By Linda Geist
Nov. 10, 2025
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 in Stover, Missouri, participates in MU Extension’s Missouri Heroes to Hives program for U.S. military veterans. The program 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, 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 Johnson’s family since 1885. While obtaining a Century Farm designation from the local MU Extension center, she discovered 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 such as beeswax candles, lotion bars, fresh-cut garden flowers and more.
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.
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,” Schmidt said.
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,” Schmidt said.
MU Extension programs complement her military training to build a balanced home and work life, Johnson said.
“The Marine Corps taught me resilience and self-discipline, and that has stayed with me as a valued resource,” she said. “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 and her family 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,” Johnson said.
She credits Harper and Schmidt with supporting her and bringing the reliable, unbiased research of Mizzou to her rural area.
“I wouldn’t have pushed beyond my comfort zone without their encouragement,” she said. “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.”
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