I am seeking to expand in a 2nd beeyard and have contacted fellow farmers. Someone was asking how much honey he'd get out of the deal (he also owns a restaurant and think he can supply some honey for it i guess !)
What is the common practice ? What do you offer the landowner in exchange for a dozen hives yard ?
i think free pollination, the pleasure of supporting a species in difficulties, and some (quantity???) honey.
Thanks in advance,
Define what type farmer you are contacting.
If it's a farmer who is benefiting from the bees, you should be getting paid.
If it's a commercial farmer that is NOT benefitting from your bees, you should look elsewhere. Corn, soybean, and other crop farm operations are the last place to keep bees healthy while expecting honey crops.
I keep bees on two types of property...
1) Commercial farms that pay me for my bees and pollination. If it was not for the pollination fee, there are way better places to keep bees.
2) Those yards I have sought for breeding clusters and drone saturation and those yards that are for honey and ease of operation to include queen rearing, etc. They include gentleman's farms, farms in CREP programs, and other non-spray operations. I may drop off some honey to these owners as they not only give me a place to keep healthy bees but call when they see a swarm or notice other problems. The guy that patrols my bee yards with his Uzi always get some extra. ;)
Looking for nonpaying yards is fine (as in the #2 option). But paying to keep your bees on traditional farming operations with the risks of chemicals, constant mowing, and large tracts of land planted in useless plants for bees, while expecting to PAY for such sites, is as bad as you can get.