subject: Turn Beekeeping into a Business With Your Honey Bees [print this page] Turn Beekeeping into a Business With Your Honey Bees
Beekeeping is an extremely rewarding and pleasurable pastime to undertake and the benefits speak for themselves, especially beekeeping with honey bees. Not only does the beekeeper have their own garden and the gardens of their neighbors pollinated, they get to consume their very own exquisite honey every day.
The Hardworking Bee
The phrase "busy as a bee" is known to all of us. And it's for a very good reason. Bees work so much each day to bring nectar back to the hive that a little over 35 short days after their birth, they have already worn out their wings with the result of being no use to the hive, and then they simply die. The honey that is gathered is a supply of food for the colony when the flowers are not blooming. After a season that has been plentiful with nectar from the flowers, the colony will end up accumulating far more honey than they can possibly hope to consume. The beekeeper of a hive like this can certainly harvest enough honey for themselves to enjoy and be able to sell the rest. This when the beekeeping of honey bees is fun!
Two Types of Honey - Liquid and Comb
There are two paths for beekeepers to take to make money from the honey their hive is producing by selling two different varieties of honey. The first option is "liquid honey" which is extracted from the hive. A straightforward process, is it performed using centrifuge equipment with machines known as extractors. And the second alternative is by selling the separate pieces of the "comb" itself. The comb honey is the honey that is still in the original wax combs that the bees built. Comb honey is highly prized by those who do favor the natural approach, although is it less adaptable than the liquid form of honey; such as being used for cooking and in the flavoring of drinks.
How the Flowers and the Soil Impact Honey
Honey has a multitude of flavors and colors but this is a fact shared by few. And it begins with the flowers - different flowers possess different scents. As a result, the nectar from one flower will possess a different taste and smell to another type of flower. What the soil is composed of also has a bearing on the flavor of the honey and its appearance. For example, due to the alkali soil that alfalfa grows in which is typically quite dry, the honey it produces can be white or even clear. On the other hand, because of the acidity levels of the soil buckwheat grows in, the honey it produces with its nectar is very dark. Also, a key factor to how the honey tastes and appears is down to the caliber of the honey comb. The most common color is in the range of different hues of yellow but it's not unusual to see red or even green honey.
Choosing Beekeeping as a Business Opportunity
When it comes to the processing, labeling and treatment of food products when honey and other kinds of bee products are involved, it's very important to follow the guidelines of state and federal law. It's of paramount importance to understand that it's a very real business and laws of governing bodies in your area may differ to another area. Marketing strategies also need to be considered by beekeepers to promote and sell their honey and bee products. Examples could be: "Where would be the best location to sell honey in this area?" and "Which kinds of consumers or demographic should be honed in on for maximum sales?". It's true that beekeeping is a fantastic hobby, but once the choice to turn beekeeping from a hobby to a fully fledged business has been made, the decisions will then be about making sure the beekeeper doesn't just get by, but to make a decent income from it.
