Mistake

[enrico]

5 hives averaging just 25lb of honey a year for 35 years gives 4375lb of honey or
£15312 if sold at £3.50/lb
Where did you buy your hives?

I've followed similar rules to madasafish , bought some poly hives made other wooden ones, was lucky with finding a huge supply of free cedar and having a background in classic yachts to help with the woodwork.my local lithographic printer has supplied the aluminium for 55 roofs at a cost of 4 jars of honey. Being prepared to be a skip rat will save you a fortune.
2015 I made a first big jump to 30 colonies , at the end of that year I had recovered the entire £6.5k I'd ever spent on Beekeeping and made enough pocket money to notice the extra cash.
This year I've actually made a modest living from Beekeeping and should start next season with around 60 colonies.if it's a good year I'll jump to around 100. If not I'll add the 15-20 hives I can build over winter each year til I hit 100-120 colonies( I'm sure others could rack up a lot more hives than me in the same time). That figure I reckon is manageable and as a one man band, enough for me to support myself even in poor years.
I've never costed my time( no doubt my hourly rate would be depressing) nor do I cost fuel as all my apiaries are on a route i have to travel a 3 or 4 times a week anyway.
My aim is to get to my colony goal having spent less than £7.5k and for now I can't think of a reason why I won't do it.
Better management could have probably got me an extra 1000lb of honey this year, lessons I intend to put into action next year. The 18 nucs I sold could have been double that on the first day my local association advertised them( within the first 3 hrs actually) something I'm better prepared for this year.
I still consider myself an enthusiastic novice with a lot to learn, but I'm totally optimistic( apparently unusual for a Beekeeper) that a reasonable living can be made despite modest investment.

I don't sell all my honey. I use loads of it, I give some away to family and as gifts, I have had years as well was good. I don't keep accounts but I am pretty sure i am not much in profit if at all. I do it for pleasure so it doesn't worry me.
E

 

[DanBee]

if sold at £3.50/lb

That's very low, even for wholesale (labelled jars to retailers).

 

[Newbeebeekeeper]

That's very low, even for wholesale (labelled jars to retailers).

What is the usual going rate? I haven't had the luxury of this conversation yet

 

[SDM]

That's very low, even for wholesale (labelled jars to retailers).

But about right for wholesale. The figure was just for emphasis . I expect he averages more than 25lb per hive after 35yrs too.

 

[Curly green fingers]

His anyone else made the mistake recently of adding up all the money they have spent on bee keeping? I am just buying and kitting out my second hive and i was surprised already how much the costs have been.

Get your self in with a good beekeeping association and if your lucky you might get some kit donated to you for free .

 

[peterbees]

5 hives averaging just 25lb of honey a year for 35 years gives 4375lb of honey or
£15312 if sold at £3.50/lb
Where did you buy your hives?

I've followed similar rules to madasafish , bought some poly hives made other wooden ones, was lucky with finding a huge supply of free cedar and having a background in classic yachts to help with the woodwork.my local lithographic printer has supplied the aluminium for 55 roofs at a cost of 4 jars of honey. Being prepared to be a skip rat will save you a fortune.
2015 I made a first big jump to 30 colonies , at the end of that year I had recovered the entire £6.5k I'd ever spent on Beekeeping and made enough pocket money to notice the extra cash.
This year I've actually made a modest living from Beekeeping and should start next season with around 60 colonies.if it's a good year I'll jump to around 100. If not I'll add the 15-20 hives I can build over winter each year til I hit 100-120 colonies( I'm sure others could rack up a lot more hives than me in the same time). That figure I reckon is manageable and as a one man band, enough for me to support myself even in poor years.
I've never costed my time( no doubt my hourly rate would be depressing) nor do I cost fuel as all my apiaries are on a route i have to travel a 3 or 4 times a week anyway.
My aim is to get to my colony goal having spent less than £7.5k and for now I can't think of a reason why I won't do it.
Better management could have probably got me an extra 1000lb of honey this year, lessons I intend to put into action next year. The 18 nucs I sold could have been double that on the first day my local association advertised them( within the first 3 hrs actually) something I'm better prepared for this year.
I still consider myself an enthusiastic novice with a lot to learn, but I'm totally optimistic( apparently unusual for a Beekeeper) that a reasonable living can be made despite modest investment.

Are you taking orders for National nucs for sale this year?

 

[SDM]

Are you taking orders for National nucs for sale this year?

I can for 10-15 , after that it depends.on how much kit I can build in the next 6wks. As ideally I want to keep as many as possible.

 

[DanBee]

What is the usual going rate? I haven't had the luxury of this conversation yet

I sell at a shade over £5/lb wholesale (labelled jars to retailers) and £7.20/lb retail myself, adjusted from 12oz jar prices. I don't know anyone commercial around here who sells for less than £4/lb wholesale, most are higher than that.

Check out the shelf prices in shops around you, assume that the supplier gets 70% of the shelf price and you can come up with a good estimate.

Due to a succession of mediocre seasons, I understand that the bulk price (honey in drums) for UK honey went over £3/lb in 2017; about 5 years ago it was under £2/lb.

 

[SDM]

Due to a succession of mediocre seasons, I understand that the bulk price (honey in drums) for UK honey went over £3/lb in 2017; about 5 years ago it was under £2/lb.

Don't.forget the collapsing.£ has made imported honey more expensive too. I suspect that has more to do with the current price than harvest totals.

 

[MartinL]

assume that the supplier gets 70% of the shelf price .

You won't be selling to the national trust then, they'll expect that (or more) in profit!

 

[Blunt Spike]

Just divide your bill into cost per bee...its basically nowt!

 

[colinc]

Just divide your bill into cost per bee...its basically nowt!

Definitely the way forward.


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[Finman]

Definitely the way forward.

Then go to count the bees in hives.
.

 

[Karsal]

It's my hobby!

Take a quick look at what other hobbies cost;
Football Season Ticket?
Vet bills / Stabling for a horse?
Insurance & Garaging for a second car?

I reckon it really isn't that expensive!

I agree.

Surplus honey sold pays for my hobby now and I've done ok last season so looking to expand this year.

 

[olriley]

I agree with MartinL, as I view it as a hobby. However, I hope in the next 5 years to sell enough honey to recover my outlay (simply because I like having a goal)

 

[Millet]

Just divide your bill into cost per bee...its basically nowt!

All the honey bees act as one organism so basically you can not separate them out, it is like cutting a person into 30.000 + bits and calling each piece a human.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

All the honey bees act as one organism so basically you can not separate them out, it is like cutting a person into 30.000 + bits and calling each piece a human.

I've encountered a few humans over the years that would be improved by cutting into 30000 bits

 

[SDM]

I've encountered a few humans over the years that would be improved by cutting into 30000 bits

Too true. But just think what could be achieved by 7.5 billion people working as a single organism.
I live in hope.

 

[thorn]

Yesterday’s i had an article on the food trends for 2018, and “raw” honey was one of them. Don’t worry about what you’re spending now. By the end of the year we’re all going to be millionaires.

 

[madasafish]

Yesterday’s i had an article on the food trends for 2018, and “raw” honey was one of them. Don’t worry about what you’re spending now. By the end of the year we’re all going to be millionaires.

Please guarantee that!