Bees & Fees

[grizzly]

After a discussion with Admin the other day, he touched on a subject i had never really given much thought.

As a new Beek and having sourced two out Apiary sites last year, i was delighted thinking the farmer or land owners were just as pleased as i was, and wow werent they nice people not charging me anything.

They obviously get the pollination (free)
And can they not also apply for quite a hefty payout as a grant ? is it from Defra ? for having bees on their land ?

The reason i ask is perhaps we are too grateful to be given a space in a corner somehere, and never push for more. (probably mostly new beeks)

My second site is owned by a consortium, they run the poor old boy ragged on the farm, i will have 3 + hives out in their fields come spring, they have sheep and massive ammounts of deer, if they are to apply for nice little payout surely i am within my rights to ask for fencing around my hives, a water source, and anything else i deem necessary for my bees ?

Does anyone on here pollinate for a fee ?



Oops - how rude - Happy New year to you all, hope its a happy and healthy one.

 

[Chris B]

I did fee pollination once. Good money for top fruit, about ?35 a colony I think. But they wanted the bees in at a moments notice and out at a moments notice a few weeks later. Hard work.
If a landowner provides a year-round apiary then it's worth paying for. The better the facilities, the more it's worth I suppose. None of mine demand any rent but I give them honey anyway - it's always nice to have the goodwill in advance in case I let the stock out, sting anyone, or any other faux pas.
There are no grants for having bees on land (especially not from DEFRA) are there? If that happens we'll all be rich.
Maybe one day the full value of our bees will be appreciated by the farmers and they'll be ringing us up offering to pay us. But at present many beekeepers have trouble finding apiaries so I wouldn't recommend being too pushy with your landlords.
Chris

 

[tony350i]

i personally think the beekeepers should not have to pay for there site, i couple pounds off honey per hive is i nice gesture but if beekeepers do start offering money for there sites they will be making a rod for all beekeepers backs.

regards Tony

 

[Poly Hive]

Sadly some keepers get a little carried away with the value to farmers of bees.

Farmers are a pretty hard bitten lot and the best reaction to the information that my hives might give a 15% increase in rape seed elicited the response of, "they'll dee nae ill."

My 15% figure came from the returns at Craibstone from the farm manager after the bees were on the crop.

I find that the offer of a jar per hive works well, or did when I was running 50 boxes. In fact my heather site asked me NOT to give them any more as they were over flowing with it..LOL

When looking for a site, find it first then ask permission as if you ask first to put bees on the property the easiest answer is no. If you say can I put them over there out of the way it makes it that much easier to say yes.

PH

 

[BKF Admin]

Thats what I learned PH,NEVER go to a farmer and ask if you can site a couple of hives and then ask him what part of the farm would be ok.

You have a much better chance if you go and say would it be possible to site a couple of hives over there pointing to a field area.

You will increase your chances by at least 50%.

 

[Finman]

.
I do not give hives for money because it will not be enough to compensate a bad yield.

I want to keep me free to move my hives where ever I want.

If I try to get 200 lbs honey per hive, the farmer will not pay missing money if I get only 60 lbs.

But no one have offered me money for pollinating but they have asked to bring hives.

**************
There are rape fields but if they are not suitbale to me, I do not put hives there. Last summer one farmer offered to me big fields and he was not able show to hives a wind protected site. And the driving distance was too much too, 25 km on pompy rural road.

.