No fun being a bee farmer

[enrico]

Alternatively you do what they do at Ludlow Food Hall
Quote
Become a supporter
When you support a hive for £50 you will receive
A certificate
A photograph of Richard with the hives
Two 400g jars of honey
Quarterly email updates
A cardboard model hive
A pack of bee friendly flower seeds
A letter from Richard explaining how you are helping save the bees

It gets better!

Quote
Become a Guardian
You can become a guardian of a hive for £300 and you will receive
A day with Richard working with your hives and others on our estate
A certificate
A book about bees and bee-keeping
A photograph of Richard with the hives
Eight 700g kilner jars of honey
Quarterly email updates
A cardboard Hive
A pack of bee friendly flower seeds
A letter from Richard explaining how you are helping to save the bees

I suppose I wish I had thought of it first! Or do I
Not bad 12lbs of honey for £300!
Any one want any?
e

 

[mbc]

Stick with it, you have already made the investment and learnt by your mistakes.

Don't compound the loss by selling up.

you should decrease your numbers to 40-50, you should really be able to manage 80 hives around a 9-5 job once you have a bit more experience, then you could consider going fulltime

With careful planning and time off from the day job at crucial times, especially in the spring, it should be possible to run 100 hives in a fairly loose way and still hold down a 9-5.
Either way, good luck for the future whatever you decide Biggles.

 

[Jimmy]

you should decrease your numbers to 40-50, you should really be able to manage 80 hives around a 9-5 job once you have a bit more experience, then you could consider going fulltime

Please share your approach!!

Sent from my XT890 using Tapatalk 2

 

[dpearce4]

Im extremely lucky that at the important times of removing supers and extracting I have unpaid holidays enforced onto me as I work in a school that doesn't pay me for the school hols. This gives me the time at the end of may and in august to do the hard work. I have found I can easily inspect 20 hives in half a day over the weekend. I stupidly put myself on the swarm lists this year, am going to take myself off them next as I found it was mostly a waste of time and I can do inspections of my hives in that time.

I can see next year ending up with 40 at the end of the season, in fact have started the building now ready for it. I have found that I have broken even last year and this but the first year was the expensive one.

The only thing I will buy new is frames the rest of the kit I either make from scratch or buy second hand. That has saved me a few grand I recon.

 

[Beauhawk]

Hey Biggles, sorry to hear you are having so much trouble but pleased that you are not leaving bees for good!

I am not too far from you so if there is anything I can do to help, just let me know. I'm a newbee and still on the steep learning curve but happy to help out if I can.

 

[Swarm]

I agree, it depends on the job and what else fills your life.

 

[Hachi]

Try a few static apiary's away from the rape and see what difference it makes.

How do you manage that Pete? Everywhere I looked last summer it was yellow

 

[hallshoney]

bee farming

80 hives would never show a sensible profit for a single handed outfit you would need to be up around 200-250 and selling a lot of your honey direct to Joe public

 

[Chris Luck]

Sorry to spoil the party but 100 hives isn't bee farming nor does it take that much time, certainly not full time.

I know people that run 200 plus and have a full time day job albeit one where they can get those 2 week breaks at those important times.

Sorry, but as suggested just enjoy it as a hobby.

Chris

 

[Luminos]

So sorry to hear your story, Biggles.
Onwards and upwards, though.

 

[Bates]

How long into it are you? We are 3 years down the line and we still have not broken even on our investment. It does seem a lot of hard work and I think the same a lot of the time, but I guess just got to keep trying. Its hard trying to do it sustainably in the UK, Europe is easier and Australia etc even easier.

We are a 2 man outfit too and I'm sure Tesco would have been a better earner for us but it is not a career move. We enjoy what we do.

 

[susbees]

Alternatively you do what they do at Ludlow Food Hall
Quote
Become a supporter
When you support a hive for £50 you will receive
A certificate
A photograph of Richard with the hives
Two 400g jars of honey
Quarterly email updates
A cardboard model hive
A pack of bee friendly flower seeds
A letter from Richard explaining how you are helping save the bees

It gets better!

Quote
Become a Guardian
You can become a guardian of a hive for £300 and you will receive
A day with Richard working with your hives and others on our estate
A certificate
A book about bees and bee-keeping
A photograph of Richard with the hives
Eight 700g kilner jars of honey
Quarterly email updates
A cardboard Hive
A pack of bee friendly flower seeds
A letter from Richard explaining how you are helping to save the bees

I suppose I wish I had thought of it first! Or do I
Not bad 12lbs of honey for £300!
Any one want any?
e

Erm, that will be the Richard who had to go out to NZ to work last year to support his business, lost many/most colonies in recent winters and imports Italian packages (£10000 the last batch) to compensate. Perhaps not the most relaxing business model.

Sticking at 35 here. Tops. Sanity is an important asset.
Sympathy Biggles

 

[enrico]

I really must find out how many 'guardians' he has!
Doesn't take many to finance a trip to NZ!

 

[Hebeegeebee]

Beekeeping is more of a roller-coaster ride than many other pastimes and the ups and downs can be pretty steep.

If we worked out our hourly rate for the income we receive (if any) we would probably all give up.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Sanity is an important asset.

Quite - are they available in the Thornes sales? if so how much for a flat pack?

Sorry you've decided to give up Biggles. maybe creep up slowly and see how it goes (do a bit in Tescos to bolster the income - at least there's a chance of some free sugar!)

 

[peteinwilts]

How do you manage that Pete? Everywhere I looked last summer it was yellow

It is cow and horse country in my neck of the woods. I have 5 Apiary's, and only two hives found Rape. I have no idea where and I was not aware of any in reach!

 

[For want of a better word]

Sorry you've decided to give up Biggles. maybe creep up slowly and see how it goes (do a bit in Tescos to bolster the income - at least there's a chance of some free sugar!)

NOT in my local Kelliwick branch of Tesco... tight blaggers keep it all for their tea.... hope their teeth all rot and fall out!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

NOT in my local Kelliwick branch of Tesco... tight blaggers keep it all for their tea.... hope their teeth all rot and fall out!

Some managers refuse to give it away because of a combination of 'elf an' safety and a fear the great unwashed may get some kind of benefit without boosting tesco's profit.
Have a good neighbour, one of the shift managers at our local branch tried her best as she knew that bucketfulls go in the skip but to no avail. - different if you actually work for them though although i have heard that their treatment of staff is appalling

 

[Hachi]

Sorry you've decided to give up Biggles. maybe creep up slowly and see how it goes (do a bit in Tescos to bolster the income - at least there's a chance of some free sugar!)

NOT in my local Kelliwick branch of Tesco... tight blaggers keep it all for their tea.... hope their teeth all rot and fall out!

Not in my Sainsburys either they burn it......... Gits

 

[BeeJayBee]

I was told by local supermarkets that they put all the damaged food items into one bin. To separate any one item, such as white sugar, would cost staff time (reminders/notices) and need extra storage space.