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Money?

32K views 84 replies 27 participants last post by  Oneupsuperdog 
#1 ·
Can anyone tell me on average how much money a person can make on each hive that is doin well with making the honey in the southern states? As in arkansas and Louisiana?
 
#35 · (Edited)
There is a lot of blue sky to sell a dreamer in the beekeeping field...

Good question to stimulate discussion and expose us to the diversity represented in our membership. :)
Can anyone tell me on average how much money a person can make on each (hive).....snip....?
The most I have ever made off of a single hive in a single season was about $500.00 That was after expenses. But that was using the hives in nuc production and selling 8 nucs from each hive....snip....
I'd like to see a graph of the demand and sale of NUCS over the last 15 years. How long will the demand be so high? I plan to keep four hives and a couple NUCS to bank brood and queens. To keep the mite populations under stress and slow the swarming impulse, it seems that splits are the way to go. When you reach your target number of hives, something has to change. You could go on selling the splits (when they are) established NUCS. Keeper shows us how to think outside the honey box. :)
 
#36 ·
Re: There is a lot of blue sky to sell a dreamer in the beekeeping field...

I'd honestly like to see packages fall to the wayside. They are a product with planned obsolescence in a sense. They keep customers coming back in my view.

I don't sell splits as nucs, I sell established nucs with a queen who's been laying eggs in it long enough so that the most if not all the bees in it are hers. How much money can I make off this? Time will tell, but I've had not a single complaint about my products. I plan on keeping it that way.
 
#37 ·
Re: There is a lot of blue sky to sell a dreamer in the beekeeping field...

I have only owned bees for 15 months, and I am to the point that the longer I stay with bees the more "confuseder" I become. But, in my opinion, agriculture is monetarily, a poor way to make a living. Almost all of my agriculture friends don't make a living, they just live on what they make.

I think bees are on par with dry land farming. At best, you can make a sparse living, at worst, you will be broke and looking for employment after two dry years in succession. There appear to be a FEW commercial beekeepers that make good money out of bees, but it will take a long time to elevate yourself into their ranks. And even then you will only join them at the trough, if you are very good with bees and business and have good fortune. I think the long odds are that you can make more money working for WalMart.
 
#39 ·
Re: There is a lot of blue sky to sell a dreamer in the beekeeping field...

...snip...There appear to be a FEW commercial beekeepers that make good money out of bees, but it will take a long time to elevate yourself into their ranks. And even then you will only join them at the trough, if you are very good with bees and business and have good fortune. I think the long odds are that you can make more money working for WalMart.
I think location has a major role to play in success and failure...Oh, the weather too. :)

Commercial Agriculture is based on the farmer paying retail for all his equipment and supplies and then sells for wholesale. Don't know any other business that does that.
 
#43 ·
Re: There is a lot of blue sky to sell a dreamer in the beekeeping field...

I sure hope not.One should be able to do as well as they are willing to work.
Sqkcrk you are a hopeless romantic (not a bad thing). Being willing to work hard is a great attribute. Now if one is willing to work hard and is smart and learns the business, then the hard work will pay off. I could write a large book about the hard working, well intentioned people that I have witnessed go broke. In one of John Wayne's movies, he said, "life is tough, and it's tougher if you're stupid." Hard work alone won't get you there.
 
#42 ·
Re: There is a lot of blue sky to sell a dreamer in the beekeeping field...

Most commercial agriculture relies on government subsidies. Facts are that corn farmers would lose money if it weren't for the subsidies (regardless of the weather). Want to change the face of the modern monoculture agricultural landscape...KILL THE SUBSIDIES...never going to happen with Iowa as the first stop on the Primary trail.

Probably the best way to make a million in agriculture (beekeeping or whatever) is to start with three million.
 
#48 ·
Re: There is a lot of blue sky to sell a dreamer in the beekeeping field...

Most commercial agriculture relies on government subsidies. Facts are that corn farmers would lose money if it weren't for the subsidies (regardless of the weather). Want to change the face of the modern monoculture agricultural landscape...KILL THE SUBSIDIES...never going to happen with Iowa as the first stop on the Primary trail.

Probably the best way to make a million in agriculture (beekeeping or whatever) is to start with three million.
Yeah the farm programs have always been steeped in politics but perhaps you could expand on what corn subsidies you are referring to. Now that high grain prices have made LDP's a thing of the past and the Blenders tax credit is on the way out that just leaves the small per acre program sign up bonus which carries with it the requirement to buy crop insurance if you want to be eligible for any disaster payments. Currently grain farmers are doing quite well sans-subsidies, at least until grain and/or land prices fall back significantly.
 
