Exclusively funded by the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission

2021 Recipient: McNeilly Enterprises

Julia Austin, McNeilly Enterprises Enhancing Capacity with Multi-purpose Facility Grant Award: $6,000 The owners of McNeilly Enterprises are constructing a 20-foot by 25-foot multipurpose building. They have purchased a commercial honey extractor and other equipment and supplies to facilitate processing … 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: 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 >>

2019 Recipient: Blue Ridge Apiaries

Ryan and Launi Higgs, Blue Ridge Apiaries Value-Added Diversification with Session Mead Production Grant Award: $6,000 Before starting their successful small-scale apiary that now supplies 12% of the total North Carolina honey crop, the Higgs were employees of the largest … View >>

2019 Recipient: Beekeeper Inc.

Cameron Brock Johnson, Beekeeper Inc. Bee Hive Transportation Upgrade Grant Award: $6,000 Cameron will be upgrading his capacity for transporting beehives used for pollination services throughout North Carolina by purchasing a vehicle large enough to accommodate the hauling of 100+ … View >>

2017 Recipient: Corbin Family Farm

Eddy Jackson Corbin, Jr., Corbin Family Farm Honey House Grant Award: $6,000 Jackson has built a honey house to hold extraction equipment and process honey. He is purchased a 12-foot by 24-foot prefabricated building and located it close to one … View >>

2017 Recipient: Bee Kind Family Farm

Robert and Jaime Cool, Bee Kind Family Farm Apiary Expansion Grant Award: $3,000 Robert and Jaime have added 20 new bee colonies to their 60-hive chemical treatment-free yard with the hopes of doubling honey production in the future. The additional … View >>

2017 Recipient: Wehrloom Honey

Jessica Wehr, Wehrloom Honey Mead Expansion Grant Award: $6,000 Jessica and Aron have added a meadery to the Wehrloom Honey Retail Store and Educational Center in Robbinsville. While making wine out of honey is unique in itself, they also have … View >>

2016 Recipient: Sweet Betsy Farm

Karen and Wade “Ed” Speer, Sweet Betsy Farm Bee Farm Season Extension Grant Award: $6,000 Karen and Ed have renovated their on-farm store, The Honey House at Sweet Betsy Farm, located just off US-221, so that they can keep the … View >>