Idea for new subforum

[gregior]

Hi

I have just been browsing the equipment for sale/wanted forum and it crossed my mind that an Apiary site offered/wanted forum could be useful.This could range from a garden site for 1 hive to a full size apiary for 20+ hives.

P.S Anyone know any good apiary sites for 2-3 hives in the west Manchester area?

 

[the naked beekeeper]

Good idea.

 

[alanf]

Good idea. Anybody who wants bees but does not have the time themselves. Sites looking to share costs, gain another pair of eyes or many reasons why there is a good site but the poster cannot occupy it fully themselves. Presumably there are quite a few who would like to expand a little or have the flexibility of an out apiary without a suitable site.

At risk of opening a can of worms; it might be an idea to establish ground rules first. Are 'commercial' (however defined) operations banned? Would that include farms looking for beekeeper tenants?

 

[BKF Admin]

I will let this thread run a few days and see what members think before acting.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Seems like a good idea to me.

 

[Poly Hive]

At the risk of being the bucket of cold water the only site I am interested in is one I have researched myself.

What do I look for?

Security.

Water.

Forage, lots of and preferably successions of for the season, or at least to heather time.

Easy to find? Err not really.

PH

 

[Tom Bick]

Yes sounds like a good idea, something similar works through some associations and Land share.

People with a patch of land offer a site, or people looking for a site advertise the two parties get together and if all the boxes are ticked then it can workout for both.

 

[greatbritishhoney]

Seems like a good idea to me.

 

[Chris B]

This will only be of much value if landowners themselves make postings to offer something. Beekeepers know other beekeepers and the local grapevine does it's job. However, I did once fix up a Warwickshire beekeeper with an apiary after he posted a wanted notice (possible on the BBKA forum though), but this was a fluke as I got an email out of the blue about the same time offering the apiary.

Banning commercial operations Alanf? I don't imagine I'm unique in getting numerous offers of apiarys unsuitable for my needs due to space constraint, poor access or whatever. Are you suggesting I stop passing these on to hobby beekeepers?

 

[crazy_bull]

Banning commercial operations Alanf? I don't imagine I'm unique in getting numerous offers of apiarys unsuitable for my needs due to space constraint, poor access or whatever. Are you suggesting I stop passing these on to hobby beekeepers?

Come on Chris we all know anything commercial = bad

To the OP i think it is a good idea.

 

[alanf]

Banning commercial operations Alanf? I don't imagine I'm unique in getting numerous offers of apiarys unsuitable for my needs due to space constraint, poor access or whatever. Are you suggesting I stop passing these on to hobby beekeepers?

Not at all. Just trying to head off the multipagers generated recently.

Better to get the rules straight from the start. Nothing wrong with passing on offers you cannot use yourself in my view. Similarly farmers looking for half a dozen hives in an old orchard etc. is what I would expect to be above board even though the farm is a business. Many go through a local BKA but lots of reasons why some would not want to; you do hear of select circles nabbing the best sites.

Some may think larger scale OSR or heather site offers are outside the boundaries. I have no idea how large sites are advertised, is there a section in a farming magazine? A donation funded forum may not be the most appropriate place.

 

[crazy_bull]

Some may think larger scale OSR or heather site offers are outside the boundaries. I have no idea how large sites are advertised, is there a section in a farming magazine? A donation funded forum may not be the most appropriate place.

Why? These are the ones that would be of most benefit to all beekeepers, the farmers allowing beekeepers access to their land for most field scale crops are actually doing the beekeeper a favour not the otherway round as OSR is predominantly wind pollinated as is borage and bumble bees are more beneficial to beans than the honey bee. As with heather there is no benefit to the landowner (apart from jars of honey as rent)

The only situation where the roles are reversed are orchards where the reward for the land owner is much greater than the reward for the beekeeper (very little-no honey benefit) hence the pollination fee often charged for going to orchards.


C B

 

[newportbuzz]

interesting idea how would you work it?

break it up into subareas? ie orchards, field crops, heather, mixed forage

any apiarys i have secured have been through me personaly asking the owner.
mabey it would be better to list people who would be aproachable?? people who have expressed an interest in housing bees?

the other way i imagine this could work is for distance moves. have a beek in scotland scout out an area for a beek in cornwal before the move. but this is proberly better done through personal contacts as aposed to a sub forum.

i hate to bring a bummer but i think its impractical.

it could definatly work for orchards and possibly some of the field crops as i know of a few beeks who are invited to go to the rape down south but cant/dont for whatever reason and these could be passed on.

 

[isc26]

I like the out apiary sub-forum idea.

 

[Winker]

I like the out apiary sub-forum idea.

 

[beeatshellards]

I would personally research the site myself , this is better for me and better for my bees as I can assess everything in my criteria, eg good forage, safety etc, usually if you ask in the vicinity someone will point you in the right direction it is usually word of mouth or by asking in your locality. I can see why it has been suggested and there are probably some good points and some bad points, so I am going to sit on the fence for a while

 

[Chris B]

Why? These are the ones that would be of most benefit to all beekeepers, the farmers allowing beekeepers access to their land for most field scale crops are actually doing the beekeeper a favour not the otherway round as OSR is predominantly wind pollinated as is borage and bumble bees are more beneficial to beans than the honey bee. As with heather there is no benefit to the landowner (apart from jars of honey as rent)

The only situation where the roles are reversed are orchards where the reward for the land owner is much greater than the reward for the beekeeper (very little-no honey benefit) hence the pollination fee often charged for going to orchards.


C B

Rape is indeed wind pollinated, but it also benefits from enhanced yield from insect pollination. Here is a googled summary of various bits of reasearch http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=carreck rape bees&f=false
Scientists don't seem to agree on exactly how much difference the bees make to rape because there are lots of variables, but even a 10% increase per acre (assuming 1 hive per acre), would be worth £50 per hive to the farmer!
(If anyone would like to validate my sums here are the figures used:
Rape yield = 3 tonnes per hectare
Rape price = £375 per tonne)

You might remember BBKA used some research figures in their campaigning, that bees add £165m to agricultural economy, based on £600 per hive. I once saw the breakdown of that £600, top fruit being the main beneficiary but rape wasn't far behind.

 

[Skyhook]

Could be a good idea. I'm not sure why commercial operations should be banned though- I can't see it clogging up loads of server space, and I really can't see farmers snaffling all the little sites- they'd never get round them.

The few commercial bee farmers on here are some of the most valuable contributors due to their sheer volume of experience- and I don't think I'm alone in finding the occasional glimpe into their world very interesting.

In fact the only thing I see going wrong is if there turns out to be insufficient demand for the sub-forum.

 

[alanf]

even a 10% increase per acre (assuming 1 hive per acre), would be worth £50 per hive to the farmer!
(If anyone would like to validate my sums here are the figures used:
Rape yield = 3 tonnes per hectare
Rape price = £375 per tonne).

Agreed in principle. Rape is a member of a large family producing similar four petal flowers. Naturally they are mostly insect pollinated - otherwise they would not hide anthers in flowers, just expose them to the breeze like grasses. Growing OSR closely in monoculture, there will be some wind pollination too but the proportion is going to vary with local conditions. Bees would be more important if the weather was warm and calm, so it's not going to be consistant year to year. Whatever the percentage, adding bees is not going to reduce yield.

Forgive ignorance but are there any crops in the UK where money regularly changes hands for pollination services? It's widely reported in the US, New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere.

 

[alanf]

The few commercial bee farmers on here are some of the most valuable contributors due to their sheer volume of experience- and I don't think I'm alone in finding the occasional glimpe into their world very interesting.

One of the main reasons to visit.