# Best place to start an Apiary



## LSBees (Sep 24, 2009)

If you were to start fresh and buy land and set up an apiary where would you buy and why?


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## peacekeeperapiaries (Jun 23, 2009)

Hard to say where the best place would be. It seems there are pros and cons to just about anywhere and there are commercial beeks making a living all over the U.S. Here in Florida we have great weather almost year around and don't really have to winterize our bees, however those guys up north produce a lot of honey in a short period of time (spring/summer months). I'm sure it would also depend on how you were going to structure you business. Are you pollinating, making honey, sell in packages or nucs. A lot of variables to this type of question.


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## alpha6 (May 12, 2008)

Try and find a place that is located in an area that will give you multiple flows. Like on the edge of an alfalfa field and an area with good wild flower flows. This doesn't leave you defendant on just one crop for your honey. In these areas farmers are cutting earlier and earlier thus making the cultivated crop less dependable. I would also recommend you start as close to home as you can so that you can really work your hives easily starting out.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

I don't know anyone who buys land to put their hives on. Renting yard space is so much cheaper. I have about 16 yards in NY and 6 yards in SC and only own my home yard. Look for landowners who will allow you to place your hives on their property.

Buying land for a place to put your bees is like planting crops for your bees to forage on. You'll never recoup your investment through hive production.


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## LSBees (Sep 24, 2009)

I am sorry for not making myself clear. My family and I are in the planning process where we plan to pack up and move our entire family to a new location. We know where we are is not the right place for our family. We are looking at buying a small place where we can homestead and are looking for 10 acres or more. We are considering many states and areas and are not set on any, we have looked at Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Idaho etc we also have heard that the Dakota's are nice however I am afraid of that much cold.

So we are not looking to buy land for the bees per say we are going to buy land and farm for us and the bees 





sqkcrk said:


> I don't know anyone who buys land to put their hives on. Renting yard space is so much cheaper. I have about 16 yards in NY and 6 yards in SC and only own my home yard. Look for landowners who will allow you to place your hives on their property.
> 
> Buying land for a place to put your bees is like planting crops for your bees to forage on. You'll never recoup your investment through hive production.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

I understand.

You may find, like i did, that 100 acres is easier to find than 10. And cheaper by the acre too.

I don't know how to advise you about finding the right place in those states. Maybe others can. My wife and I went to Arkansas on our honeymoon, 33 years ago, and to look for a place to live. I didn't care for the land and the cloudy streams. So we ended up in northern NY. Strout realty and United Farm Realty are out of business now. Good luck finding what you want. It is out there somewhere.


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## LSBees (Sep 24, 2009)

From Web shopping, not really being there I have seen a few places in Missouri I would like to try. Although I am thinking Missouri may not be the right place as I wonder why is the honey production up north so much higher? I like the season, cool weather and even snow but all I can picture is being snowed in for months up in Minnesota or the Dakota's.


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## paul.h (Aug 9, 2008)

http://www.homesandland.com/ is a great magazine for people who want to look at homes and land in several areas of the states. They will send a copy if you ask them to.


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## Skinner Apiaries (Sep 1, 2009)

sqkcrk said:


> I don't know anyone who buys land to put their hives on. Renting yard space is so much cheaper. I have about 16 yards in NY and 6 yards in SC and only own my home yard. Look for landowners who will allow you to place your hives on their property.
> 
> Buying land for a place to put your bees is like planting crops for your bees to forage on. You'll never recoup your investment through hive production.


Actually a bunch of commercial boys in Albemarle planted wild mustard on cutover and unused land in the landbank. **** thing to do, but there's places where you can drive and 5 mile of shoulder is wild mustard. Pretty funny considering they planted that **** 30 years ago. and yes, I'm pretty sure everyone's made money on that mustard... except the poor 'plant' farmers.


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## StevenG (Mar 27, 2009)

LSBees, I will be doing in 4 years what you are doing now. I lived (25 years ago) in south central Kansas... only had 16 hives then. Lived in town, had hives on two farms for free that planted alfalfa. Got real good honey crops off them.

When I retire, I plan to look at the communities I would want to live in or near, then contact county extension agent, see what crops are planted in those counties, and go from there. Might or might not work for you. For me, my first consideration is location for my lifestyle, second is location for bees. Seems like we can always find a place to put bees, but the place to put ourselves or family might not be quite as congenial.
Good Luck!
Steven


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## justin (Jun 16, 2007)

things i like about my location for bees.... i am in a rural area which means fewer neighbor problems, and less drama than town living, i know most of the people in the nearest town and many are eager to help my family buisness( this is our first year with a surplus and lot's of people are trying to sell our honey for us) up till now i had been a hobby keep. we live 50 miles west of missoula mt which is a yuppie college town with several farmers markets and lots of money. the people are really looking for a connection to local foods etc.. and they are not frugal. while the commercial beeks have the paved river valleys sewed up there are still lots of areas where i can have productive outyards without competeing for forage or worrying about sharing diseases or pests. the most productive honey states are places with cold winters, but a good buisness sense and lot's of hard work seems to work most places.


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