Honey Shows have been popular in North America  since the mid-1800's. As Americans, we take a great deal of pride in our heritage of independence and personal freedoms. That spirit led to a great deal of diversity in how honey contests were organized, administered, and judged over the years. Even today, no two honey shows are set up, run, or even judged exactly the same way. 

       The American consumer, as well as the producers who serve them, like consistency. We like to know what to expect when we purchase goods and produce. We like predictability, and being able to know what to expect. Those elements have been lacking in honey shows and honey contests in North America, largely because we are culturally so fiercely independent. Beekeepers who produce honey, beeswax, and other hive products want to know what to expect, and what the judges expect of them at the honey show. The solutions to this problem are uniformity and training.

       In 2001, Dr. Keith Delaplane, Phd., brought the

Welsh Honey Judge training and certification program

to the United States from the United Kingdom. Michael

Young, MBE, was the architect of the Welsh Honey

Judge program, which is closely modeled after the

British National system of judging honey and hive

products. The Welsh Honey Judge training system has

been very popular in the United States, expanding

from Georgia to Florida, throughout the Southeast,

and now finding practitioners across the entire

breadth of the United States! 

                                                                  The American Honey Show Training                                                                  Council is modeled closely after the Welsh                                                                Honey Judge training system. Practitioners

                                                            practitioners of the Welsh system of judging                                                              honey shows have long recognized the

                                                            enormous importance of emphasizing the

                                                            highest levels of consistency, skill, and 

                                                            professionalism in their training and

                                                            certification requirements.

       The American Honey Show Training Council has been established to continue and build on this foundation, to provide a uniform and consistent system to train and certify professionally skilled honey show officials, and to develop and provide standardized training material and certification standards in the tradition of the Welsh Honey Judge training and certification program.