The Nectar Podcast

What does it actually take to run a profitable beekeeping operation in 2026?In this episode of the Nectar Podcast, Sam sits down with Jake Moore — a second-generation commercial beekeeper running 3,000+ hives in Texas — to talk about his unique approach to beekeeping: specifically, using regular data sampling to make disciplined decisions.Instead of the industry-standard “spray and pray” approach, Jake samples 10–20% of his hives on nearly every visit — using that information to prioritize yard visits, and decide what kinds of inputs yards need.The result: lower input costs, higher survival rates, and a fundamentally different way of thinking about the operation.This conversation covers:Why most beekeepers are over-treating (and wasting money)How sampling creates “checks and balances” for instinctsHow Jake identified hidden mortality trends across regionsWhy the future of beekeeping is moving from operation → yard → hive-level decisionsHow tools like Nectar (and Meli) could make full-hive sampling possibleAt a time when input costs are rising and honey prices are stagnant, this isn’t just about better beekeeping — it’s about survival.

Beekeepers collect an enormous amount of information from their hives — but turning that information into real insight is much harder than it seems.In this episode of the Nectar Podcast, we sit down with Nico Coallier, CTO of Nectar Technologies, to talk about how better data — and better sampling — can change the way beekeepers understand their colonies.Nico is a researcher and technologist who has spent years studying colony monitoring, sampling methods, and digital tools for commercial beekeeping. In this conversation, he explains why sampling strategy is one of the most important (and most overlooked) aspects of hive management, and how the way you choose which hives to inspect can dramatically affect the conclusions you draw about your operation.We also explore Meli, Nectar’s AI diagnostics tool, that analyzes hive sound to provide new signals about colony health and activity. Along the way, Nico discusses his research into colony movement, and how new tools are helping beekeepers better understand what’s happening inside the hive between inspections.Finally, we talk about Cubee, a mushroom-based hive supplement, and how Nectar is thinking about the broader ecosystem of products that support stronger colonies.Whether you manage thousands of colonies or just want to think more deeply about how hive data works, this episode explores how biology, technology, and field experience are shaping the future of beekeeping.

Marc and Max meet with Nectar marketing specialist Sam Venis to discuss what's happening at Nectar & the future of digital beekeeping.

What does it really mean to build a crew that takes ownership?In this episode of the Nectar Podcast, Max sits down with Scott Barnes of St. Joe Valley Apiaries to talk about leadership, trust, and what it takes to scale an operation to over 10,000 hives when you can’t be everywhere at once.Scott shares how, one year into his Nectar integration, the most meaningful feedback didn’t come from dashboards or reports—but from his crew. From bringing his top employees to industry conferences to giving his team real responsibility in the field, Scott believes that strong operations are built by people who feel invested in the outcome.

Max breaks down the ins and outs of Yard Pass-Through Mortality Rate—a new ready-made report that shows the percentage of hives that have died after passing through each of your yard locations. Not just where they died, but where they traveled before they died. Traditionally, beekeepers could only link mortality to the yard where losses were discovered. This new report makes it possible to isolate the impact of a specific yard, even if that yard wasn’t where the hives ultimately failed. We believe this must become a key performance indicator for every beekeeper running a commercial operation.You can use this insight to:Identify yards that are quietly hurting your hives — even if you don’t see it right away.Start productive conversations with your growers, shifting from blame to problem-solving.Develop a baseline by crop type or region, then quickly flag outliers when things go wrong.Decide where to place your strongest colonies, splits, or queens based on historical performance.Build a defensible case in situations like pesticide drift, grower disputes, or insurance claims.

“There’s a big difference between I think this is what happened and I know this is what happened.” That's a quote from Jason Miller on the importance of making decisions with data.On the latest episode of the Nectar podcast, Jason goes deep on: 🐝 The mechanics of “low-touch beekeeping”—his strategy for minimizing hive movements 🏭 The logistics behind his cutting-edge indoor wintering facility 📱 And how his years as an engineer at Apple shaped the way he thinks about systems design in beekeeping

This episodes guest is Glenn Card—the proprietor, with his brother Wes, of one of the largest and most respected beekeeping operations in the country. Together, the brothers manage over over 30,000 hives, spread across an outfit that spans honey production, queen breeding, pollination services, and nuc production.  Listen to learn:🐝 How the Cards shipped 8,000 nucs in under 7 weeks—with real-time brood data 📍 How they analyze pass-through mortality across 200+ yards to refine pollination contracts 📦 How they predict nuc supply 7+ days out, based on live data from the field ⚠️ How they identify underperforming hives early—before wasting time and resources 👷‍♂️ How they manage 12+ crews and hundreds of pollination contracts with real-time crew oversight.

Nectar CEO Marc-Andre Roberge and apiary researcher Brandon Hopkins join Max on the pod to talk about overwinter mortality rates in the 2024-2025 season. The conversation focuses on a recent study by Project Apis (PAm) showing an average of 62% winter colony losses across the commercial beekeeping industry. In response, Nectar conducted its own study of winter mortality rates and found an average of 30% losses for the same period among its customer base. The resulting conversation digs into the discrepancy, asking what the commercial beekeeping industry can do to finally get ahead of hive losses. Links: 1. Project Apis' (PAm) overwinter mortality study: https://www.projectapism.org/pam-blog/keeping-beekeepers-buzzing-addressing-industry-concerns2. Marc's blog post in response to the PAm study: https://nectar.buzz/en/blog/13/

Nectar Customer Success Specialist Aaron Toma joins Max on the pod to talk about how and why beekeepers are using Nectar to plan, execute, and track their splits and take learnings from almond season ahead of spring pollination.

For the second episode of the Nectar Podcast, Shoreline Honey founder Nick Groenhof joins Max to talk about what he's learned during his first full year on the Nectar platform.

Nectar COO Max Cherney brings us inside the world of digital beekeeping and shares his plans for the podcast.