As the owner of Sweet Mountain Farm, LLC. I have the privilege of working with my family in a business that brings us together during sap flows and honey harvests. Our work here is all about the honeybees and building strong colonies that will survive our Northern winters. In recent years that has been a challenge. The more I learn about honeybees, the more I realize how worthwhile our apiary is. Meeting beekeepers and getting new beekeepers started is very rewarding.

Everyone in the family is considered a farmhand, including me. I haul sap buckets along with all the others but I also bottle, label, and staff our farm markets. The unique skills that I bring to the mix are my skills in photography and graphic artwork which is used on the website, on labels and in marketing media.

The Made To Be Clean™ brand was created for Sweet Mountain Farm to use all harvestable resources from the hive. I use honey, wax, propolis and pollen in soaps, lip balms, deodorants and lotions. I am responsible for formulas, processing and packaging these new products.

After spending 10 years at a Fortune 500 corporation learning about wood and woodworking, I came to Sweet Mountain Farm to design and build the first beehive prototype from local Northern White Cedar. My goal was to blend all the features and benefits that would make the hive beautiful yet sturdy and well suited for extreme temperatures.

A farmhand is defined as anyone willing to perform whatever task is required to keep the farm running smoothly. It requires flexibility and a general knowledge of the entire operation so that I can fill in when necessary. I haul sap buckets and tend the evaporator 12-16 hours a day during sap season, cut wood, and establish the farms agricultural output. I also manage the back office website, its security and infrastructure.