How much honey could one expect from one hive? Spring

[jimbo3]

Started with 2 hives this year. Bought a nuc. Caught one of my swarms. Lost one of my swarms (that I know of). Final harvest was around 5 gallons off of two hives. Now trying to overwinter 4 hives.

I know extractors aren't really worth it at my level, but maybe a 2-frame would be since crush and strain slows the bees down in their honey-making (giving them back bare foundation)?

This is the first year out of 4 (I think - or is it 5?) that I actually got enough honey to sell and now have people asking for more, so now my positive loss is slightly less.

[odfrank]

>If you have single deeps with excluder and 2-3 medium supers on top, could you expect 80-100 lbs per colony? I have 12 and am thinking I'll get 1200 lbs roughly. if sold at $13 a pound should bring $15,600 crazy? I might start at $15 a pound.

I have been hearing beginners with these lofty spreadsheet profit calculations for over 45 years now. If small time honey production was that profitable, Warren Buffet would be doing it.

[max2]

" What price do you get for honey in your area? Seems like that much honey could seriously dilute the price you can get. "

$ Aus 12 per kg in a glass jar. $ 9/kg in bulk

[JWPalmer]

$8 per pound USD does not sound bad when sold in 2.2# jars.

[jimbo3]

" What price do you get for honey in your area? Seems like that much honey could seriously dilute the price you can get. "

$ Aus 12 per kg in a glass jar. $ 9/kg in bulk

My calculations are probably wrong, but it looks like around 3.70/ lb usd. Bulk is much less, but with your volume that seems pretty substantial. I'm surprised with that much honey per hive you're able to get those prices if most people around you are getting that much per hive.

[JWPalmer]

I may have done the conversion backwards. 1.47:1, but which is which? Have not had my coffee yet this morning either.

[little_john]

I have $9,000 in bees this year.

If you have $9000 invested in your bee operation, that should tell you about one area in which money is to be made in beekeeping ! I doubt you spent $9000 buying honey - so there's no foundation there to assume that honey is profitable.

Whatever you did spend that money on, there is where one profitable market probably lies - so suggest you look into that - and if it looks likely, then find other people with the same mindset as yourself willing to purchase 'whatever it is' from you, hopefully involving similar amounts of money.

LJ

[GregV]

If you have $9000 invested in your bee operation, that should tell you about one area in which money is to be made in beekeeping ! I doubt you spent $9000 buying honey - so there's no foundation there to assume that honey is profitable.

Whatever you did spend that money on, there is where one profitable market probably lies - so suggest you look into that - and if it looks likely, then find other people with the same mindset as yourself willing to purchase 'whatever it is' from you, hopefully involving similar amounts of money.

LJ

Back to the same old, obvious phenomenon - yet it is forgotten every time and quickly too.

The most money makers from the gold rushes are the ... shovel sellers.
Forget the gold.
Sell the shovels.

In fact - invent the "gold rush" so you can sell the shovels.

[ifixoldhouses]

I just discovered a neighbor 1/8 of a mile away let someone place 10 hives on his property, I guess getting a ton of honey is out, I'll be making nucs for sale. There are 3-4 hives a 1/4 mile away on the other side of me too.

[Jackam]

I just discovered a neighbor 1/8 of a mile away let someone place 10 hives on his property, I guess getting a ton of honey is out, I'll be making nucs for sale. There are 3-4 hives a 1/4 mile away on the other side of me too.

Would that really make such a huge difference in your bees honey production? I know there are limiting factors... but I dunno

[ifixoldhouses]

maybe not now, but I plan on having 25 next year, maybe I'll just make nucs from now on, keep about 15 production hives.

[JWPalmer]

The problem with getting a ton of honey lies not with the number of hives in the area as much as having a large foraging age work force when the flow starts and plenty of drawn comb for them to store it in. The tulip poplar tree produces a huge amount of nectar and the trick is getting it into YOUR hives. Later in the summer, additional hives in the area may increase robbing pressure and, depending on the other beekeeper's stewardship, mite bombs later in the fall. Nuc creation and swarming will have more of an impact on how close you come to the state's average production per hive than a few additional colonies in the same foraging locale.

[ifixoldhouses]

cool, there's 100-acre woods all around here, I'm sure there are plenty of poplars.

[cfalls]

Just as a random data point, here's my experience:

First year: started with 4 nucs, had some swarms, combined 2 colonies, extracted maybe 3 mason jars, all 3 colonies overwintered successfully in double deeps.

Second year: bought 2 more nucs, extracted 140 lbs (maybe 11 or 12 gallons), have 6 colonies going into winter in double deeps.

Next year will be my first year with drawn comb for supers.

I figure this is probably pretty average for the kind of new beekeeper who spends a lot of time on these forums. My area has pretty average forage. I've prevented dead-outs, but largely failed at swarm prevention, which feels like par for the course.

I've loved it as a hobby, but I think this scale of beekeeping would be insane as a money-making endeavour.

[little_john]

I've loved it as a hobby, but I think this scale of beekeeping would be insane as a money-making endeavour.

Absolutely right. One of the most enduring myths is that "there's money to be made in beekeeping". Well, maybe there is for full-time beekeepers who know their business well, but for hobbyists unfortunately this idea frequently turns into self-delusion.
If a hobbyist were to factor in even a modest hourly wage - the sort of money they could earn (say) stacking supermarket shelves or a similar unskilled job, then one reality of the beekeeping business model quickly reveals itself. If you were then to raise this wage to that of a job requiring the same level of skill as that which a beekeeper must acquire if they are to become successful (at hobbyist or professional level), then beekeeping would confirm itself to be a very poor choice of occupation when based on this one economic factor alone - and I haven't even begun to consider issues of capital investment and the amortisation of equipment/ vehicles etc.

I'm sure "there IS money to be made from beekeeping", but this appears to lie with equipment manufacturers and suppliers, but even beekeeping suppliers tend to go out of business with uncanny regularity - so there may be some self-delusion or excessive optimism to be found there as well.

"Don't give up the day job".

LJ

[ifixoldhouses]

I have 14 supers of drawn comb for next year, There are people making money, look at the Barnyard bees guy, he's making a ton, makes like $80,000 a year off of youtube alone I bet. You have to start little to get big.

[JWPalmer]

If I had as big of operation as does David, I don't think beekeeping would be as much fun. Looks more like work.

[ifixoldhouses]

I bet they draw in 600k a year though. I don't think he's got but 6 years xp, his first video was 6 years ago, him with one hive.

[grozzie2]

I have been hearing beginners with these lofty spreadsheet profit calculations for over 45 years now. If small time honey production was that profitable, Warren Buffet would be doing it.

Seen it a few times myself Frank. After they realize a honey crop is not an easy route to some quick money, typically the tune changes to 'I will sell nucs instead of making honey'.

[GregV]

I have 14 supers of drawn comb for next year, There are people making money, look at the Barnyard bees guy, he's making a ton, makes like $80,000 a year off of youtube alone I bet. You have to start little to get big.

Youtube rates went down quite a bit.
Making money on beekeeping youtube channel?
Dream on.

Need to run hundreds Ks of the followers and more to make any significant cash.
Better get into Roblox or Minecraft you-tubing.
That's where the money is - but the kids already taken that over - too late for you.


PS: the channel is a good selling tool for your own wares - that is granted.