Exclusively funded by the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission

2026 Recipient: Myco Rhizing

Myco Rhizing Apiary Upgrade Grant Award: $10,000 Myco Rhizing sells mushrooms and honey at their farmstand, as well as weekly markets and festivals. This year, they will upgrade their apiary with all horizontal Layens hives, making honey harvesting easier while providing … View >>

2026 Recipient: Beeman Jones

Beeman Jones Honey Extraction Improvement and Value-added Processing Grant Award: $10,000 Fred has approximately 25 beehives and sells 50-150 gallons of honey per year. His current operation is bottlenecked by the uncapping process: preparing frames for extraction takes nearly three hours, … View >>

2021 Recipient: D & M Apiaries

Mitch and Darlene Myers, D & M Apiaries Apiary Expansion and Equipment Upgrade Grant Award: $6,000 A 2020 AgOptions grant allowed D&M to expand its stock of mite-resistant Russian honey bees at its main apiary in Cherokee County, prompting Darlene … View >>

2021 Recipient: KT’s Orchard and Apiary

KT, KT’s Orchard and Apiary Apple Sorting and Packing Project: Upgrading Farm Efficiency Grant Award: $6,000 Having already purchased a used apple sorter from a neighboring county’s N.C. Cooperative Extension Center, KT will be converting an existing barn into an … View >>

2021 Recipient: Brulé Farms LLC

Sébastien Brun, Brulé Farms LLC Tuber Melanosporum or Black Winter Perigord Truffle Orchard Grant Award: $6,000 Leveraging knowledge gleaned from multiple truffle-growing workshops in France, Western North Carolina and both online and in person with the National Truffle Growers Association, … View >>

2021 Recipient: Sweet Betsy Farm

Karen and Ed Speer, Sweet Betsy Farm Season Extension and Irrigation for Specialty Peppers and Vegetables Grant Award: $6,000 To address a lack of availability of plant starts and problems with irrigation, erosion and fungal diseases that have negatively impacted … View >>

2021 Recipient: Butterfly Cove Botanicals

Renea Winchester, Butterfly Cove Botanicals Medicinal Herb Expansion Grant Award: $6,000 In the wake of the COVID crisis, many people became first-time gardeners and the demand for seeds skyrocketed. There was also an increased demand for medicinal herbs, particularly elderberry … View >>

2020 Recipient: D & M Apiaries

Mitch and Darlene Myers, D & M Apiaries Russian Honey Bee Expansion Program Grant Award: $6,000 Mitch and Darlene have expanded their Russian honeybee apiary in order to increase production of bees, honey and queens. The goal is to have … View >>

2020 Recipient: D & R Bee Farm

David Massengill, D & R Bee Farm Updates for Increased Production Grant Award: $3,000 To increase pollination services and honey production, as well as provide a resource to the beekeeping community in Jackson County, David will be making necessary upgrades … View >>

2020 Recipient: Moral Bees

Michelle Mejia, Moral Bees The Local Honey Bee Project Grant Award: $6,000 Michelle’s grant let her expand queen production, honey, bee products and bee colonies to consumers and other beekeepers. Michelle has developed an innovative system to overwinter locally bred … View >>