Becoming a beekeeper: here's where to start

How to start a beekeeping business

Have you decided to become a beekeeper ? Starting a business of this type requires passion, dedication and a lot of patience. Raising bees is no small thing. To do this job you will first need to receive adequate and professional training that will allow you to fully understand the biological functioning of these beautiful animals.

If you like being in the midst of nature, beekeeping could be an activity that can give you a lot of satisfaction.

Being a bee farmer is a profession that has ancient origins. Despite the progress of the years, beekeeping continues to preserve techniques and processes from the past that are truly fascinating.

How much does it cost to start a beekeeping business?

Starting a beekeeping business requires some costs. These are initial investments that will be amortized over time.

Departure costs include those for the purchase of a family of bees , hives and all the necessary beekeeping material . It will also be necessary to purchase land in which we will carry out the activity.

We know that basically the average cost of a swarm with queen bee is 80/90 €. The hives then have separate costs ranging from € 50 to € 70 each.

These are expenses you won't have to pay every year. Just think, for example, that the hives are reused for about ten years.

In many regions it is also possible to take advantage of a contribution to support beekeeping with coverage of up to 50% of the costs incurred.

In Italy, any farm with fewer than 10 hives is considered a self-consumption activity.

Now that you have the information you need, let's continue with some explanations and tips on how to start a beekeeping business . This job can be a pleasant pastime but also a significant source of income if we decide to turn it into a real job.

It's up to you to decide how to set up your business. Do you want a farm that produces products for self-consumption? Or would you like to have a large business? In any case, the first thing you will need will be adequate training.

First step: beekeeping course

It is very important that you understand how bees reproduce , the role of queen bees , how bees use real cells and all the mechanisms of swarms.

If you're not prepared and don't know this information, managing colonies will become difficult. For your breeding to be profitable, you'll need to work hard and learn the basics to keep your swarms strong and healthy at all times.

Identification of the place and obligations

Like any business, there are obligations that need to be fulfilled. Even the choice of the place where the activity will take place must comply with specific requirements. Among the obligations to be respected we find:

• Choice of location: the hives must respect a distance of 10-20 meters from roads and railways and a distance of 3km from other hives with more than 50 swarms;
• Each breeder must report the number of hives to the ASL and the Municipality of Residence;
• In the case of transhumance (migration of hives) it is necessary to communicate the movements to the ASL;
• Every beekeeping business is obliged to have a register regarding the sale of honey and derivatives.

Purchase of professional beekeeping equipment

Working with bees requires adequate protection. Each beekeeper must wear suitable clothing for his personal safety. Getting close to bees can be risky, especially when you are a beginner. Beekeepers must have:

• Protective veil for face and head;
• Gloves for beekeeping;
• Beekeeper overalls and boots.

Positioning of hives and purchase of bees

The positioning of the hives will have a great impact on the production results of the farm. It is important that the hives are located in places away from traffic and pollution. Bees need natural and uncontaminated environments.

For your bees, choose places that are well sheltered from the winds and always orient the hives towards the southeast . This way the bees will make better use of the hours of sunlight. Another important prerogative is the presence of plant species from which bees take nectar and pollen.

If the food source is within easy reach of the bees, the swarms will find it easier to make honey and stay stronger and healthier.

Equipment for honey production

The harvesting of honey and its subsequent processing requires special equipment that cannot be done without. For this you will need tools such as blowers or smokers to remove the bees, special heated knives and honey extractors for emptying the honeycombs.

Remember that beekeepers never take all the honey out of their hives! Breeders only get a third of the total! The rest of the honey will be used by the bees as a food supply to survive the winter. Even if the harvest is about 32% of all honey produced, it is still possible to get a good return.

Other products such as royal jelly, bee venom, wax and propolis are also in high demand.

Buy queen bees, cores and bee packs

Do you want to start a beekeeping business? Buy queen bees online! With Beekeeping Laterza it is very simple! For years we have been engaged in the production and sale of virgin and fertile queen bees Buckfast or Ligustica but also in the production of bee packs and bee nucs on 5 frames .

Just log into our e-commerce and order in a few clicks! We ship throughout Italy and throughout Europe using professional and fast means of transport! Discover real-time availability and buy on: www.apicolturalaterza.it