How far is your farthest yard and does it suffer from attention compared to your closer yards?
Here at home, my farthest yard is about 50 miles away, about an hours drive. Going the other way, that yard is about 25 miles away.
The next farthest yard is 1,000 miles away, in SC.
No, really, when I'm down south, the farthest yard from where I sleep is about 25 miles.
I take honey off once or twice, depending on the season.
My yards are where they are for a number of reasons. A. there had already been bees there before, I inherited the location from another beekeeper and ther was a track record. B. It looked like a good location for me and the landowner was okay w/ the idea. C. I already had two yards on that road and having one inbetween made sense and the landowner was okay w/ it.
Sometimes finding a landowner who will let you use his/her property is as good a reason as anything else, if there is good forage w/in flight distance.
How many hives in a yard? As many as I feel like working before it's time to move to another yard. The ride between yards is my break time. Having a store near by is nice. A diner between each yard would be nicer, but it doesn't happen. But I know where all of the stores and diners are where my hives are located.