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Manuka Access & Per Hive Rates - West Coast

Noel

By Noel,
in General Beekeeping

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Kiwi Bee

Kiwi Bee 589

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Guys, the first thing that came in my mind while reading here is the best manager I ever worked for, some years ago.

When I demonstrated him and the work mates what is wrong in NZ(housing, economic system, etc) he just said with a nice smile on his face "Welcome to New Zealand".

 

@Noel I can picture your situation. Nice big block with pasture and trees. I assume you know the bees will fly on a 2km radius in average.

Your 30 hive and who knows how many to come in the next 2-3 years there will not bee too much room for others. Were you considering that the bkper you want to arrange a deal with may stay only for the manuka season and have to leave somewhere else to find more "food" for his/her bees. And there he/she may have to cover costs(some bkpers pay for the manuka site and pay at the non-manuka site too).

In case the bkper will stay all year around on your block the situation will be different. You have a dairy farm to deal with witch brings you the main income/turnover. For a good operation I assume you need good food too and clover pollination is a must.

Now regardless of the honey season(good, poor or bad) will you pay the bkper PER HIVE for clover pollination?

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kaihoka

That's cause you are a north island softie.

john berry

Over 40 years ago I spent three days canoeing the peloris river while attending Outward Bound. I would like to say I remember the beauty and tranquility but mostly I remember the bone chilling cold wi

Maru Hoani

I have to find another 6 sites, one Kanuka/bush site owner wants 75$ per hive and the others are after no less than $50 plus honey??? Last year I made a 35$ profit on all these sites and after paying

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Maru Hoani

Maru Hoani 650

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I have been looking at dropping a few of my poor production Sites and a few greedy owner sites where I'm paying Manuka rates for Kanuka/bush honey and it costs me to put hives on the properties. Iv only been holding them so companies like convita can't move in.

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Ali

Ali 546

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I have been looking at dropping a few of my poor production Sites and a few greedy owner sites where I'm paying Manuka rates for Kanuka/bush honey and it costs me to put hives on the properties. Iv only been holding them so companies like convita can't move in.

 

One heck of a good reason not to quit them straight out in my opinion! Little players need to unite more to keep the very big a bay a bit.

What about the thought of finding a really appreciative small player who would cherish the chance to have them? Whanau maybe or a trainee/learner? Just a thought really but true to my own inclination.

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Adam O'Sullivan

Adam O'Sullivan 132

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Just out of intrest Maru, do you have any manuka sites that you dont pay for? what I mean is, would you have had manuka sites pre manuka boom and have had the hives on there since and the farmers dont bail you up for money? Or would they all change from getting honey and free pollination each year to wanting big money? I dont pay anyone but i just do clover and i find it intresting how others do things.

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Maru Hoani

Maru Hoani 650

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Just out of intrest Maru, do you have any manuka sites that you dont pay for? what I mean is, would you have had manuka sites pre manuka boom and have had the hives on there since and the farmers dont bail you up for money? Or would they all change from getting honey and free pollination each year to wanting big money? I dont pay anyone but i just do clover and i find it intresting how others do things.

Everyone wants big bucks if they got Manuka now days. My rates range from 50-125$ per hive

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john berry

john berry 5,636

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It takes a very big farm and really good country to run more than 30 hives. There are a lot of crazy figures being quoted out there at the moment one of the most popular being one hive per hectare for manuka. I could take you to areas with thousands of hectares where six years out of seven you get no manuka at all. The reality is unless you know an area really well you have no idea how many hives it will sustain. Every area is different, every site within that area is also different along with every year. One of the few things that is certain is that it's far more profitable to get 50 kg of one hive than to get 10 kg each of five hives. Last season was certainly well below average over most of the country yet there is a lot of honey out there that can't be sold. Anyone who doesn't find this concerning is in for a severe reality check.

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Maru Hoani

Maru Hoani 650

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It takes a very big farm and really good country to run more than 30 hives. There are a lot of crazy figures being quoted out there at the moment one of the most popular being one hive per hectare for manuka. I could take you to areas with thousands of hectares where six years out of seven you get no manuka at all. The reality is unless you know an area really well you have no idea how many hives it will sustain. Every area is different, every site within that area is also different along with every year. One of the few things that is certain is that it's far more profitable to get 50 kg of one hive than to get 10 kg each of five hives. Last season was certainly well below average over most of the country yet there is a lot of honey out there that can't be sold. Anyone who doesn't find this concerning is in for a severe reality check.

I got 14 drums of 13+ that still isn't moving and iv been trying for months and the Kanukas still not moving????

Does anybody know when Manuka going to start selling again?

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Beemine

Beemine 0

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On 09/07/2017 at 12:55 PM, Kiwi Bee said:

Guys, the first thing that came in my mind while reading here is the best manager I ever worked for, some years ago.

When I demonstrated him and the work mates what is wrong in NZ(housing, economic system, etc) he just said with a nice smile on his face "Welcome to New Zealand".

 

@Noel I can picture your situation. Nice big block with pasture and trees. I assume you know the bees will fly on a 2km radius in average.

Your 30 hive and who knows how many to come in the next 2-3 years there will not bee too much room for others. Were you considering that the bkper you want to arrange a deal with may stay only for the manuka season and have to leave somewhere else to find more "food" for his/her bees. And there he/she may have to cover costs(some bkpers pay for the manuka site and pay at the non-manuka site too).

In case the bkper will stay all year around on your block the situation will be different. You have a dairy farm to deal with witch brings you the main income/turnover. For a good operation I assume you need good food too and clover pollination is a must.

Now regardless of the honey season(good, poor or bad) will you pay the bkper PER HIVE for clover pollination?

Hi is anyone here knows how much to pay the site per hive? Our farmer said theres other beekeeper offer him $50 per hive and not even manuka its kanuka or bush in his farm. Why some farmers are very greedy. It should be give and take we put beehives to pollinate their fruits,etc while the farm look after the bees. Please any opinion. Is there a law now how much we neef to pay per year per hive? 

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Rob Stockley

Rob Stockley 3,417

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11 minutes ago, Beemine said:

Hi is anyone here knows how much to pay the site per hive? Our farmer said theres other beekeeper offer him $50 per hive and not even manuka its kanuka or bush in his farm. Why some farmers are very greedy. It should be give and take we put beehives to pollinate their fruits,etc while the farm look after the bees. Please any opinion. Is there a law now how much we neef to pay per year per hive? 

Show the farmer the recent media coverage that bush honey may go as low as $6 per kg. Tell them that all beekeepers are having to reconsider landowner payments and that the $50 offer may not be available anymore. 

 

Find out if they value pollination? If they do, then you could offer to leave some hives on the farm year round. Point out that those willing to pay are often chasing high value crops and they may only leave the hives there for a few weeks before moving them. 

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