Clint Walker III

Growing up in a beekeeping family in rural Texas, Clint imbibed a love of the natural world. From his earliest remembrance, his father (and a rolling assortment of uncles and old salt beeks) schooled him on the interplay of soil, climate, plants, and bugs–especially the flying ones that pollinate crops and make honey. After a brief sojourn earning a Ph.D. and exploring an academic career, the call of the bee farm lured him back to his native Central Texas where he and his wife, Janice, bought the family business from his parents. Now, after thirty years of growth and change, Clint and Janice are stepping back as the fourth gen (two sons) and key beeks at Walker Honey Farm have taken over the reins. Facing early challenges by parasitic mites, novel (to US shores) pathogens, and economic pressures in the industry, Janice and Clint transitioned the family business from a traditional hive-centered operation, historically focused on pollination services and honey production, to a vertically integrated and horizontally diversified agri-business with honey bees remaining at the core. Now a complete “bee to bottle” operation, Walker Honey Farm does value-added processes to all of the honey it produces annually as well as procuring select honeys from other Texas and US beekeepers. While Janice and Clint were running the farm, Janice loaned Clint to the bee and honey world to serve as a board member of the American Beekeeping Federation (ABF), Vice-Chair of the National Honey Board, and an ad-hoc worker bee for the Texas Beekeepers Association. While serving as President of the ABF, Clint lobbied federal agencies for the beekeeping industry and presented testimony to Congress on the history of changing flora for Texas pollinators. Clint and Janice live on the same farm where Clint grew up. When not helping pass the baton to the next generation, they joyously share life with Emma and Shelby, their two German Shepherd dogs. They love camping, hiking, and birding in state and national parks where they hang their “4 HAPPY CAMPERS” sign.