Bees, blooms and bloodhounds

STOVER, Mo. – Jessica Johnson’s experiences with University of Missouri Extension have been as golden as the honey she sells.

Johnson, the owner of Ladybird’s Bee Yard, participates in MU Extension’s Missouri Heroes to Hives program for U.S. military veterans, which aims to improve financial and personal wellness through free professional training and community development centered around beekeeping.

A Marine Corps veteran, Johnson was introduced to Heroes to Hives in 2024 by MU Extension natural resources specialist Joni Harper, also a beekeeper.

Johnson learned about bees from her grandfather, Alton Gilmore, a U.S. Army Korean War-era veteran and beekeeper. The hum of home was never far away, even when she lived halfway across the country from her grandfather. When Jessica and her husband, Cory, packed up their Texas farm to move to Cory’s family farm in Stover, Mo., her grandfather set the young couple up with their own hive.

After her grandfather’s death, she obtained his hives and honey-processing equipment.

Jessica, Cory and their children live on a Missouri Century Farm that has been in Cory’s family since 1885. The process obtaining a Century Farm designation was her introduction to the local MU Extension center, which led her to explore Heroes to Hives and MU’s Missouri Agriculture, Food and Forestry Innovation Center (MAFFIC).

The idea for a small family-run business began with the bees and honey but soon grew to include value-added products like beeswax candles, lotion bars, fresh-cut garden flowers and more.

Harper showed Johnson how to use the MAFFIC website to find help to scale her business dreams.

As part of the business-building process, MU agribusiness counselor Whitney Schmidt guided Johnson through developing a customized enterprise budget, an essential tool for understanding startup and operating costs while rightsizing her business for long-term feasibility.

Together, they explored potential markets and demographic trends in her area using the Ag Intel Market Intelligence tool, layering that information with Johnson’s own observations to ground her plans in real-world opportunities. Schmidt also introduced the Break Even Pricing tool, helping Johnson see how thoughtful pricing can sustain and grow a business over time.

During the slow season, when the bees stay close to their queen in their hive, the plan is to draw on all the data collected from Jessica’s first year of sales to craft financial projections, explore possibilities for enterprise stacking with cattle and refine pricing strategies across different market channels. “Our goal is always to ensure resources are aligned with both profitability and purpose, and I’m confident that Jessica has the grit it takes to persevere,” says Schmidt.

Throughout, Johnson continued to tap into MU Extension programs, including Missouri Beginning Farmers, Master Pollinator Steward, the Pearls of Production livestock program for women and 4-H. She also serves on the MU Extension Council in Morgan County.

She frequently checks the county extension page and MAFFIC’s website and uses MU Extension enterprise budgets. Harper’s office in the Morgan County Courthouse is a frequent source of information.

“Jessica has done an excellent job utilizing the resources that extension offers and putting them into progressive action,” says Schmidt.

Johnson’s latest adventure is writing a series of children’s books. The first, “Ladybird’s Bee Yard,” focuses on Ladybird, “a beloved bloodhound,” one of six family dogs. The book tells the story of when Ladybird mysteriously grows flowers from under her doghouse and then grows an actual garden. She takes the flowers to market and follows the path to becoming an Extension Master Gardener.

Johnson says MU Extension programs complement her military training to build a balanced home and work life.

“The Marine Corps taught me resilience and self-discipline, and that has stayed with me as a valued resource. I carry those values into my current life as a farm wife and a stay-at-home mom of three wonderful daughters, whom I homeschool. Parenting, like military service, requires adaptability, leadership and strength. Those skills now show up in everything, from how I run our household to how I run our business.”

Johnson, her husband and three daughters are intentional about sourcing supplies locally from produce and flower auctions, farmers markets and other small businesses. Through MAFFIC and Heroes to Hives, they’ve learned the importance of value-added products to boost revenues. They’ve also tapped into advice and mentoring from friends, relatives and neighbors.

“Starting and growing this enterprise has been a journey of lifelong learning, and the University of Missouri Extension has been an essential partner every step of the way,” says Johnson. She credits Harper and Schmidt with supporting her and bringing the reliable, unbiased research of MU to her rural area.

“I wouldn’t have pushed beyond my comfort zone without the encouragement of MU Extension specialists like Whitney Schmidt and Joni Harper,” she says. “They cheered me on when I was ready to give up and saw promise where I saw a mess. They helped bring my dreams to life.”

She appreciates the acquaintances and experiences she’s had through the early days of her business and hopes she can eventually help other young entrepreneurs. “My biggest piece of advice for anyone starting out is this: Never stop learning. Dive deep into books on your passion, attend local and even distant meetings about beekeeping,” she says.

“Seek out every bit of knowledge you can. There’s always something new to learn. I’m constantly amazed by the abundance of knowledge housed within our extension office, and I encourage everyone to begin exploring it.”

More information

• Missouri Agriculture, Food and Forestry Innovation Center
• Heroes to Hives
• Missouri Century Farms

Photos

Jessica and girls. A Marine Corps veteran, Jessica Johnson participates in Missouri Heroes to Hives, a program for U.S. military veterans that aims to improve financial and personal wellness through free professional training and community development centered around beekeeping. Photo by Ashley Black of Red One Photography.

Ladybird and Jessica. Marine Corps veteran Jessica Johnson’s latest adventure is writing a series of children’s books. The first, Ladybird’s Bee Yard, tells the story of a lovable bloodhound who mysteriously grows flowers under her doghouse. Photo by Ashley Black of Red One Photography.

Bees. Photo by Ashley Black of Red One Photography.

Ladybird and family. Jessica and Cory Johnson and their three daughters and bloodhound Ladybird live on a Missouri Century Farm that has been in Cory’s family since 1885. Missouri Century Farm is an MU Extension program that recognizes farms that have been in the same family for 100 years or more. Photo by Ashley Black of Red One Photography.

Working with bees. Jessica Johnson learned about beekeeping from her grandfather, a Korean War veteran, and has developed a business centered about bees and honey with the help of MU’s Missouri Agriculture, Food and Forestry Innovation Center. The small family-run business has grown to include value-added products like beeswax candles, lotion bars, fresh cut garden flowers and more. Photo by Ashley Black of Red One Photography.