Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
I was pondering a question the other day. What if a guy/gal had 200 or so hives and doesnt want to build a honey processing house, are there places to take the supers for processing? If so, i imagine they would prefer deeps over mediums or would it matter? Im just curious if it is an option for a larger sideliner or smaller commercial guy.
Coyote Creek Bees - Beekeeping for 2 years. Number of hives - 17
Check out Coyote Creek Bees on Facebook and hit LIKE!!
Re: Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
Dan www.boogerhillbee.com
Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards
Re: Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
Sharing extracting equipment, in my opinion, isn’t an option. If you own it and operate it yourself and extract for others for a fee….then that may be doable.
There was a time that I allowed ‘friends’ to use my extracting house/equipment. No more.
Dan www.boogerhillbee.com
Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards
Re: Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
Being in a generous mood, I offered my "friends" to use my new honey house. I'm curious, beemandan, what transpired to change your mind?
Grant
Jackson, MO
Re: Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
One of my original mentors allows use of his honey house in exchange for labor (anything from assembling frames, making up nucs, extracting his honey, whatever needs to be done).
Re: Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
Hot knife left plugged in….honey caramelized all over it. Everything sticky…major cleanup afterward. Folks assure you that they will clean up after themselves but all too often it doesn’t happen or is a poor job. I have to show people how to use everything and it takes a lot of time. I had one fellow who said he had a couple of supers to extract….he brought a dozen. He tied things up for an entire day. I've had people bring a single super and expect five gallons of honey.They went away angry, thinking that somehow they hadn't gotten all of their honey. I had one fellow who spilled some honey, then slipped in the mess and fell to the floor. He told me several times that I hadn't warned him that honey was slippery. And…once word gets out there’ll be a steady stream. I just don’t have enough time. I still have several trusted friends that use it but I just can’t open it up to all comers.Originally Posted by Grant
If you want to be a good guy, I'd highly recommend that you do it for a fee and do it yourself. But you'd better price it so that it is worth your time.
Dan www.boogerhillbee.com
Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards
Re: Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
I would agree with doing it for someone at a fee or letting them get their own equipment. Nobody or very few would take care of yours like they would their own and then again some do and that's where the mess comes in.
Re: Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
I'm sure odfrank wouldn't mind a fellow Californian using his honey house!
President, San Francisco Beekeepers Association
www.habitatforhoneybees.org
Re: Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
Look into your local bee club sharing a hand cranked extractor. But I would not recomend they share any more equipment than that.
See Beemandan's comments.
Everyone needs their own uncapping, straining, storage, and bottling equipment and supplies. This is not hard and it isn't expensive.
Scrapfe---Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied.--Otto von Bismarck.
Re: Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
Sure, come on down, I'll extract and even bottle for you no charge if you buy me a taco lunch. I'll even let you fondle the filter socks.
The last guy who asked to do 12 boxes, I quoted $20 a box, he supplies the labor, direct into his buckets, supers and honey out of the extracting room same day. Didn't hear back from him. My supervision time is worth $60 an hour, the Cowan, extractor and spinner are worth thousands of dollars, my extracting room cost thousands of dollars, and my real estate is worth 1.3 million. If my price is too high you are welcome to make the same investment yourself and loan it out for free.
Re: Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
Dont get me wrong, I have an extractor, strainers, capping tank, electric knife and a bottling bucket, not commercial status by any means, but it gets the job done!!
I was just basically curious if there are honey packers around California where you drop off a hundred or so supers and they uncap, extract and then put the honey into barrels or what ever and you get a certain price for it.
Or do most commercial guys have their own honey houses??
And Oliver, for some reason I do have a strange urge to come over there and fondle those honey strainers!!LOL Very cool!!
Coyote Creek Bees - Beekeeping for 2 years. Number of hives - 17
Check out Coyote Creek Bees on Facebook and hit LIKE!!
Re: Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
Do you know anyone who will take care of what is yours as well as you do? You may, but I don't. Not consistantly.
Mark Berninghausen
www.uucantonny.org, "Support Our Troops"
Re: Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
Thanks for the input and the insight. I guess I continue to think more highly of people and their motives than reality warrants. No one took me up on my offer. I think I'll quietly retract said offer. I still was not clear on how to handle piles of dripping cappings or how to assist the other guys with bottling.
I have rethought my offer. You guys have likely saved me a lot of frustration. You're worth your weight in honey!
Grant
Jackson, MO
Re: Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
Knowing Ollie I would check to make sure that was honey in those socks before I fondled them.
President, San Francisco Beekeepers Association
www.habitatforhoneybees.org
Re: Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
There was a Honey House Co-op in Virginia many years ago. I don't know any details, only that it didn't last. Which says something, I guess.
I don't mind paying for what I want done well. I would never get my honey extracted at odfrank's, it's too far to haul.I imagine if you can afford to set up a nice honeyhouse, that if you got ahold of a list of Bee Clubs, you could drum up some business thru them. But you would really have to want to do that sort of thing.
Mark Berninghausen
www.uucantonny.org, "Support Our Troops"
Re: Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
I am sure you don't rent your equipment out Mark but U-Haul and others make millions at it. Take a deposit that will insure the equipment comes back to your satisfaction. Some people could take care of borrowed equipment better than you do your own.
Brian Cardinal
Zone 5a, Practicing non-intervention beekeeping
Re: Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
That may be so, but what do you do when the equipment comes back broken? So what if you have the deposit to fix it, it's down. Down when you need it. Not that that can't/doesn't happen when one uses it oneself, it just feels different.
U-Haul has a different business model than most beekeepers I know.
Mark Berninghausen
www.uucantonny.org, "Support Our Troops"
Re: Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
A friend of ours is building one in Oakland right now. Health Dep. inspected.
He said he would do that kind of work for club members.
Dan
Re: Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
Can we get the health department requirements?
Re: Are there co-op honey houses for extracting for smaller commercial guys?
Ollie, are you considering offering up your honey house to start a co-op? I think you should.
It's the right thing to do. You have so much, it's time you "gave back" to all the hardworking
Bay Area beekeepers who got you to where you are today.
President, San Francisco Beekeepers Association
www.habitatforhoneybees.org
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