This issue of Bend Lifestyle focuses on investment. When considering investment, you might not think about honeybees. And yet, our lives are intrinsically tied and forever connected to these small insects who play an integral role in pollination, the process of which supports biodiversity and helps maintain ecosystems. Healthy bee populations are essential to a healthy and thriving planet. We need bees.
In 2019, a new beekeeper and entrepreneur burst onto the scene in Bend. Though he was living in North Carolina at the time, a vacation to visit friends in Bend lead to a love connection, which triggered a cross country move for James "Jimmy" Broadus Wilkie V. “How does any good story start?” reflects Wilkie when asked how he ended up here. “Boy meets girl, falls in love, they have a child . . . I was looking for a fresh start in life when I came to visit friends here, and met my future wife, Nikki. I went back east, sold everything, and here I am.”
Beekeeping was not Wilkie’s first job. In his early 20s, Wilke was a commercial diver, certified as an underwater welder and working for Shell and Texaco out of Louisiana. “I did that for four to five years, but that lifestyle was pretty brutal, and not sustainable for me,” remarks Wilke. A career change was in order, and Wilkie enrolled at Western State University in Colorado where he studied wildlife biology and, of course, bees.
“I’ve always been fascinated with bees and their importance to the environment. From their social structure to their ability to communicate with each other, bees became a passion of mine, really since my early 20s.” After graduating, Wilkie moved to North Carolina to learn to be a beekeeper. He’s been beekeeping now for over 17 years.
“My neighbor in North Carolina, Ray Revis, was a beekeeper and he became my mentor,” notes Wilkie. “I learned most of what I know about bees and beekeeping from him. We traveled to Maine for blueberry pollination all the way down to the panhandle of Florida for the Tupelo Honey. He also introduced me to different kinds of honeybees and how to do a lot of the stuff beekeepers do, but how to do it differently, more efficiently.”
“Beekeeping is crucial for pollination, supporting biodiversity, and ensuring food production,” Wilkie explains. “Bees play a key role in the pollination of many crops, contributing to the growth of fruits, vegetables, and nuts that make up a significant part of our diet. Beyond this, bees provide honey, beeswax and other hive products that we benefit from. Honey is a natural sweetener with potential health benefits, including antioxidant and antibacterial properties. Other hive products like propolis and bee pollen also have potential health applications.”
When he first arrived in Bend, Wilkie worked for Agricultural Connections delivering produce. “Through this job, I met local farmers and just made connections that stuck. I started helping these farmers take care of their bees because they kind of get put on the back burner, so everyone can struggle with them from time to time.”
These relationships built a foundation for Wilkie, and in 2019 he founded Broadus Bees. “I developed a lot of relationships with landowners and farmers in Bend and they allow me to bring my bees to their property,” notes Wilkie. “I have a group of hives on a lavender farm on the southeast side of Bend. I have other groups of 40-50 hives in three to four locations in and around Bend.”
In January each year, Wilkie transports his hives from Bend to Williams, California, for the almond pollination. “Our bees spend the majority of their time in Central Oregon, but the almond pollination provides a major food source in the middle of winter so that we can feed them less sugar water, and it also gets them out of the Central Oregon roller coaster winters,” Wilkie explains.
After their time in California, Wilkie transports his bees to Groundwork Organics, a 100-acre farm in Junction City, Oregon. “The bees do really well in the spring with all the natural forage and no artificial feedings. In June, the bees return to Bend to produce honey.”
“While the bees are at Groundwork Organics, I make up nucs and packages of bees to sell in May,” Wilkie explains. “Nucs are a nucleus colony of bees, or a mini hive. A nuc is five frames, where a typical hive is ten frames. I sell the nucs in the spring to established beekeepers, and also sell packages to set up hives for new beekeepers.”
In his spare time, Wilkie supports local area beekeepers and has taught classes through Central Oregon Beekeeping Association (COBKA). Last year he began teaching a beginner beekeeping class at Central Oregon Community College (COCC) in the fall and spring. “I’m just trying to create and support more avenues for people to learn,” says Wilkie.
Broadus Bees has grown and evolved much faster than Wilkie expected. “We now do farmers markets four days a week in the summer and over 100 events a year including holiday bazaars and pop-up markets . . . that’s kind of our identity, ‘the honeybee person at the farmer’s markets,’” Wilkie laughs. “I never expected us to grow this fast. I don’t think I could have built Broadus Bees anywhere else.”
“My favorite part of what I do is being part of this community. The satisfaction that comes from helping a farm with their bees, having these bees pollinate the food that people in Bend are eating, completing this flower to food to table cycle is what keeps me excited and gets me up in the morning," Wilkie says. "Our community of farmers and growers here in Bend is very unique with a great diversity of small farms, a lot of women-owned farms, that you don’t see in any typical scenario anywhere – it truly feels like people are longing for ways to get back to the way things used to be, when making real connections was a priority.”
If someone is interested in beekeeping, Wilkie suggests reading as much as you can about the topic. “Then you just have to go for it and get on a beekeepers list early to get bees in the springtime,” Wilkie suggests. “I think everyone can do it. You don’t need a lot of space. People are keeping bees on roof tops in Atlanta and putting bee hives on corporate high rises in cities and the bees are doing great there.”
“What I’m all about . . . the bees and being part of this community,” Wilkie says. “But more important, I’m all about family and being present for my kids, present for my wife. It’s these relationships that matter, family and community.”
BroadusBees.com
How to Help Bees:
COBKA – information and resources at cobeekeeping.wildapricot.org
OSU Extension Office – offers Oregon Master Beekeeper Program and other resources; extension.oregonstate.edu
COCC – beginner beekeeping classes in spring and fall; cocc.edu
Pollinator Pathways program – Public and private pesticide-free corridors of native plants that provide nutrition and habitat for pollinating insects and birds. Even the smallest green spaces, like flower boxes and curb strips, can be part of a pathway. Pollinator-Pathway.org
For local native pollinator plants and seeds, check out WinterCreek Nursery and Schillings Garden Market.
What Broadus Bees Offers:
Products:
o Two types of honey each year, lavender and wildflower.
o Over 320 hives produce 10-15 55-gallon barrels of honey each year.
o Other hive products such as propolis, bee pollen, beeswax, soap, infused honey, lip balm, throat spray and honey hot sauce.
o New for 2024: Bourbon Barrel-Aged Honey – Wildflower honey aged four to five months in Oregon Spirits Distillery bourbon barrels.
o Order Broadus Bees products online with FREE local delivery or find a local retailer on their website.
Services:
o Whole hive set up and packages.
o Hive Health – Inspection, mentoring and maintenance.
o Swarm removal – without causing harm to the bees or your property.
o Educational seminars, demonstrations and COCC classes.
“Beekeeping is crucial for pollination, supporting biodiversity, and ensuring food production,”
—Jimmy Wilkie, Owner of Broadus Bees
