How do you measure success?

[Dishmop]

Almost 91K

That would be about -182 degrees Celsius. Close to liquid oxygen temp!

Very runny honey.

 

[MattC]

Success for a hobby beekeeper:

honey at the end of the summer
live bees at the end of the winter

(also enjoyment, minimal stings)

And a few years down the line- just maybe- breaking even financially...?

 

[Cazza]

:And a few years down the line- just maybe- breaking even financially...?

Cazza

 

[REDWOOD]

You can succseed in many areas of apiculture, making splits, queen breeding, bringing them through the winter, swarm control and honey production, however the latter is huguely dependant on the enviroment and weather,
So, if your apiary is now where near rape and the summer was a wet one (like last year) would you still be a successful beekeeper? or not so succsessful as previous years. It's not all about the honey............. but it helps

 

[Walrus]

You can succseed in many areas of apiculture, making splits, queen breeding, bringing them through the winter, swarm control and honey production, however the latter is huguely dependant on the enviroment and weather,
.....It's not all about the honey............. but it helps

Absolutely, which is why the honey survey helps as a benchmark. But yes, weather does trow a spanner in the works making comparisons between seasons tricky.

I'm just the type of person that wants to learn & improve (in all things I do) so for me, it's good to be able to have some way to compare different things I try.

If I lose swarms, I get less honey. If I have diseased colonies, I get less honey. If I have too many colonies for the available forage, I get less honey (per hive). If I have poor queens, I get less honey. If I don't have big strong hives just before a flow, I get less honey. So it seems to be quite a good measure to me.

 

[ichbinpaul]

Almost 91K

That would be about -182 degrees Celsius. Close to liquid oxygen temp!

come on kelvin you know what I meant.

 

[Margaret Elisabeth]

Getting my first colony through winter, successfully managing the swarm season and not losing a swarm, giving the split its independence and getting a small honey surplus have been my successes this year.

Next year who knows?

I am considering starting to study for the microscopy module although that does mean I'll have to do the basic exam which I wasn't going to bother with.

And I actually got honey that I have now sold out of, due to my fantastic home made honey for sale sign. Yippee I can now buy more bee stuff.