Beekeeping: Enterprise Budget
Beekeeping: Enterprise Budget
Beekeeping: Enterprise Budget
Beekeeping
Honey bees have been producing with a strict division of labor between
honey for over 150 million years. the various types of bees in the colony. Enterprise Assessment
Annually in the United States approxi- Colonies include a queen, drones and
workers. The queen is the only sexually Capital needed
mately 200 million pounds of honey
developed female in the colony and is for startup
are produced, valued at $140 to
$170 million dollars. Beekeeping the largest bee in the colony. The queen
is responsible for laying eggs that will Importance of
can be a very profitable enterprise.
grow into new workers, drones, and experience with
Honey, beeswax, pollen, royal jelly, and
every once in a while a new queen. A grain crops
pollination are all revenue generating
parts of beekeeping. The main sources productive queen can lay 3,000 eggs in
a day. Drones are stout male bees that Managerial input
of revenue in a beekeeping enterprise
have no stingers. Their sole purpose is needed
are honey and pollination services.
to mate with the queen. If the colony
Without the services of beekeepers,
is short on food, drones are often Labor input
especially pollination services, the costs
kicked out of the hive. Workers are required
of many fruits, vegetables, and other
the smallest bees in the colony and
agronomic crops would be greater than
are sexually undeveloped females. A Years needed to
they are today. Many beekeepers start
colony can have 50,000 to 60,000 develop produc-
out small, with two to four colonies,
workers. The lifespan of a worker is tion expertise
and let their operation grow with their approximately 30 days. Workers feed
experience and management skills. the queen and larva, guard the hive, Years needed to
and keep it cool. Workers collect nectar develop marketing
Physical Attributes to make honey. Workers are responsible expertise
for the production of all the products
Honey bees produce and store honey
marketed in a honeybee enterprise. Years to financial
for food used during the long winter
months. Honey bees usually produce break-even point
Potential Return
more honey than they can eat; this
excess honey is what beekeepers Yields Return on
harvest. Honey bees are social insects investment (%)
In 2008, according to the National
Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS),
the average yield per colony was
70 pounds. The Iowa average yield was Risks
reported at 62 pounds per colony. Bees are at risk for some diseases and
mites. However, strict guidelines in
Price
the industry help prevent the spread of
The prices for honey have been increas- some of these diseases. It is important
ing in the past few years. Retail prices are for beekeepers to be alert for diseased
around $4.68 a pound and wholesale at bees when they check the hives. It is
$3.46 a pound. Products sold at the local also important to place the hives away
level will have varying prices. from fields that would be sprayed with
insecticide, potentially killing some of
Market Outlook
… and justice for all
The market for honey is currently very The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race,
strong, especially for locally produced color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not
all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Many materials can be made available in alternative formats for ADA clients. To
honey. Production increased from 2007 file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964.
to 2008 with prices continuing to rise. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914 in cooperation with the U.S.
China, the world’s largest consumer of Department of Agriculture. Jack M. Payne, director, Cooperative Extension Service, Iowa State University of Science and
Technology, Ames, Iowa.