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3,405 Posts
First, allow me to welcome you to the site. It's always a pleasure to see another start beekeeping. However, usually people start off with a post in the Welcome section, just to introduce yourself and see how things are. Not that its a problem, just that's how it normally works.
Second, I know you are anxious, but commercial operations is a lifetime away from you at the moment. You may want to know about the future, but it's more important for you to be able to keep a hive and make it trough the winter before you can worry about getting a dozen. Then you need to manage those before you can get 50. Small steps at a time.
But, if you really want an answer, it would be "it depends." If you are planning on making $20K a year off the bees, the question would be by selling what? You can sell the honey, pollen, propolis, the bees themselves, queens, or renting them out for pollination services. The number of hives necessary will depend on what you are trying to sell. Additionally, it has alot to do with location. For example, 10 hives in central NC will yield 50-70 lbs per hive on average of Tulip Poplar honey. At $5 a pound retail, that's $250-350 per hive. At bulk sale, that's about $85-133 per hive. However, in ND you can average 200-250 lbs of honey per hive. Netting you anywhere between $1,250 retail to $340 bulk. So just from that, you can see one hive can generate $85 in one location, or $1,250 in another location. Retail sale or bulk sale really matters too, at least for honey.
Additionally, are you talking $20k Gross or Net? Because the expenses that you have to generate the money is purely personal, and will vary by a ton from person to person.
In the end, there are so many variables that are dependent on you, your situation, what resources you have, your location, and your goals that it would be impossible to accurately answer that question.
Perhaps you can clearify?
Second, I know you are anxious, but commercial operations is a lifetime away from you at the moment. You may want to know about the future, but it's more important for you to be able to keep a hive and make it trough the winter before you can worry about getting a dozen. Then you need to manage those before you can get 50. Small steps at a time.
But, if you really want an answer, it would be "it depends." If you are planning on making $20K a year off the bees, the question would be by selling what? You can sell the honey, pollen, propolis, the bees themselves, queens, or renting them out for pollination services. The number of hives necessary will depend on what you are trying to sell. Additionally, it has alot to do with location. For example, 10 hives in central NC will yield 50-70 lbs per hive on average of Tulip Poplar honey. At $5 a pound retail, that's $250-350 per hive. At bulk sale, that's about $85-133 per hive. However, in ND you can average 200-250 lbs of honey per hive. Netting you anywhere between $1,250 retail to $340 bulk. So just from that, you can see one hive can generate $85 in one location, or $1,250 in another location. Retail sale or bulk sale really matters too, at least for honey.
Additionally, are you talking $20k Gross or Net? Because the expenses that you have to generate the money is purely personal, and will vary by a ton from person to person.
In the end, there are so many variables that are dependent on you, your situation, what resources you have, your location, and your goals that it would be impossible to accurately answer that question.
Perhaps you can clearify?