2015-goals, and reality

[Perry]

I'm curious how everyone is faring this year.
In 2015, what were your goals at the start of the season, and how has it shaped up in reality?

My goal was to sell as many nucs as I could comfortably manage and I think I fell right about where I expected (60-70).
I had hoped to increase to 80 hives and I am now at 88, with a half dozen 5 over 5 frame nucs as well. Those numbers may drop as we get closer to wrapping, with any weaker colonies getting combined.

Honey production is not what I had hoped it might be, a fall flow that just never really materialized till too late has got me hoping to at least match last years production (3,800 lbs.) but probably nothing extra. Given that I ran out of 2014 honey just as I started extracting this years, I am a little concerned. The winery that bought 200 lbs this spring to make the "Valley Nectar Mead" has already purchased another 400 lbs and have started the next batch as the first one has almost sold out in a little over a month and a half.

The big disappointment is still no honey house.

[Zweefer]

Great post Perry!
My main goal this year was to get more drawn comb this year.
With last years less than great start, I only had 35 deep and 11 or so medium frames that were drawn prior to my replacement packages arriving.  As I want to transition into all medium boxes, the deeps were used for the base of each colony (I have 3) with mediums to be built after that.  At the end of the year, all have the deep, and two boxes of medium to go into winter with.   Did I reach my goal? Not really.  I was hoping to have a few extra frames to stash away to get a jump on the honey flow next spring, or keep in reserve for swarms etc...

Second major goal was to make enough honey to break even.   With the amount of honey I took and the sale of the spun honey I made, I was able to pay for the new woodenware and my new OA vaporizer.  Should have enough to cover the cost of the bees as well as their replacements (if needed) by the winters end as well, so that was a success.

Finally the third goal for the year was to build up strong healthy hives that can survive the winter... The jury is still out on this one, but I am confident they are all strong and healthy.  It's the wintering part that has me nervous

[pistolpete]

My goal every year is to at least break even financially.  I think I'm on track.  I did spend a lot of money this spring on a used 30 frame extractor and a solar bear fence, but I also sold 9 nucs and increased from 4 to 6 hives.  The harvest will be around 350 lbs (I'll know for sure this weekend).  That should bring in some money to build a bee shed.  One of these years I won't need any more gear and I should have some spending money yea right

[rwlaw]

"One of these years I won't need any more gear and I should have some spending money yea right"
Ain't that the truth. It's like my bk'n bud says, it's too late to turn back now.

[Jen]

My goal this year was to obtain enough honey for my own winter use, and maybe some left over to sell in the gallery down town. Not Gonna Happen. Our mild winter and long warm spring had everything blooming way too early, therefore no goods in store for late summer early fall foraging. Nothing Nada Zilch. Plenty of blooms this year but no rain to make nectar.

My three hives don't have even one med full of honey. Definately making winter patties and honey cakes this year, maybe lots of them.

[Papakeith]

I have to say that this year is shaping up to be my best yet.
I invested in some equipment this past year and really needed to work to at least break even.

I went into the year hoping to work my way up to 20 hives and to harvest ~300 lbs of honey.  I even talked my father into using me as the only honey supplier for our farm. So far I haven't run out of honey on him.

To date I have grown to 22 colonies and have been able to pull ~470 lbs of honey from the hives that have made a surplus. 

[barry42001]

I was really surprised earlier in the season strong nectar flows the bees were packing it away and then the rain started heavy rain weeks and weeks of it things are still flowering but it actually is much rain small hive Beatles are endemic but the colony is fighting off. So I'm a little disappointed with the outcome so far.

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[LazyBkpr]

I'll not complain about this year. I got what I put into it..   "most" of the ten packages I installed last spring did not make the winter, which was no surprise, but I had to make queens and do splits to replace them with my local stock..   Whatever issue my bees were having with not growing or covering brood seems to have vanished.. they are now growing  wildly and I have had two swarms in September, to make a first in my years of assisting and keeping bees.
   Goals...   I will be stepping into the arena of commercial pollination... not this spring but the following..  I have to increase numbers to between 150 and 200 hives this coming spring. Rebuild my one ton truck and the big gooseneck to make the trip.
   So in essence... I need to build another hundred to one hundred and fifty hives over the winter...  Then fill them next spring....
   I hope to keep the fifty or so hives I have here now as production hives and resource hives.. IE to do splits and raise queens from. So even if the stress of travel etc gets to the pollination hives I will always have a few backup hives.
   I managed to sell twenty three nucs, a dozen queens, and am in the process of selling the 600 ish pounds of honey I extracted..  Not quite as much as I had hoped, but I didnt put a lot of effort into any of it.. got too busy... have to try to change that next year!

