Jeff Ott

Cohost, Producer, Editor & Audio Engineer... Chief Cook, Bottle Washer, Errand Boy

While in 6th grade, Jeff’s interest in all things flying and crawling turned to honeybees. He enlisted his father’s help to buy an A.I. Root observation hive. Jeff’s honeybees resided on his second-floor bedroom desk in Lakewood, Ohio. He spent much of that boyhood summer enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of the observation hive. After buying his own home Hinckley, Ohio as an adult, he picked up on his interest in beekeeping. He purchased three colonies from a retiring beekeeper and his interest continued to grow.

Jeff grew his operation from a hobbyist into a small sideliner business selling honey and beeswax and providing local pollination services. He joined the Medina County Beekeepers Association and the Ohio State Beekeeper’s Association so he could continue to learn from others in the business. Jeff was president of the Medina organization and was a director of the Ohio association. He also created Medina County’s first newsletter: The Bee Herder.

While active with the Ohio beekeepers’ organizations, Jeff met the editor of Bee Culture magazine, Kim Flottum. Kim recruited Jeff and they created a regular column called the Weekender. The column provided practical advice for hobbyist beekeepers. Kim invited Jeff to attend the annual American Beekeeping Federation conference in Kansas City. While there, Kim introduced Jeff to Sherry Jennings, an executive with the National Honey Board in Longmont, Colorado. Sherry and Jeff are married.

Jeff relocated to Colorado to be with Sherry. He reestablished his beekeeping operation there and kept 40 hives. In Colorado, he continued writing for Bee Culture on a variety of topics. One of these was a series on the Africanized honeybees that required travel to McAllen, Texas and into Mexico. Sherry started a consulting business based on her work with the National Honey Board. At the same time, Jeff was self-employed as an expert in information technology security. When one of Sherry’s clients suggested they take a look at Olympia, Washington, they did and that’s where they now live.

Keeping honeybees in Washington state is challenging, but interesting. Jeff is still learning. He completed studies to earn Master Beekeeping Certificates from the University of Montana and the Washington State Beekeepers Association. On a trip back to Ohio, Jeff met up with Kim at Bee Culture and suggested they start a beekeeping podcast. Jeff produces and is co-host with Kim on the Beekeeping Today Podcast. The show attracts thousands of listeners worldwide every week. As a result of their successful podcast, Jeff and Kim started a production company called Growing Planet Media. Stay tuned for fun and interesting podcasts on bees and much, much more.