Goals for 2014?

[GLOCK]

So what's every ones goals for 2014?
Mine is to have 15 DBL.deeps  and 30 DBL. nucs  by fall.
I plan on keeping better records and test my hives for VSH and work with what I have  and make some queens.
I made 20+ last year.
And learn how to use my extractor what a night mare I had this past year 
Thank you.

[Perry]

I would like to stay around the 50 hives I have, maybe with any swarms or cut-outs expand to 60.
A more serious attempt at overwintering nucs.
Get my honey house finished and all the equipment in place and set up.
Maybe sell 50 to 60 nucs (already have 28 booked).
I may be asked to do inspections again this year, and I have already been asked if I might do the pick-up and inspections of imported queens at the airport when they arrive.
Be a better husband and father too. 

[iddee]

Perry says.....  I would like to stay around the 50 hives I have,

Iddee says....  I would like to stay around   

[DLMKA]

Here are my 2014 goals

• Raise 30 GOOD queens to put into nucs for wintering
• Get to 20-25 full production colonies
• <20% winter losses (2014-2015 winter)
• 1000 lbs of honey extracted, bottled, and sold
• Keep better track of expenses and income and finish the season in the black

I'm painting woodenware tonight for nucs going to start making more supers and bottom boards this weekend.

[Jen]

""Perry says.....  I would like to stay around the 50 hives I have,

Iddee says....  I would like to stay around""

Awww Iddee, you make me laugh! Beekeepers are known to live well into their healthy 90's. I'm not worried for ya...

   

[Jen]

Hmmm, let's see.....

Gonna make my first split for sure. Nervous, cause I think I need to put a queen in instead of waiting for the colony to make one, which takes too long for egg laying and such.... and... I mapped this out yet. Where do I get another queen?

And I need to figure out how to make a feeding station for my yard. Sooo, I need to take a pic of my yard, post it here and get some advice.

If I manage to get any of my own honey this my fourth year.. I will just die of sheer happiness ~

That about covers it.... for now

[Slowmodem]

Perry says.....  I would like to stay around the 50 hives I have,

Iddee says....  I would like to stay around   

If I don't get more active and eat better, I'm going to keep getting rounder!

[Slowmodem]

And I need to figure out how to make a feeding station for my yard. Sooo, I need to take a pic of my yard, post it here and get some advice.

If you want to open feed, it doesn't have to be elaborate.  You can set a boardman feeder out.  Or, easier than that, get a Ziploc bag and fill it with syrup.  Lay it down on a table or something outside (make sure it's sealed well).  Take a stick pin and poke some holes in the top of it.

Easy peasy.

[Jen]

Slow- Hmm sounds like a winner. Now, I see the zippie getting mold in it, should I keep it in the shade?

[Beeracuda]

I had planned to make some splits and buy some more bees to get up to about 8-10 hives, but it looks like those plans have been interrupted for now...

[Dirt road]

Jen,

When you try open feeding, you may very well find out that there are a LOT more bees in your area than you thought.

[Slowmodem]

Slow- Hmm sounds like a winner. Now, I see the zippie getting mold in it, should I keep it in the shade?

If they find it and they like it, it will be empty in a day or two.  No time for mold.  Of course, you could add a squirt of lemon juice to lower the pH and enhance the flavor.  Or add Honey B Healthy if you have any.

[Jen]

Dirt-  well I figure that, but these guys have me wondering about it and how it differs from a boardman in the hive or a quart bottle placed on the inner cover with a super and lid on. I know that open feeding helps prevent robbing.

[Slowmodem]

I know that open feeding helps prevent robbing.

That's not necessarily true.  If the open feeder is too close to your hives, and it attracts bees from other hives, they may try to rob your hives.  Open feeders should be places far away from hives (IMO).

[LazyBkpr]

Perry says.....  I would like to stay around the 50 hives I have,

Iddee says....  I would like to stay around   

If I don't get more active and eat better, I'm going to keep getting rounder!