   Perry, it sounds like you have the base for an excellent business up and running. What YOU need to do is work a "little" harder to boost that business.. another year or two, THEN get the wife to retire and take over the office part of the business so that YOU can remain outside with the bees...  thats my plan!!!   
   I do hate talking on and answering the phone, but thats not nearly as bad as doing "the books."

[mohawkny]

My goals were to get the 2 hive thru the winter and increase the number of hives.  A little of honey would be nice too.   The 2 hive did make it and seemed strong,  got 2 packages and installed them.  The over winter hive both swarmed and I caught them.  The only problem I had was hives going queen less.  No idea why or if i just missed a swarm but 5 of the 6 hive when queen less. The queen less hive all got a little behind as the number would drop.   I gave eggs to each and the made new queens,  thanks to the one package that was just booming for the eggs.  The other package got real weak so the were combined with the small swarm.  End of the 2nd year,  I have 5 hives all seems strong and have lots of honey for the winter.  Just extracted 10 pounds of honey.  So I seem to have done alright.  Making 6 more hives over the winter to be ready for swarms in the spring.  May make 2 or 3 NUCS just see how that works.  I'm just starting this bee thing so but in 10 years I would like to have 100 hives.

[Perry]

  I'm just starting this bee thing, but in 10 years I would like to have 100 hives.

Start saving $$$ now! 
You should keep your eyes peeled big time for any used extracting equipment, etc. that may come along a good prices, even if you might not be able to incorporate them right away. Buying stuff when you absolutely need it can get expensive quick.

[Chip Euliss]

I'll not complain about this year. I got what I put into it..   "most" of the ten packages I installed last spring did not make the winter, which was no surprise, but I had to make queens and do splits to replace them with my local stock..   Whatever issue my bees were having with not growing or covering brood seems to have vanished.. they are now growing  wildly and I have had two swarms in September, to make a first in my years of assisting and keeping bees.
   Goals...   I will be stepping into the arena of commercial pollination... not this spring but the following..  I have to increase numbers to between 150 and 200 hives this coming spring. Rebuild my one ton truck and the big gooseneck to make the trip.
   So in essence... I need to build another hundred to one hundred and fifty hives over the winter...  Then fill them next spring....
   I hope to keep the fifty or so hives I have here now as production hives and resource hives.. IE to do splits and raise queens from. So even if the stress of travel etc gets to the pollination hives I will always have a few backup hives.
   I managed to sell twenty three nucs, a dozen queens, and am in the process of selling the 600 ish pounds of honey I extracted..  Not quite as much as I had hoped, but I didnt put a lot of effort into any of it.. got too busy... have to try to change that next year!

   Perry, it sounds like you have the base for an excellent business up and running. What YOU need to do is work a "little" harder to boost that business.. another year or two, THEN get the wife to retire and take over the office part of the business so that YOU can remain outside with the bees...  thats my plan!!!   
   I do hate talking on and answering the phone, but thats not nearly as bad as doing "the books."

You may be able to "piggy back" with another beekeeper to get into the pollination business.  Years ago, a friend and I would each contribute hives to make a full semi load of bees (generally 408 doubles) to ship for almond pollination.  I know a guy who negotiates contracts, gets you paid, loads and unloads your bees, and gets them in the orchards for $25/hive.  I plan to send mine to him this year so will have a good idea of how well it works next spring.  Rentals are running $185 or so per hive.  I got a truck this year for $2.80/mile but I'd figure $3 if you want to evaluate that option.  I plan to go out after Christmas and load them up with pollen substitute and syrup to stimulate early brood production.

[Bakersdozen]

Good question, Perry.
I had planned to:
1. Finally utilize my Sundance Pollen trap.  Didn't happen.
2. Try my hand at comb honey.  Purchased a kit.  Didn't happen.
3. Speed up the extraction process with additional filters.  Accomplished that and really paid off.
4.  Document individual hives through out the year and keep track of bloom data.  Did well until about 1 month ago.
5. Build additional super equipment.  Did this, but a little too late in the season and need more for next year.
6. Gather propolis for making a tincture.  Accomplished this and is ongoing.
7.  Winter prep goal is to make my own fondant to put in hives as needed. 
8.  Had hopes of splitting a hive, but wasn't up to the challenge. 

