Commercial Only: Is it worth taking a harvest?

[Beepbop]

that is a very serious issue for beeks.
there is absolutely no point of taking a crop if you can't sell it.
we have the same issue, our bulk pasture honey is simply not worth taking off the hives.

I'm also currently wondering whether its worth harvesting this season .. working out the figures for bulk extraction and bottling I'd have trouble selling .. AT COST - just to break even.
And then have to feed the bees too.
Been scratching my head for weeks now trying to decide how to proceed.
Do I keep shopping around for a better solution... like extracting and bottling it myself to keep costs down [but this seems very complicated]

new at this.. appreciate any suggestions..

hm maybe this need to be on a separate thread

 

[tristan]

I'm also currently wondering whether its worth harvesting this season .. working out the figures for bulk extraction and bottling I'd have trouble selling .. AT COST - just to break even.
And then have to feed the bees too.
Been scratching my head for weeks now trying to decide how to proceed.
Do I keep shopping around for a better solution... like extracting and bottling it myself to keep costs down [but this seems very complicated]

new at this.. appreciate any suggestions..

hm maybe this need to be on a separate thread

yeah a lot of guys have been leaving the honey on for the winter. closing them up early, trying to avoid low $$ honey.

bottling, depends a bit on if its local sales or export.
doing it yourself requires a bit of paper work etc. i'm not sure on current rules for local sales.
tho i have seen the results lately of what happens when its packed poorly. exploded jars, that also appeared to have incorrect labeling.
imho packing is best left to the pro's. its a whole different level compared to extraction.

 

[Beepbop]

yeah a lot of guys have been leaving the honey on for the winter. closing them up early, trying to avoid low $$ honey.
bottling, depends a bit on if its local sales or export.
doing it yourself requires a bit of paper work etc. i'm not sure on current rules for local sales.
tho i have seen the results lately of what happens when its packed poorly. exploded jars, that also appeared to have incorrect labeling.
imho packing is best left to the pro's. its a whole different level compared to extraction.

Thanks @tristan
We were just planning on local sales... if we extract at all. I really don't need 2 tons of honey to store as well so was hoping for a bulk sale.

 

[tristan]

Thanks @tristan
We were just planning on local sales... if we extract at all. I really don't need 2 tons of honey to store as well so was hoping for a bulk sale.

one of the issues of jumping in so quickly is you need to get the extraction side sorted.
trying to find extraction places in the back half of the season is not always easy. many commercial crowds won't touch honey for local market. need to get pallets sorted depending on what the extraction crowd require. a shed to store stickies when they come back.
honey storage, you need to check on the rules for that. not sure if you need rmp for storage or not.
selling small lots (eg 2 ton) of low price honey is very difficult.