   
   AMEN to that!

   By winters end I am usually pushing about 210...  by the time my wife is done with me in the fall I am under 180..  the problem is getting GOING in the spring.. seems that each year it takes longer.   I was 125 lbs going into the Navy...  I was 180 coming OUT of the navy...  same as I weigh around fall time...  seems that the 28 inch pants I wore back then dont fit me now even when I weigh the same.. whats UP with that???  Cant seem to bench 240 lbs any more either...    HAS to be age.. so I decided to quit. No more birthdays.  I should have quit YEARS ago!

   2014 plans..
   Grow.  nothing fancy.. just GROW.. no, not my waist line, the Outyard!!!
   How many hives?  Perry seems to like 50, so I will set my sights there to begin with.  I have to determine the line between LOVE and HATE.   
   Maybe I can handle 200 hives, Maybe 20 is enough, only time will tell.    So the plans for spring are to do splits and raise bees. Lots of bees, and with luck go into fall with SOME honey to extract, and 30 to 40 hives.   I already have removals lined up. Two will be free, the other two will not be easy, Price given and accepted, so just waiting till mid to late April to do them. 
   Thinking..  I need to get a tie died shirt and do the JP lookalike thing. Maybe I can blame him if it all goes wrong?
 
   OH! Cant forget to constantly remind WIFE that I am raising BEES this year so stop taking orders for honey, and NO we will NOT have 1200 pounds ready by July 1st....

   Swarm traps..   I love swarm traps. Makes me feel like a kid again. I remember setting out my first trapline, and running those traps on my bicycle. I peddled for MILES with my Stevens single shot .22 strapped across my back..  Eventually talked dad into letting me use the old truck because lugging coon on a bike wasnt all that fun..  so here I am, thirteen years old buzzing about the country roads with my .22..  That old 68 Chevy truck extended my range dramatically...  back in those days, a good big Boar brought 60 to 70 bucks. I thought I was SO RICH!!!  Then I noticed Girls...   Yes, I know, the BANE of every good story...     Still,...   going out to check bait hives gives me the same feeling of excitement..  I may build a few more just because its so much fun!
   Imagine the repercussions today of a policeman pulling over a thirteen year old with a .22 rifle laying in the front seat...    LOL  I miss those days.. 

[Jen]

Lazy- forgot! how many hives do you have presently?

[LazyBkpr]

down to 16 at this point..  not sure what I will have come spring. No Nucs etc...  two hives still in deeps, the rest are in mediums....   
   Not to change the subject.. but watched Dee Lusby tossing around deeps on a vid earlier.. made me feel inferior!!!

[Jen]

I really need to post some pics of my deep frames, you guys are gonna go "Whaaaaaaaat..... the h e double ell?"

[Perry]

Hey LazyBkpr.
You are wise to find that sweet spot as far as hive numbers go. I have just gone up to the 50 mark in the last year and will see by experience if it suits me. I have built up slowly, acquiring pieces of the puzzle (equipment) as I went, often at good prices.
We have an incentive program here called the Pollinator Expansion Program, designed to help new beekeepers break into the business. It requires that you be at the 50 hive mark and spent at least one year doing some pollination. It will then kick in and help you expand from there. There is $150,000 available each year, max of $25,000 per person. I have been told to apply and have refused to this point. I have watched a few folks jump in with both feet and take on large debt so that they could qualify for the grants. I wonder what will happen if they have a bad year?
I guess I am old school in that regards. I figure if I can't pay for it, I shouldn't be doing it. If it's risky, I'll do it with my money, not the public's.
I have also had the pleasure of seeing how large operations run, and am positive I don't want to keep bees that way! I'm not knocking it, just saying it's not my style.
The line between pleasure and "work" is thin.

[Papakeith]

no great plans this season.  Maybe try to get to about 15-20 hives.
I might be taking part in a SHB study (yes, they have made it up to New England).
get a honey room set up.
that should do it