Large Scale Honey production.. Viable ?

[dpearce4]

If you can generate a min of £200 per colony per annum, then you have a fighting chance of making a living.

Then it's down to the number of colony's you can look after, 300 colony's would generate £60,000 gross.

If you wanted to get your investment back in year one, that's doable but better spread over five years.

You can build up colony numbers very quickly, 10:1

£200 is only 27lb down here if you can sell your honey at £5.50 for 340g which is what I get when I don farmers markets. so not that difficult even if you only get 30lb per hive.

 

[Chris B]

£200 is only 27lb down here if you can sell your honey at £5.50 for 340g which is what I get when I don farmers markets. so not that difficult even if you only get 30lb per hive.

Unfortunately it probably doesn't scale up very well. How many markets would you need to do to sell enough honey to live on? And would it leave any time to actually be a beekeeper?

 

[Thymallus]

To say nothing of offsetting stall fees, fuel money etc.
One thing i do know from doing regular markets is that selling honey alone is not enough to make a good profit. You need to supplemet with something else.
Although possibly the markets uuup north don't have such affluent customers as darn sarth.
And sales vary with time of year, weather and TV or radio programs promoting honey. There is a Jamie Oliver cooking program showing him on the moors tasting heather honey direct from the hive. I can always tell when it's been repeated on national TV....

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Well, I have wondered why Jenkins has so sour opinions.
Year 2014 was a good year in Wales and average crop was 13 kg/hive. Too much hives or too few flowers?. Loving sheep eate everything?

sorry to dissappoint you finsky - my 'average' was more like 100 KG - you shouldn't believe everything you read on google

 

[Thymallus]

Apparently the average honey yield for Finland is 40kgs per hive. .
This years spring OSR average for my hives is higher than that! And summer and heather still to come.

 

[Finman]

Apparently the average honey yield for Finland is 40kgs per hive. .
This years spring OSR average for my hives is higher than that! And summer and heather still to come.

Lets calculate then with 40 kg x 1000 hives x honey price. The sum is small that you can not run real business. The is are much what professionals do.

And you are interested how the business runs. Only way is make it yourself. Professionals will not tell to competitors how they do it.

 

[Finman]

sorry to dissappoint you finsky - my 'average' was more like 100 KG - you shouldn't believe everything you read on google

Oh dear! Don't be sorry. You should be happy. I am proud that you have time to pay attention to me all the time. With that average crop you may poke me every day 5 times, but no more.

I have driven with car from Snowdon to Cardiff in June and I remember the landscapes.


.

 

[Finman]

One thing i do know from doing regular markets is that selling honey alone is not enough to make a good profit. ....

Problem is that if you have 500 hives and you nurse them, how can you stand at same time on market and sell small jars with best price. That selling is more tourist selling. Real honey consumers , 40 lbs/year, do not buy honey with top prices.

In summer time you should inspect every day 100 hives. And those hives are in 20 yards.

 

[Hawklord]

How many full time bee farmers arr there, that produce honey solely, in the UK? How many colony's to produce a big enough crop to earn an income? How much per hour would a beek work for, taking every bit of time spent pertaining to bees into consideration? Cost of equipment, including vehicle, storage, honey processing room.

 

[Tom Bick]

London has smallest yields, under 10 kg.

Probably the only official records come from the BBKA and probably where you got that figure and should not be taken to seriously as they seem to select the worst figures across the country and then half them. They seem to be keen to promote the decline in honey bees to generate sympathy and therefore donations. I wild say the actual figures are much higher still not as high as your crop but much higher .

 

[Obee1]

I have driven with car from Snowdon to Cardiff in June and I remember the landscapes.


.

My OH used to work in North Wales and commuted from cardiff. He made that journey weekly and I often accompanied him. My overriding memory is of fields of sheep, lots of rain and kids asking are we there yet? One year I spent the whole 6 week school holiday in North Wales and not once was it warm enough to sit on the beach. Not fun.

 

[Finman]

.
We have northern areas of beekeeping in Finland. At winter -40C is common. Their only yield is fireweed. But they say that they have best aroma in yields in the world. It is unique. But in those extreme circumstances I think that they are allowed to keep their extreme opinion.

This year has been very rainy in whole Finland. Temps have been seldom over 20C. Now some beeks have got huge yields on northern areas. Some have noticed that the colder the better plants excrete nectar.

On another hand official balance hives show zero weight rise in hives. Explanation is that yield plants are blooming but temps are about 10C.

But a psychiatrist told in TV , that in Lapland there special habit to rise up purpose of life. If someone tells that he fished yesterday 2 meter pike, let it be, do not go to measure it.

.

 

[daroco]

Probably the only official records come from the BBKA and probably where you got that figure and should not be taken to seriously as they seem to select the worst figures across the country and then half them. They seem to be keen to promote the decline in honey bees to generate sympathy and therefore donations. I wild say the actual figures are much higher still not as high as your crop but much higher .

Have thought the official figures are always on the low side! Has anyone run double queen colonies and had a significant impact on their yield?

 

[Finman]

Have thought the official figures are always on the low side! Has anyone run double queen colonies and had a significant impact on their yield?

Yield depends on pastures, how much I nectar on fields at the distance of 1 mile,

Double queen hive? Modern queens lay so much that you need ladders to nurse hives.

 

[daroco]

Yield depends on pastures, how much I nectar on fields at the distance of 1 mile,

Double queen hive? Modern queens lay so much that you need ladders to nurse hives.

Was toying with the idea to speed build up next spring. Not too worried about the lifting or having to use a ladder, but wondered if it was worth the effort

 

[Finman]

Was toying with the idea to speed build up next spring. Not too worried about the lifting or having to use a ladder, but wondered if it was worth the effort

Speed up spring build up depends, how big is colony after winter. And it depends on, how good layer you had last year and how much you gove space to lay. At least you cannot speed it with 2 queens.

Worth to effort? It is! Try! As wise as swim over English Channel.

 

[sipa]

Running a successful beekeeping business is not just about honey yield, far from it.

If you are producing honey in volume, you are not going to be selling your crop for £5 lb at a farmers market. No time to muck about like that.

More like £2 bulk.

 

[daroco]

Speed up spring build up depends, how big is colony after winter. And it depends on, how good layer you had last year and how much you gove space to lay. At least you cannot speed it with 2 queens.

Worth to effort? It is! Try! As wise as swim over English Channel.

Ha! I run ultra marathons and compete in a lot of fitness events others find daft - so comparing it to a channel swim makes it sound like a good plan!

More seriously though, my reasoning was that two colonies reasonably strong after winter would be reducing the workload each other had to do (sharing warmth etc) in the spring, allowing for a fast build up. Then when they hit maximum colony size (judged by swarming preparations etc) separate, use an artificial swarming technique like snelgrove to allow increase (either to sell on, or keep) whilst keeping optimum numbers through the OSR and field beans. Would this work?

 

[daroco]

What point you are trying to make.....

I'm a hobbyist beekeeper selling some surplus honey to help offset costs, not a professional bee farmer....they send their wives/kids to the markets.
I find the real honey consumers buy their jars in 10's.

+1

There's also this thing called the interwebz or something like that

 

[Finman]

What point you are trying to make.....

I'm a hobbyist beekeeper selling some surplus honey to help offset costs, not a professional bee farmer....they send their wives/kids to the markets.
I find the real honey consumers buy their jars in 10's.

Our kids must be at school. And wife must be in good steady work. That I say, not only try.


Selling some surplus... What is that?