How can you afford lots of colonies

[Olivia9801]

Last Friday i used 6kgs of sugar to make a syrup feed for 3 of my 4 colonies. Two of them use the normal round rapid feeders so they were filled leaving a large amount to go in the very large square feeder.

I checked it on Monday and it had all gone! I used another 6kgs that I had last night and have given them that at the recommended ratio of 630ml of water to 1kg of sugar.

With the cost on sugar and their huge consumption it led me to wonder how those with multiple hives manage and what their costs are for sugar? At this rate this is going to cost a fortune.

Let me know!

Regards

 

[SDM]

They almost certainly haven't consumed it, they've stored it.

 

[Olivia9801]

I don't know if it's worth mentioning, but my inspection on my colonies last week did show their stores were significantly low.... very low in fact.

So I knew the would take it, and that's not my issue. My query relates to the cost to those with lots of colonies.

 

[Beefriendly]

With the cost on sugar and their huge consumption it led me to wonder how those with multiple hives manage and what their costs are for sugar? At this rate this is going to cost a fortune.

One way is to sell your surplus jarred honey at say £5 profit per lb and use this money to buy all your kit and sugar etc. The tricky bit is getting to the point where your honey money more or less equals your outgoings.
6ks of sugar is just over £3.... about 1/2 a jar of honey....or less if you buy from morrison's.
Not a huge outlay!
100kgs of sugar is less than £50 at Morrisons, or £65 at LIDL.

 

[Levitt53]

There was another long thread on this subject a few weeks ago. Maybe it was in the beginner section.

 

[Jimmy]

One way is to sell your surplus jarredhoney at say £5 profit per lb and use this money to buy all your kit and sugar etc. The tricky bit is getting to the point where your honey money more or less equals your outgoings.
6ks of sugar is just over £3.... about 1/2 a jar of honey....or less if you buy from morrison's.
Not a huge outlay!
100kgs of sugar is less than £50 at Morrisons, or £65 at LIDL.

Like to see the calculations for £5 profit per lb, rather than just income.

 

[Beefriendly]

Like to see the calculations for £5 profit per lb, rather than just income.

Easy, sold at £7 lb, knock off 50p for jar and £1.50 for for stall fee and diesel.
You can make even more profit if you sell direct from your "garden gate" as no stall fee or travelling. Of course it goes without saying that as a hobbyist your time is spent freely and costs nowt. So any honey money can be used to purchase things for bees.
Different if you are a professional and have to pay yourself a wage.

 

[Softley]

Did you take honey off this year?

 

[enrico]

professional beekeepers follow the crops.
Loads of honey.
I sold £100 in a week at the gate. Sold out with my few jars I had for sale.
You use all the honey and give the bees cheaper feed for winter.
As a hobby beekeeper like me you may make a profit one year in five but overall my profit is eating my own honey and keeping the bees themselves!
E

 

[Jimmy]

So your £5 profit doesn't get eaten away by equipment purchases/depreciation, food safety regulations compliance, tax, insurance etc?

 

[madasafish]

I can only relay my personal experiences:

Last year was a terrible one here: 60lbs of honey produced ,50 sold and bought 147kg of sugar for feeding 8 hives with minimal stores. Net revenue (after direct costs and commissions) on honey £180. Sugar cost £68. .Net revenue after sugar £112.


This year has been much better. 170lbs produced - left a lot for bees -, 150 will be sold (110 to date) Net revenues around £590 from honey. Bought 31kg of sugar# £14.Net revenue after sugar £576.

#Hives full of stores.


so you need good weather and well managed hives to see a contribution to your equipment costs..

Next year - if weather is like this year - I expect to see around 350lbs of honey - some of which I will have to sell in bulk to shift it...so net revenues will rise but not proportionately. Of course, next year's weather and its timing is likely to be different...

 

[Teemore]

...Of course it goes without saying that as a hobbyist your time is spent freely and costs nowt. So any honey money can be used to purchase things for bees.
Different if you are a professional and have to pay yourself a wage.

Working with bees is often payment enough for the hobbyist or amateur beekeeper!

My comments on "affording" bees:

Do not be a bee fiddler.

Work smart. Work with your bees, site them well and you will get a surplus of honey.
Buy smart: buy in bulk, buy in groups and buy in sales. Dont buy things just to experiment, draw upon the experience (and mistakes) made by your peers and use that to inform your purchases and management strategies.

 

[Beefriendly]

So your £5 profit doesn't get eaten away by equipment purchases/depreciation, food safety regulations compliance, tax, insurance etc?

I'm sure it does if I was serious enough to get an accountant to tell me these things, but as a hobbyist everything I sell goes back into my beekeeping. Shall we say I sell enough honey to not have to worry about delving into my own pocket for sugar.

I would estimate with your 30 hives you should be on for about 2 tons of honey per year (about 150lb/hive), which if sold wholesale at the low end of £2.50lb will bring you in about 11K...Not enough to make a living wage out of but a solid amount of dosh. I can understand your concern about tax and insurance with that wedge of dosh coming in.

 

[Millet]

So your £5 profit doesn't get eaten away by equipment purchases/depreciation, food safety regulations compliance, tax, insurance etc?

For me this beekeeping venture is a hobby so tax and insurance is not an issue, just as well really with the amount of VAT stuck on any equipment i buy.

 

[Hedgerow Honey]

Would a new thread be more appropriate, How to ensure your hives make money, I myself would be interested how bee farmers prevent swarming on a grand scale and keeping colony's together to ensure continued production.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I myself would be interested how bee farmers prevent swarming on a grand scale and keeping colony's together to ensure continued production.

How do you do it with your 50 or so colonies?

 

[Hedgerow Honey]

Up to now I have expanded year on year with splits and this year I bought colony's and queens from Ged Marshall for further expansion. I have fourteen overwinter nuc's which should at least make sixty's next year which was my aim.

 

[maddydog]

Would a new thread be more appropriate, How to ensure your hives make money, I myself would be interested how bee farmers prevent swarming on a grand scale and keeping colony's together to ensure continued production.

At a guess new queens every year, plenty of room, some judicious splits/demaree and accept that some will disappear? If a commercial beefarmer has the time to spot queen cells and perform AS's then I'm in awe

 

[wightbees]

If running a business was easy everyone would be doing it! But, if You're business minded you'll find a way to make a profit.

 

[Beefriendly]

Or the old advice .....if you want to make a small fortune out of beekeeping start with a large one.