Jim Hartman - Secret Garden Bees In this episode, Jeff and Becky sit down with Jim Hartman, the 2024 North Carolina Small Farmer of the Year and a dedicated honey producer. Jim shares his journey from military service and corporate life to becoming a full-time “honey farmer” and entrepreneur. His passion for beekeeping and veteran advocacy shines through as he discusses building a farm business from the ground up—debt-free and focused on sustainable growth.

Jim offers practical insights into treating a beekeeping operation as a serious business rather than a hobby. He breaks down essential strategies like proper bookkeeping, the importance of filing a Schedule F, and setting clear business goals. Jim also highlights programs and resources available to veterans and new farmers, including the underutilized Veteran Small Business Enhancement Act and the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA).

Whether you have 10 colonies or 200, Jim emphasizes the importance of mindset: stop thinking in terms of hobbyist or sideliner—if you’re running your bees to make a profit, you’re a farmer. His story and advice offer valuable lessons for any beekeeper looking to strengthen their operation and approach their bees with a business-first mentality.

Websites from the episode and others we recommend:

Secret Garden Bees (Jim's Website): https://secretgardenbees.com
Kutik Queens: https://www.betterbee.com/instructions-and-resources/meet-your-kutik-queen.asp
Veterans Small Business Enhancement Act: https://www.sba.gov/document/information-notice-veterans-small-business-enhancement-act-2018-faq
USDA Farm Service Agency: https://www.fsa.usda.gov/
USDA Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP): https://www.fsa.usda.gov/resources/programs/emergency-assistance-livestock-honeybees-farm-raised-fish-elap
Honey Bee Health Coalition: https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org
The National Honey Board: https://honey.com

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast: https://honeybeeobscura.com

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Betterbee is the presenting sponsor of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Betterbee’s mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent customer service, continued education and quality equipment. From their colorful and informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational activities, including this podcast series, Betterbee truly is Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at www.betterbee.com

This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global offers a variety of standard and custom patties. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!

Thanks to Bee Smart Designs as a sponsor of this podcast! Bee Smart Designs is the creator of innovative, modular and interchangeable hive systems made in the USA using recycled and American sourced materials. Bee Smart Designs - Simply better beekeeping for the modern beekeeper.

Dalan Animal Health

Thanks to Dalan who is dedicated to providing transformative animal health solutions to support a more sustainable future. Dalan's vaccination against American Foulbrood (AFB) is a game changer. Vaccinated queens protect newly hatched honeybee larvae against AFB using the new Dalan vaccine. Created for queen producers and other beekeepers wanting to produce AFB free queens.

Retailers offering vaccinated queens and packages: https://dalan.com/order-vaccinated-queens/

More information on the vaccine: https://dalan.com/media-publications/

Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about their line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com

Thanks for Northern Bee Books for their support. Northern Bee Books is the publisher of bee books available worldwide from their website or from Amazon and bookstores everywhere. They are also the publishers of The Beekeepers Quarterly and Natural Bee Husbandry.

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We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments in the show notes of this episode or: questions@beekeepingtodaypodcast.com

Thank you for listening!

Podcast music: Be Strong by Young Presidents; Epilogue by Musicalman; Faraday by BeGun; Walking in Paris by Studio Le Bus; A Fresh New Start by Pete Morse; Wedding Day by Boomer; Christmas Avenue by Immersive Music; Red Jack Blues by Daniel Hart; Original guitar background instrumental by Jeff Ott.

Beekeeping Today Podcast is an audio production of Growing Planet Media, LLC

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Beekeeping Today Podcast