Note:  This is the first part in a series of posts that will appear over the next few weeks attempting to answer the question, “Can hobby beekeeping be financially successful?” This will be a “middle of the road” scenario.  It could be done more cheaply than this and I will point out ways that can be done as we go along.  There could also be legitimately higher cost that are unique to an individual, set of needs, or location.  For simplicity, time is not included. The activity plan in this post would also make a handy checklist to print out and follow through your first year to make sure you’re keeping your beekeeping up to date.

I did this once before.

About 25 years ago I put pencil to paper and laid out a plan for growing a financially successful commercial beekeeping business.  I projected expense and income for the first several years, taking into account all the factors I could think of.  I projected that at the end of the first year I would have a certain amount of colonies and a certain amount of profit and by the end of the second I would be even further along. And—I don’t remember anymore what the master plan would come to be in the next several years, but I was going to make a certain amount of money in a certain amount of time.

It didn’t happen like the paper said it would.  The learning curve was about straight up. That was in the early years of neonicotinoids, and I lost 50% of my bees each year for the first three years.  Not financially successful.

Well, they say that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over and expect different results. Here, I’m going to project income, expense, and profit again in the next several posts. Hopefully I’m not insane and the results will be different for you.  Experience has tempered my numbers, and so maybe I’m not doing the same thing after all.

I would like to present a picture of what newbie beekeeping could look like financially.  Can a newbie make any money?  Or is hobby beekeeping always going to be a fun, therapeutic, beneficial-in-other-ways, money-pit activity like most hobbies?  Let’s examine it.

Here are the basic parameters.  We are going to start with two hive setups and two nucs at the end of April.  We are going to run double deeps with 10 frame equipment and we going to keep it to the essentials.  No frills.

We are going to use a mite treatment regimen that will pretty well guarantee control even if we fail to do all the recommended mite checks.  We are going to be doing something with the hives once every week during the month of May and then every two weeks at minimum thereafter.  We are going to feed heavily during all non-flow periods to keep the brood rearing strong.  We are not going to make honey production a priority but we are going to super adequately so that if they can make honey they will not become honey bound.  We will take all the honey we can at the end of the honey flow and begin feeding heavily and immediately.  We will not be making any splits this first year. We will make learning the number one project—learning to find the queen, learning to manage for health and strength, learning to spot problems and deal with them, etc., etc., etc.  We aren’t going to try anything fancy the first year.

The location for this project is southern Michigan about 41st latitude. The procedure will vary somewhat in other locations.

The activity plan will look like this:

March—attend a bee school, read some books, watch some good videos, talk to some old-timers, and go to a conference. Find a good supplier for nucs, and order 2 of them.

Before the nucs arrive—set up two hives in an ideal spot.  Just the bottom board, 1 deep, inner cover, and telescoping lid.

End of April, beginning of May—install the two nucs, treat with SuperDFM, and feed with a half-gallon of light syrup immediately.

Within 7 days— later check for eggs.  If no eggs, contact the nuc supplier for a replacement. Feed another half gallon of light syrup.

Mid May—Check hives for growth and health.  Feed a half gallon of light syrup.  Move an undrawn frame inside a drawn frame to hasten growth.

One week later—Check again and move another undrawn frame inward.  Feed another half gallon.

Last week of May—Check again and repeat frame movement.  By this time the first deep should be pretty full and might require the second box.  Usually by this time feeding can stop. Treat with 1 strip of Formic Pro.

First week of June—Check again.  Most likely the first deep will be 75% full and the second deep should be added. Move two frames of brood and bees from the bottom box up to the second box and replace them with undrawn frames.  Leave the Formic Pro strip in place and place two strips of VarroxSan across the top bars of the bottom box. Also treat with SuperDFM.

At least two weeks later—check again and perform frame switching to promote growth.  Check brood and perform remedial action if problems are evident.  If not queenrite, get a new queen immediately.

Checking oftener than every two weeks will give opportunity to manage for faster buildup but these checks should not be invasive.

End of June—If all has gone well and there is an obvious honey flow, a honey super can be added. Treat with SuperDFM.

One week later—especially if honey flow is heavy, open lid to see if extra room is needed.  If super is 75% full, add another super.

Mid July—do a light inspection to determine honeyflow, queenriteness, and overall health.  This does not need to be a full hive inspection.

Mid to end of July—Determine when honey flow is over and pull all the honey that can be pulled.  The only honey that should be left will be what is in frames containing brood and/or pollen. Do an intensive hive inspection looking for queenlessness, disease, spotty brood pattern, small hive beetle infestation, etc.  Make management corrections immediately.  Perform a mite roll and treat if mite count is high.  If queen is poor, requeen (last chance for season). Feed a gallon of syrup immediately.  Extract honey and enjoy.

One week later—Feed a gallon of light syrup.  Repeat religiously at 1-week intervals.  If brood chamber seems too full, add a super or a deep of undrawn comb.  You can’t overfeed a bee. This is a good time to draw comb for next year. Treat with SuperDFM (beginning of August).

End of August—(as early as temperature allows) Do a light inspection for brood pattern and overall health.  Treat with two strips of Formic Pro.  Feed a gallon of light syrup.

Beginning of September—Treat with SuperDFM.

Through September religiously feed 1 gallon of light syrup every week.  DO NOT skip these feedings under any circumstance.  A pollen patty can be given occasionally to boost brood production.

Beginning of October—Treat with SuperDFM.

Through October religiously feed 1 gallon of heavy syrup every week.  Again, DO NOT skip these feedings under any circumstance.

Last warm day of the season (watch the weather forecast)—  Reduce hives to two deeps as much as possible.  Lightly inspect  hive for queenriteness, brood, feed, and cluster size.  It is very difficult to do any remedial work now except to put on fondant or sugar bricks if feed is not enough.  Syrup feeding stops. This inspection informs us of how well we did our job for the season and what the overwintering prospects are.

Sometime around Thanksgiving—treat with an oxalic vapor treatment.

Hives should be checked for feed at least once a month during January, February, and March.  Place fondant patty or sugar brick over cluster if they have “chimneyed” to the top.  

This procedure should give optimal survival and the greatest likelihood for financial success.  I’ll run the financial numbers for the year based on this procedure in the next post.

-Jonathan Showalter | Beeline of Michigan

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