# Averaging honey yeild opinions.



## gmcharlie (May 9, 2009)

Sounds like a great year for you congratulations...

I would add 2 other complicateing factors. How many deeps? and do you include what you left for the bees?? I personaly don't think its right to calculate say a 3 deep hive, and compare that to singles.... makes the math all wrong. Say a commercial guy runs singles and averages 100 lbs, how did he really do when the neighbor says he got 150, but he was running double deeps??

Also I find that most small timers are discarding the dink/cull hives when calculating..... 
I have been pondering this all spring/summer. so much garbage floating out here based on how you count...... makes it tricky.


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## Beregondo (Jun 21, 2011)

I'd keep it simple:
Count the number of colonies you harvest from.
Divide the yield by that number, and you have you average.


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## OlofL (Jan 21, 2006)

I only count my hives once a year and that is when mixing winter feed. In the spring I count my losses and count the number of hives I sell. Wintered minus Losses minus Sold will give me number of production hives which total harvest is divided by. I don't count changes during the summer.


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## chillardbee (May 26, 2005)

gmcharlie said:


> Sounds like a great year for you congratulations...
> 
> I would add 2 other complicateing factors. How many deeps? and do you include what you left for the bees?? I personaly don't think its right to calculate say a 3 deep hive, and compare that to singles.... makes the math all wrong. Say a commercial guy runs singles and averages 100 lbs, how did he really do when the neighbor says he got 150, but he was running double deeps??
> 
> ...


I'm only counting surplus honey since it is the only honey making it to market.


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## chillardbee (May 26, 2005)

I would count those that overwintered and weren't producers too. we try to keep every hive in top notch but there always seems to be the odd hive that just can't get it going until it's to late. But it still cost just as much to build up that hive (or at least try to) as it did the best producing hive.


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## chillardbee (May 26, 2005)

...And another way to look at it, if you will. lets say a beek came into spring with 200 hives and planed on using half to make increase and the other half for honey. lets say he broke the 100 hives down 4 ways in spring and build them up to break them down 2 ways in late summer. lets say you had a 10,000lb year on the hundred hives that were producers. That would give you your 100lb average but if you would of included the increase, 100 x 4 x 2 = 800 + 100 (producers) for a total of 900 hives, your average would be 11lbs. Thats why I kind of like including the increase in addition to the honey in that honey is sold and increase can be sold too. it's just a different way of making income.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Beregondo said:


> I'd keep it simple:
> Count the number of colonies you harvest from.
> Divide the yield by that number, and you have you average.


Amen. Ditto.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

chillardbee said:


> ...And another way to look at it, if you will. lets say a beek came into spring with 200 hives and planed on using half to make increase and the other half for honey. lets say he broke the 100 hives down 4 ways in spring and build them up to break them down 2 ways in late summer. lets say you had a 10,000lb year on the hundred hives that were producers. That would give you your 100lb average but if you would of included the increase, 100 x 4 x 2 = 800 + 100 (producers) for a total of 900 hives, your average would be 11lbs. Thats why I kind of like including the increase in addition to the honey in that honey is sold and increase can be sold too. it's just a different way of making income.


Agreed. Its all about how much income you receive from the resources that you have. Per colony averages can be figured a number of different ways, each one only telling part of the story. Per colony average is a number that some beekeepers like to trot out to impress but one that I always take with a "grain of salt". I prefer to think more in terms of lbs. per location, or better yet, total production rather than pounds per hive but at the end of the year the most meaningful number is net profit and as Will pointed out honey may not be your only income source. Some may spend more time on marketing and less on beekeeping and come out far better than someone with a high per colony yield.


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## swarm_trapper (Jun 19, 2003)

I take the number of hives that go to the honey flow if its in the honey yard it is a hive (took the same amount of feed fuel time and effort to get it their as every other one). Take that number and divide the lbs of honey harvested. Example if i take 64 hives to the orange flow and extract 6400 lbs of honey i made a 100 lb average, even if at the end of the flow i only have 60 hives. Makes it easy to figure for me.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

swarm_trapper said:


> I take the number of hives that go to the honey flow if its in the honey yard it is a hive (took the same amount of feed fuel time and effort to get it their as every other one). Take that number and divide the lbs of honey harvested. Example if i take 64 hives to the orange flow and extract 6400 lbs of honey i made a 100 lb average, even if at the end of the flow i only have 60 hives. Makes it easy to figure for me.


If I had to give a number that is the most realistic way to calculate it and the one that I use. If you put time and money into a hive that goes bad then you shouldnt be "rewarded" with a higher per colony average when you lose some, particularly since the boxes and what honey they contain usually just get piled up on top of the queenright hives.


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## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

Well out west here.... we like to look at it this way, how many gallons of syrup did you have to feed to make it to the next year.


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## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

If I start with 600 packages and then split 275-300 of those. I count that as 875-900 hive worked. Then if you product 140,000 lbs., That would give be 155 APH (avg per hive)

This year we worked 855-870 and produced 43,000, which gave me a 49 APH which was the second worst year in 38 years in the family business. Really nothing to brag about this year. Maybe next year.

I take it all, and give none back if I can help it.:digging:


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## jmgi (Jan 15, 2009)

Ron, quit reminding me how bad it was this year.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Beregondo said:


> I'd keep it simple:
> Count the number of colonies you harvest from.
> Divide the yield by that number, and you have you average.


ya, I agree, simple is best. 
then you can qualify your yield with all the other fluff


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

So Keith, the total gallons should be subtracted from the final honey yield?


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## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

Barry said:


> honey yield?


Honey yield....lol


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## Mbeck (Apr 27, 2011)

I bet over on the fishing forums they have a thread on how to measure fish!:lpf:

To choose the correct formula to calculate average hive yield you first have to answer two questions. Who is asking? and Why do they want to know?
:lookout:


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## busy bee apiary (Aug 7, 2010)

Number of hives set on location divided by your end production. I usually kick out 10%+/- throughout the flow for a number of reasons but always go with the starting number. How about whatever makes you sleep at night? Lol


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

busy bee apiary said:


> I usually kick out 10%+/- throughout the flow for a number of reasons but always go with the starting number.


same here


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