Buzz & Cluck Farm started in 2015 on 12 acres located 7 miles outside of Buckhannon, West Virginia. Stephen Clark is a disabled veteran who grew up farming. Sheila, his wife, grew up gardening and raising chickens. In October of 1988, Stephen joined the West Virginia National Guard. During his 24 years with the National Guard, he served two one-year deployments to Iraq.
After the second deployment, while needing an outlet for stress, honeybees were suggested as a potential hobby. The West Virginia Veterans and Heroes to Agriculture Program gave classes on basic beekeeping practices, which he attended. His apiary started off with two hives in the spring of 2015 and has expanded to 25 and harvested over 1,250 pounds of honey in 2025.
In 2025, Stephen became a recipient for the Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund. Funded by Wounded Warrior Project, this helped Buzz & Cluck Farm to purchase several pieces of production equipment. One being an 18-frame, electric extractor, replacing the original hand crank 3-frame extractor, which has been a huge time saver. And a heated honey tank and bottler which lets them fill bottles quickly, cleanly & in multiple weights. The time saving allows extra time to work with the bees, pull off more honey at once and attend extra markets.
Buzz & Cluck Farm proudly displaying their Homegrown By Heroes West Virginia label at their table.
“I really enjoy being able to take an observation hive to the markets to show the queen and the worker bees in action,” says Stephen.
He also enjoys going to schools to talk about how honeybees and other pollinators benefit everyone.
“It is a joy when kids ask lots of questions and show interest,” said Stephen.
He has been able to work with other veterans to help get them started with honeybees and hopes to be able to continue this.
Stephen added that a fun side to having an apiary is the focus on changing the landscape. Buzz & Cluck Farm has been gradually replacing many non-native plants with native plants, both for native pollinators and honeybees.
They also plant lots of herbs such as thyme, anise hyssop, basil, dill, and oregano. They raise a large garden and are very thoughtful about any chemicals used around their garden and apiary.
For other veterans interested in agriculture, Stephen recommends taking advantage of any classes or webinars being offered.
“We would not be where we are today without the training from the West Virginia Veterans and Heroes to Agriculture Program,” said Stephen.
To learn more about Buzz & Cluck Farm, visit their Facebook page HERE or reach out to them via buzzncluck1@gmail.com.
