in their careers (Radhakrishna & Sinasky, 2005). 4-H beekeepers are making a difference from the moment they commit to keeping a hive as they choose to increase awareness about the importance of honey bees. As more youth become engaged in advocacy for honey bees through 4-H, awareness about the impact of positive youth development will increase, as will the impact of young beekeepers.

Another way 4-H inspires the next generation of beekeepers is by interweaving positive youth development with community involvement. 4-H is able to provide opportunities and resources for young beekeepers to gain essential skills, such as collaboration, leadership, and public speaking, needed to become change-makers in the beekeeping industry. According to the 2022 National 4-H Survey, 50% of members indicated that 4-H had inspired them to volunteer in their communities (Gagnon et al., 2022). This research would indicate that young beekeepers in 4-H will also likely become involved in apicultural related community outreach. Local and statewide beekeeping associations often encourage the involvement of youth in beekeeping through scholarship programs and volunteer work.

Beekeeping associations also serve as a gateway into various sub-topics within the field of apiculture. Through educational resources, workshops, and state conferences, young beekeepers can discover their niche (e.g., queen rearing, honey production, or scientific research) within apiculture that reinforces their commitment to beekeeping. For example, the Ohio State Beekeepers Association hosts a youth scholarship program for young 4-H beekeepers. Every year, these winners have the opportunity to attend the OSBA annual conference, which presents an array of guest speakers and educational workshops. Through programs and opportunities such as these, I discovered my passion for beekeeping and, more specifically, honey bee pathogen research.

The Ohio beekeeping community is very engaged with their 4-H beekeeping students through scholarships and outreach initiatives. One young high achieving beekeeper in particular, Liam Velderrain, attributes 4-H and Local Beekeeping associations to his discovery of beekeeping and later success in 4-H. His passion for beekeeping started while visiting the Franklin County Fair for 4-H. It was at this fair that the Central Ohio Beekeepers Association inspired him to become a beekeeper. Since his initial discovery, Liam has gone on to win state-level awards for his beekeeping projects and presentations on pollinator-friendly lawns. He plans to contribute to the beekeeping industry through his future research projects. Liam states that the interdependency of bees and plants is another reason he cares about bee research and that he cares about bees just as much as he cares about botany and plants.

It is also true that young people beyond their teens and early in their careers are creating a buzz in the bee research world. The graduate students studying in the Johnson honey bee lab at The Ohio State University are bringing scientific contributions to beekeeping that are driving breakthroughs in the field. Graduate students, Lily Johnson, Brandon Shannon, Luke Hearon, and Adam Foster’s research includes utilizing AI and bioacoustics to pinpoint bee foraging activity, applications of new adjuvants for varroa mite control, and the effects of pesticides on bee health (The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, 2024; Shannon et al., 2025; Shannon et al., 2023). At the OSBA’s annual conference for 4-H, I attended the OSU research presentation session where these young scientists inspired me to pursue a career in honey bee research.

At the time of this conference, I was also enrolled in the University of Montana’s Journeyman beekeeping class. I still needed to find a research topic for my capstone project in the upcoming master beekeeping course. The presentations of the graduate students helped me form many ideas about what topics and experiments I could conduct next summer. I finally landed on researching and developing a transgenerational immune priming vaccine for honey bee queens. My experience with my research serves as another example of how 4-H empowers members to make a difference.

I plan to work as a researcher specializing in honey bee pathogens eventually. Currently, I am preparing to attend the Ohio State University this fall where I will be studying in the honors program and majoring in entomology. I plan to continue my research on nosema and bee immunity in the form of my honors thesis. My hope is to connect beekeepers, scientists, and the public through pollinator advocacy initiatives. I look forwards to sharing my research with those in my field, as well as engaging the public in important scientific discussions about bees.

 

Bibliography

 Gagnon, R. J., Arnold, M. E., Lingard, J., & Mullendore, J. (2023). 2022 National 4-H Annual Index Study. Washington DC: National 4-H Council. https://helping-youth-thrive.extension.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/230707-2022-4H-National-Index-Study-FNL.pdf

Radhakrishna, R. B., & Sinasky, M. (2005). 4-H Experiences Contributing to Leadership and Personal Development of 4-H Alumni. The Journal of Extension, 43 (6), Article 10. https://open.clemson.edu/joe/vol43/iss6/10/

Shannon, B., Walker, E., & Johnson, R. M. (2023). Toxicity of spray adjuvants and tank mix combinations used in almond orchards to adult honey bees (Apis mellifera). Journal of Economic Entomology, 116(5), 1467–1480. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toad161

Shannon, B., Zhang, R., Marsh, L., & Johnson, R. M. (2025). Adjuvants to improve efficacy of miticides in managed honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies to control Varroa destructor. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.02.14.638256

The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. (2024, October 10). The buzz about buzzdetect: AI meets bee sound trapping [Video]. https://entomology.osu.edu/about-us/multimedia/buzz-about-buzzdetect-ai-meets-bee-sound-trapping