What began as a single Christmas gift has blossomed into a beloved, small-batch honey operation for Amy Eng and her husband at Eng Land Honey. The Eng family launched the venture in 2017 after receiving their first hive, a perfect fit for Amy, an avid gardener who had long imagined integrating bees into the family’s landscape.
After researching and taking Auburn University Extension classes, the couple steadily expanded to more than 30 hives on their Pike Road farm. Both work full time and are clear that their goal isn’t to go big. Instead, they’re focused on a family-operated “honey bee” business that keeps its footprint small and its practices intentionally natural.
They avoid pesticides and herbicides and strive to keep their land as close to nature as possible. The result is a distinctly local product: “100% pure and raw honey” made from the nectar of the flowers blooming around Pike Road and neighboring communities.
“Once the honey is spun off the comb, it’s poured through a coarse sieve to remove large particles and then bottled. We keep our process simple,” said Amy. “This allows the honey to retain natural vitamins, enzymes, antioxidants, and local pollen.”
Like most small-scale beekeepers, the Engs work on the bees’ schedule. Honey flows from late May through late September or early October, depending on the season. “We typically sell out around the holidays, when hives aren’t producing and no fall or winter harvest is possible,” said Amy.
As the season progresses, the flavor and color can shift—often growing richer and darker—based on what’s blooming and what the bees are foraging”, said Amy.
Their commitment to good stewardship extends beyond their own acreage. The family works with the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries and registers their hives, as required statewide, to help track bee health and populations. What started as a way to “support the bee population while learning more about these amazing, industrious insects” has grown further than they imagined, but the mission remains the same.
Local has always been a guiding principle. Eng believes keeping honey close to home matters—for flavor, for place, and for people. She points to the ways some customers use true local honey, which contains traces of local pollen, as part of their approach to seasonal allergies. She also notes that many view honey as medicinal, citing its use as a natural cough suppressant and in wound care. And there’s the old wisdom that still holds: as long as honey is kept sealed, it never spoils.
Eng Land Honey has found a dedicated following through Pike Road and seasonal markets. They’ve sold at Local and Bloom in Pike Road since the shop opened. “The ladies at Local and Bloom have been a blessing to work with,” Eng said. “We also have a few local pop-ups like Christmas on The Square at The Waters and the Pike Road Arts and Crafts Festival during the year.”
For the Eng family, the work is as much about respect for the bees as it is about the harvest. Amy shared, “honey is a true agricultural product. We don’t manufacture it—we only collect what the bees produce.”
To learn more, visit englandhoney.net or stop by Local and Bloom in Pike Road to pick up a bottle.
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