Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: 30 Hives  (Read 11145 times)

Offline Irwin

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 2344
  • Gender: Male
  • howdy all
30 Hives
« on: January 12, 2009, 11:35:25 am »
This guy I know has 30 hives he wants to give me with all the stuff. Two extractor's two suite's and a bunch of box's and nuc's. He is a long haul trucker and doesn't have the time for them any more. The only thing he wants is half the honey for 3 years. I will know more this spring when I can look at all the stuff. I'm scared because this is my first year with bee's and this would be a giant steep for me. and I don't have the money for med's and all the other stuff I will need. But this may be god telling me they need my help. I might sell some of the stuff so I would have the money to get med's and what ever I need. He is a really nice guy that wants some body to have his bee's.
Fight organized crime!  Re-elect no one.

Offline oldenglish

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 272
  • Gender: Male
    • Colonial Honey Farm
Re: 30 Hives
« Reply #1 on: January 12, 2009, 12:08:44 pm »
check out the Oregon state beekeepers association forum, i am sure you will find folks close to home who are more than willing to help you out.

http://orsba.proboards27.com/

Offline MustbeeNuts

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 552
  • Gender: Male
    • Great White Betta
Re: 30 Hives
« Reply #2 on: January 12, 2009, 12:18:19 pm »
Don't you bat an eye, smile and say yes. YOu can do it!! You can find places to put them in a heartbeat. . the rest will just fall in place. And don't forget you'll have a lot of suport here too. :)

Come spring the local bee inspector can help look, and see if he sees any problems in them hives.
Each new day brings decisions,  these are  new branches on the tree of life.

Offline Bennettoid

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 352
  • Gender: Male
Re: 30 Hives
« Reply #3 on: January 12, 2009, 12:24:18 pm »
Don't you bat an eye, smile and say yes. YOu can do it!! You can find places to put them in a heartbeat. . the rest will just fall in place. And don't forget you'll have a lot of suport here too. :)

Yep, it may seem intimidating, but you can do it. Medications aren't always necessary, either, there are other ways and solutions that are cheaper.

I wish someone would offer me that kind of deal.

Offline Irwin

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 2344
  • Gender: Male
  • howdy all
Re: 30 Hives
« Reply #4 on: January 12, 2009, 12:27:41 pm »
Maybe I should posted in rapid beeyard growth :)
Fight organized crime!  Re-elect no one.

Online Kathyp

  • Global Moderator
  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 20365
  • Gender: Female
Re: 30 Hives
« Reply #5 on: January 12, 2009, 12:42:57 pm »
make sure you have a written agreement. if something happens, you don't want him demanding some other form of payment.......other than that, go for it.  hey...maybe this will be another source of income for you...and a reward for doing the right thing  :-D
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline mlewis48

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 111
  • Gender: Male
Re: 30 Hives
« Reply #6 on: January 12, 2009, 01:05:36 pm »
 I would'nt think twice about taking them. You can do it, the biggest change that you will have to adjust to is time management. That was the biggest adjustment for me. Last year, I ended the season with 40 hives, way more than I wanted. I ran into a couple of older guys getting out of beekeeping and several cut outs and a few swarm calls later, there I was. The older guys stop by from time to time and get a jar of honey and to shoot the breeze. But back to what I was getting to, what use to take 30 min. to do now takes a few hours. Good luck and enjoy your addition!
                                                    Marc
" Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are gonna get"

Offline Keith13

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 1836
  • Gender: Male
Re: 30 Hives
« Reply #7 on: January 12, 2009, 01:25:19 pm »
Irwin go for it like you said you could sell some if you had to.
Good luck

Keith

Offline HAB

  • HEAVENLY BEEKEEPER
  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 622
Re: 30 Hives
« Reply #8 on: January 12, 2009, 01:35:47 pm »
We would do it in a heartbeat!!
Some guys can step in it and come up smelling like roses.  You're one lucky guy! :-D :-D :-D

Offline Scadsobees

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 3198
  • Gender: Male
  • Best use of smileys in a post award.
Re: 30 Hives
« Reply #9 on: January 12, 2009, 01:36:13 pm »
Money for meds?  Half the honey?  Hey, skip the meds, and if you only get honey from two of the hives, half of  that goes to him!! :roll:
Rick

Offline bugleman

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 106
  • Gender: Male
Re: 30 Hives
« Reply #10 on: January 12, 2009, 05:27:15 pm »
Hey Irwin!  Read Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping by Dewey M. Caron it is an extensive yet understandable book.

You really don't need to spend alot on meds.  If the stock is not resistant/hygenic to Varro you will have to treat regularly, this is your main issue.  Oxalic Acid drip is a one two punch for Varroa and is easy if you follow directions. 

Offline BeeHopper

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1122
  • Gender: Male
Re: 30 Hives
« Reply #11 on: January 12, 2009, 05:42:41 pm »
Sounds like a sweet deal to me, but first things first, get an Inspection , make sure HE does not have American Foulbrood before YOU acquire the 30 hives. Good Luck, you can handle it.  :-D

Offline pdmattox

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1143
  • Gender: Male
    • October bend Rv Park
Re: 30 Hives
« Reply #12 on: January 12, 2009, 05:58:58 pm »
Go for it Irwin. We will give you all the support needed to get you through.

