Honey River Farm

Honey River Farm, Finding Sweetness in Local and Tourist Support

Sandra Yerges

Coaching grant recipients in her off-farm extension job has proven influential for Cyndi Knudson, co-owner of Honey River Farm. By advising these individuals about what it takes to maximize their funding plans, she has been able to draw upon grant experiences of her own. While recalling her beneficial Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) of 2021, for example, she has helped other producers discover which opportunities and limitations to expect as they approach their own projects.

Cyndi always had a knack for the agricultural industry as she stated, “It’s been pretty much my whole career in some way, shape, or form.”

Her childhood of helping farm with her grandfather transformed into years of studies surrounding the practice. Taking what she learned from her biochemistry and animal and dairy science degrees, she began her solo farming operations, specializing in raising livestock and beekeeping. Outside of these ventures, she also has vast experience working with vegetable production and two state extension offices.

The addition of Honey River Farm to her work experience list was a supplemental shift for Cyndi. Not only did this venture allow her to continue in her full-time role, but it also allowed her to connect her 40-year-old pastime with product development. She explained that having passion in this line of work is important as beekeeping comes with its challenges. Despite these drawbacks, however, one can also find much success in this business through product sales.

“There’s very few things small farms can do on a small scale and be profitable,” she explained. “I believe that bees and honey are one of the few that you can do that are profitable.”

With this shared mindset, she and co-owner Brian Clements took it upon themselves to start Honey River Farm. Located in White Stone, Virginia, their bee farm is centered around the creation of two types of honey: pure and infused. Elderberry, lime, and basil make up a few of the many infused flavors, providing a little bit of something for everyone.

Adding to this annual supply of products, the farm also provides a limited stock of honey with honeycomb. Through the release of these specialty jars, the intricate work of Honey River Farm’s bees can both be appreciated and consumed by those who purchase them. Over the past few years, Cyndi has been amazed at the new influx of customers who have shown interest in this product.

“Honey sells itself really well to local people,” she shared. When she was instantly wiped clean of the goods she brought to sell at a local strawberry farm, this trend became even more apparent. The outpouring of community sales is what makes this operation continue to flourish.

If it is not for its historical appeal, the state of Virginia also brings in tourism for its water features. As the company name suggests, Honey River Farm is one of the fortunate places that is surrounded by the state’s Rappahannock River. This highly traveled location brings new attention to the business’ honey products from those outside the area. While visiting the town’s small shops or the local grocery store, Old Farm Truck Market, these tourists can see the wide selection of honey products for sale.

When managing this type of visiting demand, Cyndi knew the importance of remaining accessible. To achieve a continued relationship with those making a one-time trip to the area, the idea of a website always loomed in the back of her mind. It soon came time to figure out how to implement this new venture into the business.

In 2021, Cyndi was awarded the answer she was looking for: the Value-Added Producer Grant. Since the start of the operation, this grant seemed to tailor to specific needs the business was not presently seeking. However, once she planned to proceed with website development and sought grant writing assistance from the Virginia Foundation for Agriculture, Innovation and Rural Sustainability, it became apparent that these funds would help achieve this goal.

The limited award Cyndi originally desired became a much larger sum of money due to the 10/90 cash match promised by the USDA during the pandemic. This meant that her $5,000 contribution would end with $49,000 of extra funds from the government. Even though she had a short decision window to figure out how this additional money would be used, she landed on a few ideas that would correspond well with her website plans.

To show customers what Cyndi and Brian see while working for Honey River Farm, Cyndi invested some funds into capturing high-quality pictures. Along with these images, they also created honey-focused recipe videos to provide culinary inspiration to their online audience. With packaging supplies and value-added ingredients rounding out the other part of the grant funds, the pair was equipped with what they needed to make and sell their infused products to an online market.

Although the creation of a fully functioning e-commerce platform was impactful for the business, Cyndi has since recognized some VAPG plans that still have room to grow post-funding. Beekeeping and operating a business keep her very busy, so she mentioned that she has not yet included all the newly captured media online. Despite feeling that a longer grant may have warranted the use of professional assistance for this lingering task, she was still able to reap many benefits from the experience.

“One big value we got from having the Value-Added Producer Grant had nothing to do with the grant itself,” Cyndi said.

Through the VAPG process, Cyndi created a strong relationship with her local Rural Development employees that opened the door to additional brand exposure at industry events. Their shared connection to the grant and their desired promotional objectives coincided well with one another as the business’ honey became a recipient example at VAPG booths. This helped the USDA familiarize others with what the funding can do and catapulted Honey River Farm to be well-known among the state’s retail businesses.

The draw of new business as well as the old has kept Cyndi and Brian thinking ahead about how they can innovate their operation. Their unique, honeycomb-shaped jars have recently made quite a positive stir among local customers, thus leaving room for product development ideas. With new, recycled beeswax candles in the works, the owners continue to do what they always have: consider the needs of those who have supported the brand.