Natural Bee Keeping · Speaker Kit No. —

Monty Schrunk Keeping Bees Doesn’t have to be Hard

Monty Schrunk, the Suburban Sodbuster, is a natural beekeeper, organic gardener, and author who helps audiences explore practical, bee-centered beekeeping. With experience speaking at homesteading conferences and beekeeper gatherings, he brings lessons from his own backyard, covering Layens horizontal hives, catching local swarms, and working with the natural behavior of bees.

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Experienced event speaker: Monty has presented at homesteading expos, conferences, and beekeeper association meetings.
Clear topic options: His established presentations make it easy to match a session to the event’s audience and educational goals.
Practical audience value: His backyard beekeeping experience provides relatable examples for attendees exploring natural beekeeping.
Positive organizer feedback: Homesteaders of Iowa organizers praised his engaging sessions, knowledge, and enthusiastic attendee response.

Signature talks

choose 1–3 per event

No. 01

Keeping Bees Doesn’t have to be Hard

an overview of natural beekeeping as compared to conventional beekeeping practices, highlighting 5 basic principles of natural beekeeping.

No. 02

The Fascinating Lives of Bees

an exploration of how bees live and work together, highlighting bee facts to provide an understanding of how a colony functions.

No. 03

Moving Past Varroa with Natural Beekeeping

A discussion of natural beekeeping principles and how keeping bees consistent with their nature, allowing natural selection, can result in stronger, more parasite- and disease-resistant bees.

No. 04

Keeping Bees in the Layens Horizontal Hive

A demonstration of the Layens horizontal hive, discussion of the benefits for the bees and the beekeeper, and an overview of the hive management through the year.

No. 05

Don’t Buy Packages – Get Better Bees for Free

A brief overview of natural beekeeping, focusing on the principle of “Keep Local Bees”. This talk discusses benefits of keeping locally acclimated bees, especially from feral sources, and gives instructions for catching swarms.

No. 06

You Can Keep Bees, Naturally!

An updated presentation of the principles of natural beekeeping, including how to begin or transition to keeping bees in a more natural way.

Event Planner Resources

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Short bio

Stage introduction

Monty Schrunk is known as the Suburban Sodbuster—a natural beekeeper, organic gardener, and author with a message that keeping bees doesn’t have to be hard. From his suburban backyard in Missouri to homesteading conferences and beekeeper gatherings, Monty shares practical lessons about understanding bees and working with their natural instincts. His experience includes building horizontal hives, catching local swarms, and helping others explore a more natural approach to beekeeping. He’s also the author of the children’s book *Don’t Fear the Bees*. Please welcome the Suburban Sodbuster, Monty Schrunk!

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