#44 ·
Re: There is a lot of blue sky to sell a dreamer in the beekeeping field...

lazy shooter, you may well be right. But, I didn't mean to imply that working hard was all it took. It takes knowledge of bees and beekeeping, and as much business knowledge and skills. It doesn't hurt if one does not need to have all the latest gadgets, toys, bells and whistle, material objects, conspicuous consumption.

The beekeepers that I know who appear to me to be doing well are smart business persons who work when they need to, not when they want to, put in long hours in the beeyard, the truck, the Bobcat, and the honeyhouse. They also know how to take time off and smell the roses. Ain't nothin' prettier than a sunrise over the blueberry barrens, unless it's a sunrise over an apple orchard.

Yes, I am a hopeless romantic and proud of it.

Sidenote: How come when I enter a Thread titled "Money", the w/in Thread title is "Re: There is a lot of bluesky to sell a dreamer in the beekeeping field..."? How does this sort of thing happen? How is it done? By whom?
 
#46 ·
Re: Kept more than 100 hives?

Someone wrote:

I'd honestly like to see packages fall to the wayside. They are a product with planned obsolescence in a sense. They keep customers coming back in my view.

With the increase of pathogens, and the increase of pathogens in old equipment that is spread by Nuc sales(AFB in NE?), I predict that Nuc sales will not replace packages any time soon.

As for making money, it sure helps to have a history that is salable, skills and knowledge that exceed the competition, the ability to minimize repair and capitol expenditures(read "make your own woodenware and Stainless equipment"), and most important, to have deep enough pockets to span the lean years that have now become typical. Time will tell if we have what it takes. I believe that the above variables far outweigh any regional differences.

Crazy Roland
 
#47 ·
Re: Kept more than 100 hives?

I predict that Nuc sales will not replace packages any time soon.
I agree with you, though not for the same reasons. Cheap(er) and easy never goes away. And unfortunately, I'll just have to keep collecting the equipment of newbees who gave up after their first or second or third package didn't make it. I don't know what I'm going to do with any more four frame tangential extractors though, I've already received two.
 
#52 ·
Re: There is a lot of blue sky to sell a dreamer in the beekeeping field...

Let's stick to what it takes to make money keeping bees.
Mark, it ain't no different than what it takes to run a fast food restaurant, construction company, ice cream stand, or raising chickens. These all require knowledge, hard work, determination and the list goes on. But in each case the income goes up for those doing less of the manual labor. If you limit yourself to only you then you have made a choice to limit your business. Most business people would not do this. The money is in growing big.

:scratch:"Now it is kept more than 100 hives?"
 
#53 ·
Re: There is a lot of blue sky to sell a dreamer in the beekeeping field...

The original question was, and I paraphrase, 'how much profit per hive in Louisiana and Arkansas.' I still haven't seen an answer to that question. Actually, I think it is impossible to give a definitive answer to this question, as there are way to many variables, but I would have thought that someone could at least fired a SWAG at it by now.

If one wants in the bee business, he/she should copy Solomon's model. Just learn how to keep bees as a sideling for a few years. Test the market for honey, bees, pollen and whatever and determine how best to maximize profits. Bee keeping is a highly specialized and technical endeavor.

I ordered three packages with the thought of having home grown honey and putting some bees back in nature. I'm 15 months into keeping bees, haven't lost a hive and haven't harvested any honey, nor have I produced one swarm. It can be a tough business.
 
#55 ·
Re: There is a lot of blue sky to sell a dreamer in the beekeeping field...

lazy, I did answer it. Sorta. I told the guy to find out the State production average and do the math. That's about as good an answer anyone not from LA can give, in my opinion.

And then I told everyone what it is like for me for the most part. I don't know if that translates to LA very well or not, but I believe it is about as good as or better than anyone else has explained. Other than Solomon I don't recall anyone else telling us what their numbers are like.

Acebird, you are right. But, I think I know quite a few more beekeepers than you and have seen what the difference is between those that make profit from beekeeping and those who don't. Maybe don't want to or care if they do, compared to those who do and those who strive and struggle to. But, yes, I see your point.
 
#56 ·
OK I might suggest that the OP simply look around him. It's pretty hard for anyone to intelligently assess the potential for beekeeping with something as general as Louisiana or Arkansas to work with. Sure the national honey report has always shown good averages for Louisiana, but that only tells me that there must be some pockets of good production. Are there a lot of commercial bee locations in the area where you are considering keeping bees? If so there is probably some potential if not well.......there's your sign.
 
