Return to the Bees and Beekeeping Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
So how do beekeepers turn a profit...?
| | |
Posted by George_in_MA z5/6 MA (My Page) on Wed, Apr 20, 05 at 9:19
| We're brand new at this, and we just installed our two colonies in their hives.
We didn't get into this to make money, but just crunching the numbers, I don't see how anyone makes money at beekeeping. At this point, I figure we're into these bees for nearly $600, and we still haven't bought the shallow supers yet.
Assuming I could rent out each hive once during the season for $40 a rental (that's $80), and assuming each hive produced 100 pounds of surplus honey that I could retail for $3 per pound, it hardly seems worth it.
Am I overlooking something here? Anyone have any insight into this?
George
|
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: So how do beekeepers turn a profit...?
| | |
| Looks like you have it figured about right. If money making is the primary concern, well..... |
RE: So how do beekeepers turn a profit...?
| | |
- Posted by ccrb1 z5 IND (My Page) on
Wed, Apr 20, 05 at 22:00
| a business plan makes more sense if you do it before you invest. Most beekeepers keep bees for multiple reasons. With my 11 hives, I've been profitable, but honestly, I never invested $600 for two hives with bees and no supers. I do manage to retail all my honey at $5 a lb. That's based on the fact that I practice chemical free beekeeping. No miticides. No drugs. I could probably come close to selling all I produce at $6 but at $5, I sell out every year. I don't know if 100 lbs per hive is optimistic for where you are or not. I've had years of 100, and years of 15. |
RE: So how do beekeepers turn a profit...?
| | |
| Its doubtful that you'll turn a profit in only one season, but you won't be buying new hives and supers every year so when do it for more than one year you have a great opportunity to make back the money you put in, Also if you are a wood worker you can build a hive quite easily. |
RE: So how do beekeepers turn a profit...?
| | |
i have heard that 300 hives will make you a living. 10-20 hives is a hobby and be glad if it repays you for the supplies. it strikes me that cut comb makes more sense.for the time and effort involved. i have recently picked up the ross rounds.and am optimistic
david |
RE: So how do beekeepers turn a profit...?
| | |
The people in it to make a living spend the winter building equipment and doing maintainance setting up pollination contracts fixing their own trucks.
They take the larger portion of their income moving the bees onto crops for a fee, perhaps as many as 6.Tree fruits, small fruits, melons, cukes, pumpkins, seed crops up and down the coast or elevations. Might even make a few bucks selling nucs and queens, or at least producing some for their own.
The honey is a byproduct that can be sold. So is the cappings wax.
You paid full bust out retail for all of your supplies.
If you bought 500 or a 1000 of anything the price is a bit lower. Right now you are paying for an education in beekeeping. After a wile you might just build your own supers, make a few splits with swarm cells, trade honey for lumber,etc. |
RE: So how do beekeepers turn a profit...?
| | |
I HAVE 2500 HIVES.
RENT THEM OUT FOR $100 EACH FOR 3 MONTHS IN CALIFONIA..EACH HIVE YELDS AVG 50LB OF HONEY OVER THIS TIME . SALEING FOR $2.50 PER LB..... AFTER PAYING FOR BEEKEEPERS, TRUCKING, LABORERS, NEW HIVES AND SWARMS.. IN THIS TIME FRAME OF 3 MONTHS....I BANK $500,000.00 I MAKE $1.6MILL GROSS EACH YEAR.....BEEKEEPING FOR ME OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS HAS BEEN GOOOOOOOOOOD!!!! |
RE: So how do beekeepers turn a profit...?
| | |
Greetings and Salutations...
reminds me of that old joke about the farmer who won a million bucks in the lottery some years back (when a million bucks was WORTH something). At the interview when they presented him with the giant check, the presentor asked what he would do with the money.
After a moment's consideration, he said "well, I will probably just keep farming until it's all gone...".
regards
dave mundt |
RE: So how do beekeepers turn a profit...?
| | |
| Hello to all, I am trying to convince my husband to invest in bees. I am just fascinated with country living and I want to sell my house and get a homestead. I got interested in bees recently but my husband is afraid to invest and loose money on it. He thinks it is just a crazy idea from my head because I love honey. The last time I had an business idea, he ignored it too and we fail to make 30 million dollars.
My question is for beewhisperer. Where do I go to get information to help me make the most profit out of this business? |
RE: So how do beekeepers turn a profit...?
| | |
| analee, before you get the cart in front of the horse be aware of the pitfalls of beekeeping. And #1 pitfall these days in sudden colony collapse. Check out the documentary 'The last beekeeper', I caught it on Planet green channel on cable tv. Even being an expert beekeeper won't help you if your lose 75% of your hives in any given year to this disorder for which there currently is no known cause or cure. The best guess I've seen regarding the cause is a combination of all the pests/diseases/and stresses bees are currently exposed to. Some of the greatest stresses are believed to be what generates the greatest profits for a beekeeper, moving the hives from place to place to pollinate crops. The more you moves them, the more stress and the greater chance of exposing them to new pests/diseases. |
RE: So how do beekeepers turn a profit...?
| | |
| You can make a profit on a small scale. I spent $1200 out of pocket my first year, and that's been it. Since then it has paid for itself, plus I've made a small profit. I now have 10 hives and 5 nucs going into the winter, plus a lot of extra hive bodies, supers, etc. There were a couple of things that helped. I approached it as a business right from the start.I didn't buy anythng I didn't need.I made everything for my first 2 hives except for frames. I borrowed an extractor the first couple of years in exchange for making some equipment. I also took some classes and made candles, lip balm and hand lotion to sell along with my honey. I put every penny back into the business for the first 4 years. Things are starting to click now. I'm getting more customers all the time and have a healthy balance in my checking account. |
Post a Follow-Up
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Bees and Beekeeping Forum
|
|
|
