Eastaboga Bee Company: The Sweeter Route

BY JESSIE SHOOK

Way back in the small town of Lincoln, Alabama, sits a farm that raises not only cows, but honeybees. As you pull up you can hear the buzz of bees and the view of the noticeable broken-down family tractor that sits with a tree growing through the middle – the Eastaboga Bee Company logo.

Justin Hill is a fourth-generation farmer. While he grew up in production cattle, he decided to take a sweeter route. Hill took a hobby and turned it into a business by starting Eastaboga Bee Company. When asked how his hobby grew from something he enjoyed, to a business, Hill laughed and said, “dumb luck.”

Hill began producing so much honey, he didn’t know what to do with it. “It started with neighbors wanting honey or bees,” Hill said. “Then by word of mouth it grew to restaurants and more.”

Eastaboga Bee Company was officially established in 2013 and has been growing ever since. Hill has three employees that help around the farm with daily tasks and whatever is needed. “There is always something to do,” Hill added. “We check bees every two weeks, but we are always monitoring for signs of problems, building bee boxes and other maintenance.”

When speaking of the care of honeybees, Hill likes to relate it back to what he grew up doing – cattle. “Bees are like any other livestock, except just a little bit harder,” Hill said. “You can’t go look out in the pasture and see sick cattle, you have to really dig in and see what the problem is.”

Honeybees are mainly self-sufficient, but if nutrition is lacking, you may have to supplement, just like other livestock. “It’s just basic animal husbandry, except I’m doing it on an insect,” Hill added. “Just like cattle, you could turn them out and they may be okay, and they may not.”

While there are different types of bees, Eastaboga Bees are European Honeybees. Hives are made up of worker bees and a queen bee. Worker bees only live for about 20-30 days and the queen bee lives for three to four years. While queen bees will come to the point of retirement, Justin does keep retirement hives for queens that need to be replaced. “I just can’t get rid of them, they’ve been so good to me,” Hill laughed. “It’s just like the old bull that has done so good for you, you just keep him in the pen and feed him watermelon rinds.”

Most honeybees begin producing honey when everything starts blooming. Hill begins early harvest around Memorial Day and continues through August. “To harvest, honeycomb frames are placed in an extractor,” Hill added. “It’s like a washing machine that spins, and the honey goes to the outside and filters down.”

Hill also uses beeswax to make other popular Eastaboga Bee Company products. Those products include hand balm, lip balm and wood polish. Along with the many different sizes of honey, Eastaboga Bee Company products can be bought online and at the Talladega County Exchange in Talladega, Alabama, where his honey is often referred to as “golden nectar.” Talladega County Exchange has sold Hill’s honey since Hill began his company in 2013. “Justin is a great guy to work with,” said Joe Cameron, Talladega County Exchange. “His honey is outstanding and always flying off the shelf.”

For more information or to order online, visit www.eastabogabeecomapny.com or visit their Instagram page @eastabogabeecompany.