#58 ·
@ jim lyon

It's easy to think since grain and bean prices are high that farmers are doing well, but that ignores the spiraling prices of input feed costs. Just ask a cattle farmer about that one. Corn and bean farmers...how about climbing lease prices, out of control fert prices and all the fuel costs exponentially compounding everything. You NEED elevated corn and bean prices just to keep pace with the escalating input costs. Simply put, any student of the market knows that there is NO FREE LUNCH. Yeah, record prices for your goods...that is if you can survive long enough to get it to market. All those factors don't even take into account seed prices and all the chemicals that accompany the planting. Chemical prices stay lock step inline with fuel prices. As far as subsidies, you get up front cash payment once you commit acreage to certain crops (such as corn), then you also get a back end payment once you're fields/harvest go to market. Pure and simple, subsidies drive a great majority of plantings, not "free markets". :rolleyes:


@ OP and original question

As far as making money with bees, honey prices (or lack of) is the biggest factor going. Making money with bees reminds me a lot of like the gold rush. The people that made the most money were the frontier hardware stores selling the picks and shovels. With bees, the money seems to be in THE BEES; selling queens, packages and nucs along with good service. Of course low honey prices drive commercial operations heavily into pollination services, but seems to bee the most important factor there. The backyard beek/hobbiest is most interested in making honey. I don't even want to go down the honey issue/problems road (what's in the foreign honey and what not). :no:

How much money to be made with bees? I suppose one could simply point to Burt's Bees and say millions. It's like in most everything, right place, right time, right message and tons more of hard work and luck (but then again the optimist says that you make your own luck). But what do I know, I didn't get into beekeeping for the money.
 
#59 · (Edited)
Okay I know this is a bit off-topic but I can't stand to leave erroneous statements unchallenged. There are no back end subsidies for grain and haven't been for years. I am a grain farmer I fully understand input costs. Ever wonder who is paying high lease prices for land and why?
 
#60 ·
Just grainfarmer deficiency payments and prevented planting payments and I wills shut up now. Incentives to stay on the tit. Subsidies to allow the big to get bigger. I first got in to bees the first time because of the relatively low inputs to make a crop. It is still do-able to build a business but it takes skill and luck and a God awful amount of backbreaking work. Now it is an old man puttering and wishing I was young enough to start over.
 
#61 ·
No doubt the big continue to get bigger and they have done so in both good times and bad. It may not be what we like to see but it is a natural progression as bigger more costly equipment improves productivity and forces smaller farmers to make the decision whether to sell, rent or be a risk taker and reinvest. Those deficiency payments are just that, payments made when prices are deficient. You would get laughed out of your local Fsa office if you inquire about them today. Btw you can still put honey under loan there today for .60 per lb. any takers?
 
#62 ·
Ok i have a very embaresing confeshing to make. I wasnt goin to admit it. But after thinkin about and yall put all this time on this post i will share. I have wanted some bees sence i was a kid. At 39yr i had forgotjn about them. The other day i was in the checkout line and seen a beekeepin mag.. So i bought it. I was goin to have some bees!!!! After readin that each hive will produece 30 to 60 "GALLONS" of honey per year (i know! Its pounds not gallons) and goin over some figures i came up with... 5yrs i would have 36 hives, i would put $100.00 back for each hive( food, meds), 25% for uncle sam. And i would retire from the oilfield with $52,000.00 per year on my hives.;P sence i have found my mistake im back to getting 3 hives and just injoyin the bees:D
 
#63 · (Edited)
So now that im on the right track is it posiable to buy 3nucs a year, split the hives from the year before and have have a total of 45 hives at the end of the 4th year. Rent these hives to farmer john for $100.00 per hive, collect 3.3gallons per hive, put back 50.00 for each hive( for food and such) pay 25% taxes and walk away with $7,088.00? I guess i should mention i intent is not to sale in bulk but to sale one pint at a time for 6 or 7 dollars a jar.
 
#64 ·
I dont have the beekeeping experience to answer your question.
Can you break the numbers down a little further so that we can understand these numbers?
Gas, truck, extractor , bottles , labels , laptop , quick books, accountant , package price,boxes, frames, bottom boards, lids, pallets ,etc. are these included.$1280.00 for packages + 4500.00 for equipment + other cost and four years of labor is a tough way to make $7000.00.
 
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