A bonus to all this:  At the present all my brood boxes are loaded with honey stores.  Unless something unusual happens and they consume their winter stores early, they are in good shape.

The reason for not accomplishing my goals was health related.  Knee replacement surgery brought me to a screeching halt and I went into the surgery without the proper equipment in place.  The pain prior to surgery contributed to lack of preparedness as well.

Next year:  Same goals.

[hamptor]

My goals:
1.  Increase the amount of honey I got over last year (48 lbs).  This year - none.
2.  Increase the amount of hives I have through splits.  Originally had 3 hives - still have 3 hives - but one is a hive I bought.
3.  I had hoped not to have to purchase bees this year, but ended up buying 3 queens, and a 10 frame hive.
So I didn't meet any of my goals.  Had a bad late spring with queens - don't know why and after talking with other beeks - I'm no closer to an answer.
BUT, I still love beekeeping, I'm still having fun, I've learned a lot more, and I have 3 hives that look good right now going into fall.  That's a win.
My goals and the bee's goals just weren't the same this year.  There's always next year.

[LazyBkpr]

You may be able to "piggy back" with another beekeeper to get into the pollination business.  Years ago, a friend and I would each contribute hives to make a full semi load of bees (generally 408 doubles) to ship for almond pollination.  I know a guy who negotiates contracts, gets you paid, loads and unloads your bees, and gets them in the orchards for $25/hive.  I plan to send mine to him this year so will have a good idea of how well it works next spring.  Rentals are running $185 or so per hive.  I got a truck this year for $2.80/mile but I'd figure $3 if you want to evaluate that option.  I plan to go out after Christmas and load them up with pollen substitute and syrup to stimulate early brood production.

   Thanks Chip. Good advice right there.
   To get started out, My wife and I have some really good friends in the blueberry business. They have been VERY unsatisfied with the bees they received the last three or four years and have been begging me to bring my bees out. They personally need around one hundred hives, and the family business uses a little over a thousand hives, plus they know many folks around that have blueberry land that need ten hives here and twenty hives there....  It is my intention to drive out with my big gooseneck loaded with pallets of hives. No money per mile, no loading/unloading fees and I will BE there to deal with bears and any other problems that arise. Yes I have to drive out, pay fuel, tolls and have my bees inspected etc... I am not really looking to go from blueberries to anything else either... I intend to bring them straight back here and set them up for honey production for the rest of the summer and fall.  So basically for me, it will be a 6 week vacation to Maine worth three times what I usually make on honey, queens and nucs... AFTER expenses..
   Now, if my wife manages to get the property in Texas she has been haggling about, then I will have a place to WINTER some hives and I might actually consider buying 2000 hives coming off almonds.
   I also Have Tim Wilbanks nearby and spend some time with him quite often talking bees. I am sure I could horn in (piggy back as Chip put it) on a ride from Cali through Canola, apples, blueberries etc, etc...   If I made it worth his while.. 

[Perry]

BUT, I still love beekeeping, I'm still having fun, I've learned a lot more, and I have 3 hives that look good right now going into fall.  That's a win.
My goals and the bee's goals just weren't the same this year. There's always next year.

 

[40 Acre Bees]

But the reality is "Perry where can we buy the    "Valley Nectar Mead"

[tbonekel]

I guess the only goals i had was to not lose any hives and get a little more honey. Didnt lose a hive and actually gained two. Honey production was not good because of the rain. Im satisfied.

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[Perry]

But the reality is "Perry where can we buy the    "Valley Nectar Mead"

I just happen to have a case of it myself!
Not for sale, but I'll give you a bottle next time you're in town. No sneakin this time!

[gtrr4]

I went into last winter with 6 hives and planned for best case scenario so I would be covered.  I built enough hardware to l those 6 hives 3 times, so 18 hives.  I made 2 weeks and 2 mediums for each.  I have 12 deeps and all the mediums still awaiting assembly.  I did also commit to 2 nucs for spring not knowing what my loss would be.  So I started the spring with 6, only lost 2.  Caught 2 swarms, they eventually got combined with some queenless hives and only made 5 splits.  So I have plenty of hardware for next year.  I extracted 80 pounds in June and that was it.  The rain I feel like contributed to the poor nectar flow.  So hopefully next year will be a what I envisioned for this year.

[Jen]

Hamptor - "Had a bad late spring with queens - don't know why and after talking with other beeks - I'm no closer to an answer.

    Same here Hamp... trouble with queens in spring which set my hives back during the flow