Business is booming for Boyman Acres

Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
BOYMAN ACRES — Ethan Morse mans the booth for Boyman Acres during the Farmer’s Market in Houlton this past summer.
By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
    AMITY — What Floyd Boyett and his wife started as a way to benefit his mother has turned out to be a very busy operation — Boyman Acres.
    “We started making low-sugar jam so diabetics, like my mother, could still eat jam,” Boyett said. “Then, we would give gift baskets to friends and family and they all said we should be selling this.”
    So, that is what the Boyetts decided to do.
    “It was more a second income and hobby,” said Boyett, who at the time of starting Boyman Acres was running Boyetts Floor Covering.
    But an injury led to Boyett working the full-time business from his home and closing the flooring business.
    “I hurt my back,” he explained. “I can work at home at my own pace and I am not [bent over] installing floors.”
    Boyett grows and processes most of Boyman Acres’ products at their Amity farm.
    “I do most of the work,” he said. “We have three greenhouses and a large garden, plus we have friends and family in Machias that pick wild blueberries.”
    This summer, Boyett, along with his daughter, Lizzie, and Houlton High School student Ethan Morse, were faithful vendors at Houlton’s Farmers Market.
    “Ethan and Lizzie worked the Farmers Market most of the time and I could not have done it without them,” said Boyett. “They did a great job.”
    Boyman Acres’ name originates from the first three letters of his surname and the last three letters of his wife’s surname, Sherman.
    “This is a family business,” said Boyett. “My wife offers hula hoops and headscarves and my daughter is offering cookies in a jar at the winter holiday craft shows.”
    Boyman Acres’ products can be found in local stores such as Aroostook Milling, Beals Variety, County Junction, along with Presque Isle’s Merchants on the Corner.
    Their line of products include: barbecue sauces, jams/jellies, pickles, relishes, honey and Spring Break maple products.
    “We offer organically grown products at lower prices,” Boyett said. “Our jams, pickles and barbecue sauces are around $5 and our honey starts around $2.50.”
    Customers can find Boyman Acres products’ online at boymanacres.com or visit the Boyett’s full-stocked booth at one of the winter craft fairs. Special orders can be filled by calling 532-6610.
    “All our products are grown organically,” said Boyett. “We use organic cane sugar and organic pectin in our jams. Though we are not a certified organic farm, everything is fed and taken care of organically.”