What would you charge a commercial beekeeper...

jdesq · 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?

Javin · May 21, 2012, 01:56:00 PM

I'm super curious about this too.

asprince · May 21, 2012, 02:43:19 PM

Nothing. You can collect his swarms when they hit the trees. We get hundreds that way.

Steve

Javin · 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?

asprince · 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

Javin · 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.)

Dimmsdale · 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.

asprince · 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

Javin · 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.

edward · 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

asprince · 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

Vance G · 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.

Javin · 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.)

asprince · May 21, 2012, 07:15:07 PM

I park them there when they are not need for pollination. Usually from October until May.

Steve

iddee · 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.

Jim134 · 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 :)

jdesq · 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.

Joe D · 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

asprince · 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

Jim134 · 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 :)