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Author Topic: cost of selling nucs on honey production  (Read 4228 times)

Offline yes2matt

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Re: cost of selling nucs on honey production
« Reply #20 on: April 13, 2021, 07:25:23 am »
THP it's good math. Where are you getting 18lbs of honey and 2 lbs of pollen? My nucs have honey and pollen but not that much??

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Offline jtcmedic

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Re: cost of selling nucs on honey production
« Reply #21 on: April 13, 2021, 07:56:01 am »
How to properly price a stuffed 4F or basic 5F nucleus colony for sale.

The Price of the Nuc = A + B + C + D + E + F
A  the wholesale price of a 3 lb (1.5kg) package of bees + 20% to 40% for the extra bees already on order (brood)
B  retail price of 5 brand new foundation frames
C  wholesale price of 18 lbs of honey
D  wholesale price of 2lbs of pollen
E  retail price of the nuc box + 15% for your handling and logistics
F  price of 1 hour of labor for all the time spent grafting, inspecting, boosting, and growing the nuc
G  ... cost of treatments, add or leave out as free

Don't guess. Guessing is not how you do business. Do the math. If you cannot sell at whatever that number works out for you then you are either loosing money or it is really not worth your while.


Hope that helps!
Thanks honey pump that?s a great breakdown

Offline Oldbeavo

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Re: cost of selling nucs on honey production
« Reply #22 on: April 13, 2021, 07:59:11 am »
We split in early Spring for swarm control.
We split our strong hives, about 25-30% of them have the brood halved. The rest may only lose 1 or 2 frames of brood.
We have a greater honey loss from swarming, losing bees in spring is losing honey. Recovery from swarming takes months.
Splitting is done in mid September for us down here.
We make more honey by splitting and the sale of nucs is a bonus. Also the nucs restore our own supply for hive maintainence.
Nucs sell for $180 in a portable box or put into the purchasers hive.

Offline TheHoneyPump

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cost of selling nucs on honey production
« Reply #23 on: April 13, 2021, 10:40:20 am »
THP it's good math. Where are you getting 18lbs of honey and 2 lbs of pollen? My nucs have honey and pollen but not that much??

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The 18-2 is the guestimate of the bees cost to waxout new foundation and to stock those frames with resources of honey, pollen, brood. It is your lost revenue of those resources going with the nuc sale rather than you extracting, packaging, and marketing it. 1 full deep frame of honey can be close to 10 lbs.
A properly made nuc of 4 to 5 frames (for sale) should easily weight 15-20 lbs.  (imho)
« Last Edit: April 13, 2021, 10:54:24 am by TheHoneyPump »
When the lid goes back on, the bees will spend the next 3 days undoing most of what the beekeeper just did to them.

Offline Brian MCquilkin

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Re: cost of selling nucs on honey production
« Reply #24 on: April 13, 2021, 01:06:12 pm »
HP great math: The other thing I pay attention to is what the market is accepting. I'm not going to sell less than the beek down the road.
After doing the math and looking at the local market I will set my price.  So if my math comes out at $165 for a nuc and the locals are selling $185 I will set my price at $185 or a little more, Just don't want to undercut or leave money on the table.
Despite my efforts the bees are doing great

Offline TheHoneyPump

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Re: cost of selling nucs on honey production
« Reply #25 on: April 13, 2021, 04:10:18 pm »
The issue I occasionally encounter here is folks coming and expecting a nuc to cost same or less than a package. I promptly tell them to go pound sand (politely most of the time), but also tell them the door is always open and that they are welcome to come back for a proper startup colony after their bees are dead.
When the lid goes back on, the bees will spend the next 3 days undoing most of what the beekeeper just did to them.

Offline Ben Framed

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Re: cost of selling nucs on honey production
« Reply #26 on: July 04, 2021, 02:12:11 am »
How to properly price a stuffed 4F or basic 5F nucleus colony for sale.

The Price of the Nuc = A + B + C + D + E + F
A  the wholesale price of a 3 lb (1.5kg) package of bees + 20% to 40% for the extra bees already on order (brood)
B  retail price of 5 brand new foundation frames
C  wholesale price of 18 lbs of honey
D  wholesale price of 2lbs of pollen
E  retail price of the nuc box + 15% for your handling and logistics
F  price of 1 hour of labor for all the time spent grafting, inspecting, boosting, and growing the nuc
G  ... cost of treatments, add or leave out as free

Don't guess. Guessing is not how you do business. Do the math. If you cannot sell at whatever that number works out for you then you are either loosing money or it is really not worth your while.


Hope that helps!

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Offline Bill Murray

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Re: cost of selling nucs on honey production
« Reply #27 on: July 04, 2021, 10:04:37 pm »
Thanks HP. I know Ive been gone for a while but been busy. That was my point exactly you explained it to a T.

Offline TheHoneyPump

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cost of selling nucs on honey production
« Reply #28 on: July 05, 2021, 01:25:34 am »
The second part of the equation is:  how much total saleable honey (lbs) will a hive make in your area and at what price can the honey be sold. 
Revenue is Lbs per hive per year X $ per lb minus expenses to harvest it, extract it, bottle it, and market it.
The better business model is decided by whether the nuc makes more (Net) money per hive or if the honey does. 
I make huge per hive honey crops (relatively). Hence, -The Honey Pump-   But it is a lot of work to go get it. I can make more per hive net money with much less work selling nucs, provided the demand is there. When conditions are right I can pull 3 to 6 nucs per hive. Some years it is more nucs. Other years it is more honey. 
As sadisric as it sounds, I really do like years when there are high colony losses. In such times I am happy to bee the go-to guy restocking the local apiaries losses with my nucs. That makes the decision easier;  whether I am laid back and cashing in on  nucs or getting a good full body workout making honey that season.
This year 2021, 2020/2021 the local honey market price has been low.  Winter colony losses were remarkably high around the region. I faired well over winter. As a result this has been a high nuc demand year. Net honey will be down as I had decimated a good portion of my colonies for nucs and now rebuild the stock numbers over the summer.  But my pockets are flush with raw cash from nuc sales that easily outweighed my projections for a 2021 honey crop.
In the end I am saying some years nucs make you more money other years honey is the backstop and can make the more money.  But hands down year to year, if you have the demand go produce nucs.  It is a lot less work.  But do not sell yourself short. Know the value of your costs and effort to make them. Know what you have spent into them and ensure the price you get is well worth your while.

Hope that helps!
« Last Edit: July 05, 2021, 02:07:27 am by TheHoneyPump »
When the lid goes back on, the bees will spend the next 3 days undoing most of what the beekeeper just did to them.