# NEW TO HONEY! 18 YEARS OLD, INVESTING MY TUITION IN MY COMPANY



## chungalexk (Dec 18, 2018)

My name is Alex Chung. I am 18 years old and after graduating high school, decided I want to pursue a career in honey. I'm funding myself with my tuition money! I invested in a honey farm in my home country and currently have only an extractor. I know I need to filter it, but am quite lost on what kind and where to buy it? After doing research, I want to filter it through 600-400-200 micron. Does anyone know where to get filters for larger production and explain to me if what I am doing is right? I read that heating the honey degrades its quality but isn't it essential if I'm going to filter the honey that small? I really don't want anyone getting sick if I do sell the honey. But I know that other beekeepers sell their honey raw without any issues. I would really appreciate any advice! 

Thanks!!


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Alex to filter it to such a small size filter the honey will definately need to be heated.

But many beekeepers do not filter it that small it is not necessary unless you want to remove the pollen. You will also need quite a bit of expensive equipment to do this.

I have some questions for you, first one - who are you selling the honey to? Shops, or someone else? Next question, how much honey will you process this year?

The other thing is to check on the laws of your country, to make sure you are following the legal requirements to process your honey.


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## ItsAllBetter (Dec 17, 2018)

where are you located?

start slow and build with cash on hand.

filtering isn't always necessary and depending on local population "unfiltered" is a key selling point.

just get a settling tank, all the wax will float and the dirt will sink (there shouldn't be any dirt), take the honey from the middle.


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## chungalexk (Dec 18, 2018)

I am just afraid of getting people sick if I don't filter it enough. Is that a valid concern? I just want to make sure it is completely edible and safe for public consumption. How else would I filter the honey to make it completely safe? I'm considering buying a filtering machine on alibaba for around $300. Is there any other machinery I would need? I just started so I am not sure, is 1000L my first year a fair number? I am in Vietnam and have contacted some shops. 

Thank you so much!


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

If you only sell 1000 litres, just use cheap filtration. Coarse filtration will not make anybody sick. 

Do you have any poisonous honey in Vietnam?


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

Finer filtering will not remove anything in honey that would make people sick. It would only remove smaller particles of wax and other litter. People and animals have been eating unfiltered honey for millions of years without getting sick from it.


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## Jadeguppy (Jul 19, 2017)

I am glad to see a young person concerned about the health of their clients. My suggestion is to put a warning on the bottles reminding people not to feed honey to children under the age on one. They can get very sick. After that age, those with regular immune systems can handle it. Not all new parents are aware not to feed babies honey.


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## tom0354 (May 25, 2018)

Your name is not Vietnamese so not sure if you are born there or not. If not, I highly would not recommend since doing business there requires lots of "navigation". 

Couple of things you want to keep in mind:


The weather there is hot and humid so the honey tends to have more water in them. Not sure if the honey was fermented due to that but couple of jars I got from the keeper directly that have been been processed have very strong sour taste after awhile.
Not sure when you said "honey farm" you mean as honey distributor or keeping your own colonies and collect honey from it. The latter will be very challenge since most farms in Vietnam are small scale farmers so it won't be able to support a large amount of hives and it is required to move constantly. In addition, lots of petty thefts so most hives are single brood box and are harvest regularly by raiding the brood box, taking every frame and slowly spin it to extract honey and put the frame back + feeding.
Most of the farmers sprayed their crop heavily
Manual labor is cheap so most of the work are done manually instead.

Link to see how honey is being harvest there

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T606Rp50rE0


Keep in mind that a *very* large percentage of people who started business failed. You only hear stories from people who success. I am not saying you will failed but odd are against you. You should try to keep bee as a hobby for couple years to learn in and out of it before jump in which will increase your odd.

Maybe you are an exception, but all people I know (my self included) though that we know everything at 18 years old. It turned out we are just a bit smarter than a rock. FYI, we though we are an exception when we were 18 year old.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Good video Tom.

Alex, at minute 17.30 on that video you can see honey being filtered. That filtration is all you need.


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## gmcharlie (May 9, 2009)

get sick from what? what is it your going to filter out to prevent illness? truth is nothing. Your knowledge of the product you want to sell is completely insufficient. You need to study more, buy less.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

Wow so labor intensive, harvesting tiny strips of honey off of brood combs. I wonder how it work work with a fraction of the hives and using honey supers?

Link to see how honey is being harvest there
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T606Rp50rE0


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## tom0354 (May 25, 2018)

odfrank said:


> Wow so labor intensive, harvesting tiny strips of honey off of brood combs. I wonder how it work work with a fraction of the hives and using honey supers?
> 
> Link to see how honey is being harvest there
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T606Rp50rE0


Using honey super with less hive will be more efficient in collecting honey but will be collecting less than what they are doing. Since labor is cheap the latter must yield more profit for them.


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## chungalexk (Dec 18, 2018)

tom0354 said:


> Your name is not Vietnamese so not sure if you are born there or not. If not, I highly would not recommend since doing business there requires lots of "navigation".
> 
> Couple of things you want to keep in mind:
> 
> ...


I'm Vietnamese and my cousin's taking care of the farm. He's been in the industry for years. Thank you for the advice!


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## chungalexk (Dec 18, 2018)

Are you from VN? I have a refractometer to check the honey's moisture content. I plan on making a room to provide the right humidity for the honey.


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## tom0354 (May 25, 2018)

chungalexk said:


> Are you from VN? I have a refractometer to check the honey's moisture content. I plan on making a room to provide the right humidity for the honey.


From VN but not in VN.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Hi Alex, may I ask some questions?

Will your honey farm be in Vietnam? And if so, is that where your cousin has been in the honey business for years? 

Also, will you be in Vietnam to do the work, or will you employ other people to do the work?


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## chungalexk (Dec 18, 2018)

Oldtimer said:


> Hi Alex, may I ask some questions?
> 
> Will your honey farm be in Vietnam? And if so, is that where your cousin has been in the honey business for years?
> 
> Also, will you be in Vietnam to do the work, or will you employ other people to do the work?


Yeah, it is based in Vietnam. My cousin is also located there with his farm. I am employing others most likely.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

OK well if your cousin is successful, do the same as he does. But if you are in America, a great idea would be to work for free for a commercial beekeeper for a few days, it is always good to get new ideas to take to a different country.


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