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Message: <blockquote data-quote="John B" data-source="post: 12352" data-attributes="member: 207">Historically beekeepers were dirt poor and had to run a thousand plus hives per person to survive using old and antiquated equipment and vehicles that was repaired rather than replaced. after a really good year you might have been able to replace something before it fell apart and in a bad year you could always sell your stockpile of wax or get another job for a while.Financially they were certainly not the good old days but there was probably less stress and you certainly didn't have hives dumped on top of you and if someone needed a hand through illness or accident you just went out and help them whether you like them or not and no one ever thought to charge for this help. Knowledge was freely exchanged and there wasn't that fear that whatever someone learned from you would be used against you.I'm afraid I agree with Alistair. You would have to be an idiot to get into beekeeping at the moment even if the hives were free. Even the best beekeepers at the moment are struggling to cover costs let alone make a profit. Yes you can diversify but there are already more than enough pollination hives. You can't give away propolis because of cheap imports which are on sold in packaging that makes it looked like it was produced in New Zealand , pollen becomes oversupplied if more than two beekeepers produce it at the same time and there are already enough Queen produces.Long-term things will get better but at the moment being hard-working and skilled is not always enough to make a profit. We used to survive low prices on high production and low costs but with most areas grossly overstocked and extra costs like varoa and government regulations you now have to survive low prices on low production and high costs. The manuka bubble may not have burst but it is certainly losing pressure rapidly. Just because we want or need things to be better doesn't mean it will happen. Look at the wool industry.beekeeping is still a wonderful life but you need to be an optimist to be a beekeeper. To be a successful beekeeper you need to carefully balance that optimism with realism.I am still optimistic about beekeeping and I do get the feeling that things have improved in the last 12 months. There are opportunities out there for the young and the keen and I wish them good luck. They are going to need it</blockquote>

Verification: What type of honey is New Zealand famous for?

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