Subject: Some help requested

From: [email-masked] (Warren Otto)
Date: Thu, 17 Nov 1994 21:05:54 GMT

I have been lurking in this group for a couple of days to see what kind of 
dicussions transpire.  I have some questions that I hope you peopel can help 
me with.

My wife and I have purchased a small acreage (4.51A) in Manitoba and are 
looking to do something with it.  Possibly a berry farm, U-Pick veggy market 
or something else.  One possibility I never thought of, until finding this 
group, was bee keeping.

Now of course I have 100 questions to investigate before putting bee keeping 
on our list of possibilities.  Is 4.51 acres too small?  What are the start 
up costs?  Is the a good general book that gives a person an idea on what is 
involved?

I have many more and don't want to be a bother to the whole group.  If someone 
would kindly e-mail me I could ask all of my question via e-mail.

Any asssitance is greatly apprecieted

Warren Otto
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Adam Finkelstein)
Date: 22 Nov 1994 12:01:02 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
Elizabeth Landrum <[email-masked]> wrote:
>If you are interested in getting a bee supply catalog, you can get one
>from The Walter T. Kelley Company, 3107 Elizabethtown Road, P.O. Box
>240,  Clarkson, Kentucky, U.S.A.  42726-0240
>They seem to carry anything you may want that relates to beekeeping.
>
 They have an 800 number. It is: 800-233-2899

I am not affiliated with The Walter T. Kelly Co.

Adam

-- 
 _________________________________________________________________________
  Adam Finkelstein    [email-masked] | (awaiting my muse...)
 ___________________________________________|_____________________________

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From: [email-masked] (Elizabeth Landrum)
Date: 21 Nov 94 21:08:00 GMT

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From: [email-masked] (D.Cannon)
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 1994 10:47:37 GMT

4.3 Acres is loads of space for beekeeping.
I live in Devon England & many of my friends keep bees in their back gardens
which are only 10sq yards.
The real consern is what the local flora is like. They will forage over a 
3 mile radius. Although the first mile in the most important & 3 miles is 
really past their break even.
The wonderful thing about beekeeping is it is only really the cost of the 
hive which you have to front up.
The foraging area is very important but is not part of your overhead.

I have read in article about the southern states where farmers buy the
foraging rights for an area for their bees. This is large comercial
enterprises. Whether this is the case where you live !

Have fun
It's very time consumming

John
(:-)
-- 
_________________________________________________________________________
David Cannon                           University of Exeter,  IT Services
                                          Laver Building, North Park Road
Systems/Network Programmer                    Exeter,  EX4 4QE, Devon, UK
Fax:   +44 (0)392 211630                         Phone: +44 (0)392 263998
The above views are my own,  and do not  represent the policy or views of
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From: [email-masked] (Pollinator)
Date: 25 Nov 1994 23:00:21 -0500

In article <[email-masked]>,
[email-masked] (Warren Otto) writes:

>One possibility I never thought of, until finding this 
group, was bee keeping.

>Now of course I have 100 questions to investigate before putting bee
keeping 
on our list of possibilities.  Is 4.51 acres too small?  What are the
start 
up costs?  Is the a good general book that gives a person an idea on what
is 
involved?

   Bees are not optional, if you plan to raise berries, and most other
fruits and many veggies. With the loss of wild bees, you will need to
manage your pollination. Unless you are lucky enough to have a honey
producer real close, that means either keeping your own bees, or renting
>from  a beekeeper who provides pollination service.

   Pollination service runs $25-$50 American on the east coast, per hive.
If you keep your own, you can expect to spend anywhere from $75 - $125 per
hive start up costs, depending mostly on whether you can get bargains on
used equipment, or buy it new. The bees themselves in the form of nucs
(nucleus hives) or packages are going to run $35 to $40. It is going to
cost you probably $20-25 plus labor in yearly maintance. Probably in
Manitoba, you will get some honey, in return, as well as pollination of
your crops. (Sorry, I haven't been to Canada lately, so I don't know
current exchange rates).

   Beginners can get good advice from local beekeeper associations, and
bee magazines - a good practical one is Bee Culture, which you can find
out about by e-mail to [email-masked]. The editor's wife Diane
(Sammatauro, I think) has written one of the best beginner bee books I
have seen. It may be at your library.

   Your acreage is not too small, as the bees will forage a much larger
area. The bees themselves will probably not take up a tenth of an acre.
They will do best, if there is plenty of forage, such as clover, alfalfa,
fireweed, etc. around you, when your fruits are not blooming.

   For tips on pollination management, you might want to suscribe to our
newsletter.

[email-masked]
Eastern Pollinator Newsletter, Dave Green, PO Box 1215, Hemingway, SC 
29554