How many hives maked a beekeeper?

[max2]

I often have " beekeepers" turn up looking for a queen, or a queen cell..some brood, a frame with honey..
I read in one of the Bee mags from the US that you need 10 hives per yard to really keep bees, meaning that you have the resources  to move and switch, add and balance.
I try to have at least 5 hives per yard.This allows me to take resources from one hive  and move it to a hive in need.It also makes it easy when you are splitting hives.
This has generally worked for me.

I try to keep not more than 50 hives at the moment as I have other interests and committments.

How many hives are other beekeepers keeping in the same yard?
How many hives do you keep in total.?

[The15thMember]

I only have one yard, and I currently have 8 hives.  My goal is to be around 10, no more than 12.  I feel like with 10 colonies, I'd likely be pretty resilient against any sort of major trouble (disease outbreak, bad flow year, etc.), and it's about what I need for my family's needs in bee products, plus a little extra to sell. 

[Kathyp]

It also depends on where you are.  When I was the only one around keeping bees I could keep as many as I wanted.  Now there are several commercial size operations around for the berry fields and not as many resources all year around.  The berry guys used to hire hives in, and now many are keeping their own.  Makes sense for them, I guess.  Probably cheaper to keep a beekeeper around.

[beesnweeds]

I read in one of the Bee mags from the US that you need 10 hives per yard to really keep bees, meaning that you have the resources  to move and switch, add and balance.

How many hives are other beekeepers keeping in the same yard?
How many hives do you keep in total.?

To be profitable or sustainable?  I dont keep bees as a business but I have one yard that has a full size colony and a 5 over 5 nuc thats been going for 9 or 10 years.  Nucs make the yard, so I usually keep about 20 hives that are a mix of nucs and hives.

[max2]

It also depends on where you are.  When I was the only one around keeping bees I could keep as many as I wanted.  Now there are several commercial size operations around for the berry fields and not as many resources all year around.  The berry guys used to hire hives in, and now many are keeping their own.  Makes sense for them, I guess.  Probably cheaper to keep a beekeeper around.

So how many hives per yard works for you?