Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: jdesq on May 21, 2012, 10:06:08 AM

Title: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: jdesq on May 21, 2012, 10:06:08 AM
What would you charge a commercial beekeeper who wants to put 8 pallets of hives on your land? I'm thinking 2  five gallon pails of honey. Is this to much or not enough?
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: Javin on May 21, 2012, 01:56:00 PM
I'm super curious about this too.
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: asprince on May 21, 2012, 02:43:19 PM
Nothing. You can collect his swarms when they hit the trees. We get hundreds that way.


Steve
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: Javin on May 21, 2012, 02:52:31 PM
But suppose you have no interest in keeping bees yourself.  What would the "going rate" per hive be?  I'm toying with the idea of placing individual hives on other people's property and giving them a cut of the honey.  Just an idea at the moment, but I don't know what the going rate would be?
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: asprince on May 21, 2012, 03:01:52 PM
I have hives placed on other peoples property. They do not charge anything and they always have plenty on honey for their table.


Steve
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: Javin on May 21, 2012, 03:09:13 PM
About how much do you give them?  I just don't know what would be considered "fair."  (I also obsess about how much to tip at restaurants.)
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: Dimmsdale on May 21, 2012, 03:16:48 PM
I don't see where you should charge anything.  You and your neighbors are getting free pollination services for all of your crops, flowers, and trees.  If they see it fit to throw you some extra honey, good on em!  I think people too often write off the benefit they are going to receive of just having bees near their property.  Just my humble opinion.
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: asprince on May 21, 2012, 03:39:05 PM
I just harvested 400 to 500 pounds this weekend. I gave the land owner four 2lb bottles. If I harvest again in the fall, I will give him some more. He was happy.

Steve
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: Javin on May 21, 2012, 03:56:53 PM
Wow, nice!  Was that out of a single hive, or do they have more than one hive on their property?  I'm still up in the air about how tall to stack a single hive.  Been thinking of locking it in at 5 hive bodies.
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: edward on May 21, 2012, 04:46:58 PM
It depends a little  ;)

How much are you willing to pay the beekeeper for his pollination service?

It depends on who wants it and who benefits the most?!

Fruit,berries,rapeseed and seed farmers pay the beekeeper

Other land owners usually get a 3kg tub of honey , good years maybee some more for Christmas

mvh edward  :-P
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: asprince on May 21, 2012, 04:55:03 PM
Quote from: Javin on May 21, 2012, 03:56:53 PM
Wow, nice!  Was that out of a single hive, or do they have more than one hive on their property?  I'm still up in the air about how tall to stack a single hive.  Been thinking of locking it in at 5 hive bodies.

I have 30-40 on his property. Sometimes more, sometimes less. That came from 15 shallow supers on ten hives.


Steve
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: Vance G on May 21, 2012, 05:33:28 PM
Tell him thats how much you want.  He probably NEEDS a good laugh!   Unless territory is really hard to come by or your place is exceptional, you have really high expectations.  Thirty pounds is fair. 
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: Javin on May 21, 2012, 05:43:29 PM
So when you put hives on their property, do you leave them year round, or do you move them back to your own property during the non-flow months?  (I'm assuming year round.)
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: asprince on May 21, 2012, 07:15:07 PM
I park them there when they are not need for pollination. Usually from October until May.


Steve
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: iddee on May 21, 2012, 07:49:41 PM
How much honey does one family eat in a year? That is how much the keep should pay the landowner.
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: Jim134 on May 21, 2012, 08:39:49 PM
Quote from: jdesq on May 21, 2012, 10:06:08 AM
What would you charge a commercial beekeeper who wants to put 8 pallets of hives on your land? I'm thinking 2  five gallon pails of honey. Is this to much or not enough?

A 120 pounds  of honey  :shock: for how many hives ??? 4 or 6  hives @ pallet. ???




       BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)


       
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: jdesq on May 21, 2012, 08:41:20 PM
So the commercial beekeeper puts 32 hives on my land and realizes approx. 40#s of honey per hive which comes to around 1200#s of honey and all I could expect is 6 to 8lbs in return according to asprince. Wow! great deal for him. In the mean time I,m paying taxes and doing the upkeep. I definitely have to grow my hive count from 12 to 1200 and get on this money train. I am in the wrong business.
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: Joe D on May 21, 2012, 09:10:01 PM
A friend of mine has a beek that has 40 hives on his land and is talking about increasing the number.  Bruce, my friend, gets 1 case of pints, which he sells in his store.  He also let the beek sell his there.  It is all labeled with the beek info.  Bruce's land has a river and a couple of creek running though it.

Joe
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: asprince on May 21, 2012, 09:39:11 PM
Quote from: jdesq on May 21, 2012, 08:41:20 PM
So the commercial beekeeper puts 32 hives on my land and realizes approx. 40#s of honey per hive which comes to around 1200#s of honey and all I could expect is 6 to 8lbs in return according to asprince. Wow! great deal for him. In the mean time I,m paying taxes and doing the upkeep. I definitely have to grow my hive count from 12 to 1200 and get on this money train. I am in the wrong business.

I have more people wanting me to place hives on their property than I have bees to accommodate. I can't see a case where I will pay someone for the privilege of parking my bees on their land. They usually pay me. But my friends always have honey for their table.

Good Luck

 
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: Jim134 on May 21, 2012, 09:39:57 PM
Quote from: jdesq on May 21, 2012, 08:41:20 PM
So the commercial beekeeper puts 32 hives on my land and realizes approx. 40#s of honey per hive which comes to around 1200#s of honey and all I could expect is 6 to 8lbs in return according to asprince. Wow! great deal for him. In the mean time I,m paying taxes and doing the upkeep. I definitely have to grow my hive count from 12 to 1200 and get on this money train. I am in the wrong business.

Are you going to but out $250.00 or so @ hive And the as just the being of the costs. I hope you the best and some year you got 0000000 honey the you feed a 100 Ibs or so


And Good Luck on keeping bees



      BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: Jim134 on May 21, 2012, 10:21:47 PM
 HINT:
And I do know in the town I live in if you have honey bees you may get a property tax brake if you owe them or not.



     BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: divemaster1963 on May 21, 2012, 10:41:06 PM
When I get to the point of having enough hives to place on others property. i plan to use the figures that my uncle did with his apiary. for every full super. (apx 60 lbs) he would offer the land owner that wintered his hives 1% by weight of honey for him and his family on the first pulling of supers. ( with the stipulation that he would not sell it in the area and if he gives it away to use his labeling.)down here we can have 2 flows so the the land owner would only get it from one flow. that should allow them a good quantity of honey for them.

john.
Title: Re: What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...
Post by: AllenF on May 21, 2012, 10:49:49 PM
A quart jar or 2.   That makes most people happy.