Every beekeeper wants to get the most out of their hives as possible, whether you're a hobbyist or running your own beekeeping business. With enough success, you'll be able to start selling all sorts of honey products, even bulk honey if you can produce enough. But how can you reach that level of production? Here are a few tips to get the most out of your beekeeping setup so you can maximize your production.
- Set the right expectations: Even in ideal conditions, a single hive can only produce so much honey. To make one pound of honey, a honey bee would have to fly about 90,000 miles, or three times around the globe. Remember that your bees are only capable of producing so much while still staying healthy, and set your expectations for your hive accordingly.
- Bees first: One of the essentials of beekeeping for beginners is learning about your bees. Just about every beekeeping book out there starts out with teaching you about your little workers; learning what they need and their ideal environmental conditions will help you keep them healthy and producing plenty of honey.
- Inspect, but not too much: It can be incredibly tempting to constantly check up on your bees to see how they're doing, but doing so can disrupt the hive. However, you'll still need to ensure that they're healthy. Infrequent checks are recommended for keeping your hive and bees in good condition without interrupting their daily lives too frequently. You should aim for once a week or so, if possible.
- Don't stop at just honey: If you really want to make money from keeping bees, you'll want to look beyond selling bulk honey. Check out what bee products could be popular near you: everything from bee pollen to beeswax to organic royal jelly can turn a profit in the right circumstances.
Beekeeping can be incredibly rewarding, but in order to get the most out of your hives, you'll want to use these tips and tricks. Taking proper care of your hives might even get you to the point where you can start offering bulk honey for sale.