Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => DOWN UNDER BEEKEEPING => Topic started by: OzBuzz on August 24, 2011, 08:32:06 pm

Title: How do you find landholders who are happy to host hives?
Post by: OzBuzz on August 24, 2011, 08:32:06 pm
Hi everybody,

I'm in a position now where i need to look seriously at my hive locations - my hive numbers are increasing as i move to a semi-commercial operation and the area that i have my hives in currently is fully saturated. I'm now looking for landholders or crown land where i might be able to put some of my hives. Has anybody else on the forum been in the situation where they've had to do this? What do you do? if you want to look for crown land/state forest how do you go about it?

Any advice would be appreciated
Title: Re: How do you find landholders who are happy to host hives?
Post by: Michael Bush on August 25, 2011, 12:12:29 am
Drive around and look for people raising things like pumpkins or wildflower seeds.  Run an ad in Craigslist.  Ask people...
Title: Re: How do you find landholders who are happy to host hives?
Post by: bud1 on August 25, 2011, 03:45:11 pm
simply ask; i have been told no only one time, the farmer said his wife was afraid of bees.

what he didnt know was i had just come from his house, talking with his wife and she loved the idea of having bees around. i was at the parts house and he was standing there talking with several of his neighbors who just loved hearing the story. he still just shakes his head when he sees me grinning
Title: Re: How do you find landholders who are happy to host hives?
Post by: specialkayme on August 25, 2011, 04:50:36 pm
I don't know about "crown land." In the states, at least as far as I've found, keeping your hives on the government's land is a difficult task. If they don't benefit from it, they arn't interested in hearing about it.

But farmers are an easy sell. I found a farmer through a friend of a friend that lets me keep my dozen or so hives on his property. It's a bit of a drive for me, but he's thrilled. I don't think he knows that my bees arn't pollenating his corn though  :-X It ends up he doesn't tend the land, as he is now too old. He rents it out to someone else, and when they finally met up with me they told me they have several other yards that they want me to put hives at. I told them that I'll be growing in the next few years and I'll give them a call. They were thrilled to find out someone will pollinate their blackberries and watermelons . . . FOR FREE!

I figure by the time I get all of his yards filled with bees, he'll be telling me about his neighbors. Lol.
Title: Re: How do you find landholders who are happy to host hives?
Post by: Mardak on August 26, 2011, 08:07:16 am
Commercial Beeks in Victoria have had the bee site leases stitched up for generations. The previous labor government removed heaps of sites from availability due to incompetence and poor management and record practices. We did a physical of audit of all known sites to find tracks had been let go and some bridges totally destroyed and no hope of rebuilding due to "green" concerns and influences. Most farmers welcome a visit and yarn about what pollination does for their crops and grasslands. A gift of some honey after extraction from their paddocks is always appreciated and a good talking point at local cwa/cfa chin wags. Leave the places litter free after you remove your hives and do not put where farm traffic occurs. This pee'd off farmers to no end. Do not forget your hives or the farmer will not forget you next time he/shes sees you.
Title: Re: How do you find landholders who are happy to host hives?
Post by: gregted on September 30, 2011, 11:19:55 pm
I find most people in town are quite happy to have a hive too.

I start off the conversation with " Would you like some free honey".

Of course they say yeah ok. What's the catch.

Well, I say. You look after me and I'll look after you.

I need somewhere to put a hive for a while.

Haven't had a no yet.