iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

honey bees

Started by darrenjttu, March 18, 2015, 06:39:41 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

darrenjttu

im thinking of getting into honey bees for an ag exemption. My county said I need 12 hives for my 20 acres. Where do I start?

thecfarm

In my area there are alot that keep bees. I think it would be safe to say,if I stopped at any of them,they would gladly help me get going.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Peter Drouin

Quote from: darrenjttu on March 18, 2015, 06:39:41 PM
im thinking of getting into honey bees for an ag exemption. My county said I need 12 hives for my 20 acres. Where do I start?



Will this be the first time with bees?
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

Autocar

I am not sure while your located but here in Ohio you can get information at the county extension service. Good luck just remember on cloudy or wet days they seem to get *pithed pretty quick  ;D.
Bill

Southside

I am assuming if you are now just getting your AG exemption then this 20 acres is either in woods or hay / pasture or something that is not 100% flowers.  That is a gigantic amount of hives. We have 16 hives on just over 400 acres of mixed timber and crops / pasture. Some years there is a decent honey yield, last year only a few hives had enough surplus honey to harvest.  Bees will feed over a 2.5 mile radius, and they need a lot of food, especially new hives.  Unless you are close to a lot of frequent flowering crops such as clover, alfalfa, etc you will be feeding these hives a lot. 

See if you can find a local group to hook up with, having a mentor will make your life a lot easier.  Also, it will cost more at first but start with Nucs, not boxed bees, your chances for success are much higher.  Then if you want to have  more hives you will be a lot closer to being able to split them.

Good luck, and buy a good suit with a really good hat!!!
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

tmarch

What do you feed them?  We have a lot of them showing up and acting hungry.
Retired to the ranch, saw, and sell solar pumps.

WV Sawmiller

There are several good bee supply companies. I can highly recommend Walter Kelley out of Kentucky. They always had good equipment at reasonable prices. Local beekeepers may have swarms for sale or you can buy from the suppliers. They ship 2lb or 3 lb swarms of workers through US mail. Buy queens at same time and they come in a small match box sized container with the worker bees. Dump them out in prepared hives with starter wax on the frames, put the queen container between the frames, remove the cork plug and the workers will free her, feed them sugar water until they get a good start. Timing to start depends on weather conditions in your area.  Need to set them up away from people and animals as much as possible with decent sunlight (a little noon shade is good but too much shade makes them meaner). Place them carefully as if you move them a few yards the workers return to the last spot and many will die. Skunks will scratch on the front porch and eat the bees coming out to defend the hive. Bears can move/destroy a whole hive at one time.

It is a lot of fun to work them but it is hard work and lots to learn. They are time sensitive and you have to be there ready to work them when conditions require. A 9" deep super/hive body full of honey/bees weighs over 60 lbs and they are awkward to lift. Have to add space when there is a honey flow or they will swarm on you. Have to break them down for winter and feed and medicate them in the spring and summer.

You might be well advised to work with a local beekeeper for a season before starting on your own. Good luck.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

darrenjttu

Im not worried about the number of hives and work that goes with it I am worried about the number of bees total that will be buzzing around my property. If each hive hold between 5 to 20 thousand bees and there are 12 hives that might be too many bees for me.

beenthere

darren
Maybe put your location in your bio (see your profile). That will help when reading your posts. tks.

south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

darrenjttu

Profile updated. Bees need help in my area but maybe I need to look at this like a part time job instead of a hobby to get this ag exemtion/

Southside

If you crowd them too much they will fight for food and the stress can lead to invasions of the hives, disease, etc resulting in collapses and or swarms where they just leave, especially new hives.  Do you need that many for the exemption?  If you start with a few and they do well and you want to start renting them out for pollination you can split them from your own stock and build up a lot more very economically. This also gives you a chance to be selective for attitude, never split aggressive hives, production, winter survival, etc. 
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

darrenjttu

It just says that I need 12 for my 20 acres and that the hives need to be alive.

thecfarm

I'm sure no bee expect,but how much time per week does it take to maintain/check on 12 bee hives?
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Peter Drouin

What do you get with a AG exemption?
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

darrenjttu

property taxes are 2100.00 right now with no house on it for 20 acres. When I am ag exempt my taxes will be 27 bucks per year as long as there is no house. When house is built one acre will be taxed as normal with house on it and the rest of the 19 will be in agriculture status.

red

You can buy a lot of Epipens with $2,000 go for it
Honor the Fallen Thank the Living

Joe Hillmann

I would suggest looking at top bar hives.  They have a benefit of being cheaper to get started and more "natural" than box type hives.  Although I would assume they would produce much less honey and more wax which depending on what you plan to do with it could be a benefit.

Also you can make them smaller so you have more hives but not necessarily more bees.  But that may cause them to swarm and leave.

darrenjttu

I think I am going with the traditional box ones. I am going to go to a bee keepers meeting in April. But for now is May too soon to start this year and expect any honey?

Southside

Like everything else - it depends.  If you start with boxed or packaged bees I would say your chances of getting a honey harvest this fall are very, very, small. You might be able to get enough to taste if they bridge some frames or something.  If you start with nucs you stand a decent chance as the bees have a lot of infrastructure in place already.  The biggest factor will be how much and how often they have a bloom to work, ie - how much nectar and pollen they are able to collect.  The biggest mistake you can make is to remove too much of their honey, it is their winter food, take too much and the hive will die.  Getting to know guys at the beekeeper meeting will get you in good shape and make things a lot easier for you. 
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

mometal77

I have a hive grew up with bees.  I recommend craigslist/ebay for a cheap smoker/suit.  I also recommend a local bee keeper and i would get french bees and go to the library on you tube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO7Ob86lX7c,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA4YS5O2jzU,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xjqg1UpsbU,

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheBeeVlog
Too many Assholes... not enough bullets..."I might have become a millionaire, but I chose to become a tramp!

Peter Drouin

My bees made it through the cold winter. 8) 8) 8)

If I want more I put out an empty hive and put lemon grass oil at the door and It will fill up with bees :D :D :D :D :D
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

gww

Peter
Good for you, I have twelve traps spread out and three empty hives set up.  All are baited with lemongrass oil and the only bees I have seen near them was before the flow started really well.  I still have my fingers crossed.
gww

Thank You Sponsors!