Offline Pond Creek Farm

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 566
  • Gender: Male
Re: 30 Hives
« Reply #13 on: January 12, 2009, 06:54:25 pm »
Sounds interesting, and I am sure you are up to it.  As for the agreement, I wholeheartedly agree with KathyP.  You need to be sure that if there is no honey, then you owe no money.  Good contracts make for good business and good friends.  Often folks who have gone into an agreement (usually a partnership) will tell me that they thought at the beginning that they had it all worked out.  This is often given as the reason that no written agreement was prepared.  Other times, the parties do prepare a written agreement but fail to address what happens in a given situation (typically the situation they now face).  All of this can be avoided by a good written agreement.  Remember, all is fine now when you are friends, but you will not need the agreement until the time that things have fallen apart and no one can agree.  That is when it is very nice to have a piece of paper where the parties have memorialized their expectations.  Typically, it is the uncommunicated expectation that leads to fights between people anyway.
Brian

Online Jim134

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 3049
  • Gender: Male
    • Franklin County Beekeepers Association
Re: 30 Hives
« Reply #14 on: January 12, 2009, 08:54:41 pm »
Irwin...

Go for it Irwin. We will give you all the support needed to get you through.
 

Sounds interesting, and I am sure you are up to it.  As for the agreement, I wholeheartedly agree with KathyP.  You need to be sure that if there is no honey, then you owe no money.  Good contracts make for good business and good friends.  Often folks who have gone into an agreement (usually a partnership) will tell me that they thought at the beginning that they had it all worked out.  This is often given as the reason that no written agreement was prepared.  Other times, the parties do prepare a written agreement but fail to address what happens in a given situation (typically the situation they now face).  All of this can be avoided by a good written agreement.  Remember, all is fine now when you are friends, but you will not need the agreement until the time that things have fallen apart and no one can agree.  That is when it is very nice to have a piece of paper where the parties have memorialized their expectations.  Typically, it is the uncommunicated expectation that leads to fights between people anyway.

 
 I go for it if you get it in a written agreement. See you on Ventrilo

     

       BEE HAPPY Jim 134  :)

"Tell me and I'll forget,show me and I may  remember,involve me and I'll understand"
        Chinese Proverb

"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways."
 John F. Kennedy
Franklin County Beekeepers Association MA. http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/

Offline tlynn

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 529
  • Gender: Male
Re: 30 Hives
« Reply #15 on: January 12, 2009, 10:10:40 pm »
Irwin,

If you want to start a business this could be a great way to get it going quickly.  I think you should put the cost of half the honey in perspective when evaluating the deal.  I would ask around to other local beekeepers who are in it as a business what kind of total yields they get in a year.  Calculate it out for 30 hives x 3 and then get a revenue value for half that (retail or bulk depending on how you want to sell it).  Then you will have a good idea of what it will cost you in dollars. 

In my first year my hives produced on average 60# per hive, and that was just starting out in early summer after missing citrus flow.  I think around here local honey sells for $5-6/lb retail.  That's $900 in 3 years or a total cost of $450 per hive, less 1/30th the value of the extractors and other equipment that's in the deal.  That of course is to be calculated after you see it all.  From where I sit, it sounds like pretty expensive hives.

On the other hand, you have ZERO cash out of pocket to get in the deal.  That's a huge positive term in your favor.  :-D

Here's an idea.  Offer to take the hives off his hands and propose no honey split the first 2 years and then all honey the third year.  The argument is that you need to build cash reserves to get the business rolling - for new equipment, supplies, jars/packaging materials, marketing, accounting, legal, office supplies, repairs and maintenance, all those expenses you will incur to get started as a real business.  By year 3 you'll have expanded way beyond 30 hives, I would imagine, and will still be able to generate income from your newer hives while paying off the whole deal at that time.

If that doesn't work for him then I'd offer no honey the first year, half the second year, and then all the honey the third.  Then it's the same amount of honey just distributed differently...whatever you can negotiate you know.  It's just the idea of generating the largest amount of revenue up front for seeding.  Cash now is always better than cash tomorrow.

My point is, depending on what equipment is included, he isn't just giving away his bees, and you want to hit the ground running without being strapped for cash.  So whatever your ultimate goals are, whether it be just to keep doing it as a hobby (in a big way) or turning it into a real business, negotiate in a way that gets you more cash earlier.  It doesn't sound like he needs the cash immediately if he is offering to receive future honey.  Otherwise he's be on Craigslist trying to sell everything.

Good luck!

Tracy

Offline Irwin

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 2344
  • Gender: Male
  • howdy all
Re: 30 Hives
« Reply #16 on: January 13, 2009, 03:34:11 pm »
I just talked to the guy's son he said they don't use med's. They haven't lost a hive in two years and they haven't extratced any honey this year. Well I think I'm going to jump in to the bee biz head first. I will be needing help support and most of a knowledge from all of you here.
Fight organized crime!  Re-elect no one.

Offline Natalie

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1478
  • Gender: Female
Re: 30 Hives
« Reply #17 on: January 13, 2009, 07:01:44 pm »
Wow Irwin, this is pretty exciting! Congratulations!!

Offline heaflaw

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 218
  • Gender: Male
Re: 30 Hives
« Reply #18 on: January 14, 2009, 12:15:28 am »
If you feel overwhelmed the first year, just remember: each year you learn more and get more efficient.

Offline metzelplex

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 41
  • Gender: Male
Re: 30 Hives
« Reply #19 on: January 14, 2009, 01:42:56 am »
that's a really good deal. Besides honey look into pollination ,maybe ,cranberries or cherries or what ever they have where your at also like some of the other folks here suggested you better check for foulbrood ,mites and find out how old the queens are and no matter what happens just know that you can handle it also I wouldn't sell any of your equipment especially not your boxes or any wooden ware for that matter not being able to afford to buy more boxes is my biggest hold up but once you have the equipment your set also find out if he has access to other yards.   I wonder why his son didn't want to take them over ?   good luck!!!!!        metzelplex