Manuka Access & Per Hive Rates - West Coast

[Rob Stockley 3,417]

21 minutes ago, yesbut said:

NZTM E1647812 N5427921

AKA Pelorus Bridge Cafe

[jamesc 4,928]

1 hour ago, Rob Stockley said:

AKA Pelorus Bridge Cafe

Is th ecoffeee worth the drive ?

[kaihoka 2,976]

@jamesc maybe not for coffee but the swimming is great .

[yesbut 6,233]

3 minutes ago, kaihoka said:

@jamesc maybe not for coffee but the swimming is great .

Actually the Pelorus  R  is always cold.

[kaihoka 2,976]

2 minutes ago, yesbut said:

Actually the Pelorus  R  is always cold.

True , but it's a beautiful spot for a refreshing dip .

[john berry 5,636]

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 with ice on the side of the river. In the end I think most of us just wanted to crawl into the bush and die. I went back a few years ago and found it to be very beautiful but you wouldn't get me  putting my big toe in, even in the middle of summer.

[kaihoka 2,976]

1 minute ago, john berry said:

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 with ice on the side of the river. In the end I think most of us just wanted to crawl into the bush and die. I went back a few years ago and found it to be very beautiful but you wouldn't get me  putting my big toe in, even in the middle of summer.

That's cause you are a north island softie.

[jamesc 4,928]

12 hours ago, kaihoka said:

@jamesc maybe not for coffee but the swimming is great .

Sounds nice.... but we got the shower going again at home.... so think ill settle for a hot one

[Beemine 0]

On 01/01/2018 at 8:56 PM, Trevor Gillbanks said:

This is getting crazy.  There is no way this stupidity can keep on.  However the media hype it all up so farmers/landowners are getting more and more greedy.

I think beekeeping now is just like politics....Some or many farmers/people count the chocks before it hatch. 

[flash4cash 262]

I see it as there are an over supply of beekeepers and hives and  an under supply of sites. Prices will keep rising until they balance out.  The tricky thing is yield, this part is highly variable and allows for interesting numbers to be calculated in a spreadsheet.  Thing is the next year could be the big year,  do you really want to miss out?  Beekeeping is like playing lotto.  You have to be in to win. 

[flash4cash 262]

Interesting dynamics going on too, while it may appear that farmed Manuka would be an attractive option, the price of lamb has increased dramatically thanks to China whom have come from 10% of exports to 70% within 2 years and push up prices. So maybe we will see a surge in interest in farming sheep.  Perhaps farmers will begin to spray out low grade Manuka/kanaka again. 

 

Edited January 3, 2018 by flash4cash

[jamesc 4,928]

You are right Mr Flash4cash ..... it's all about supply and demand.  The figures always look good on paper .... the curved ball is always the yield and what might or could have been if we had been more onto it or it had'nt blown or snowed .... The secret to success is to run a low cost operation that can weather the lows and capitalise on the highs. 

The secret is to invest wisely when you have it on machinery and gadgetry and manpower that will make you run smoother  in the lean times. But a lot comes down to experience. You can make an educated guess on a honey flow, but you can never chase it as generally by the time you are running the flow is over. One of the biggest contributors to profitability  is patience ..... patience to wait that all though the boxes are empty now, it's only the new year and 25 ml of rain is like a week in politics.

[john berry 5,636]

A few miles from me there is a yard of at least 40 hives out in the middle of what is effectively a desert. As far as I can tell they belong to one of the big new players but I have to wonder what they are doing their as there is no way the country they are in could support even half that number.

Lots of reasons come to mind.

One. The hives are under AFB quarantine.

Two. They have the hives but nowhere to put them.

Three. They have forgotten they are there. Considering the hives are still two high and you can see bees hanging up the fronts this may be the true answer. I have seen it happen before.

[jamesc 4,928]

I like No 3  .... That's funny 

[Kiwifruiter 605]

One if the big problems with beekeeping is its too easy to start up for yourself. Keep 50 hives for yourself while working for the man then with a bit of skill and some savings that can be 200 plus hives the following spring and fairly close to a full time self employment. While not everybody wants to take the leap, this ease of setup means more of the top level beeks go it alone equaling a dilution of skill in the big companys....

[jamesc 4,928]

I'm picking that with a raising of the bar in the manuka standard and the lowering of the price of darker honeys things will change.

[Adam O'Sullivan 132]

Hopefully this does not mean that those of us who do clover will be flooded by hives!

[jamesc 4,928]

1 hour ago, Adam O'Sullivan said:

Hopefully this does not mean that those of us who do clover will be flooded by hives!

Hmmm ...... The crystal ball that we have gazed into for the last twenty years has gone hazey.  Our man overseas who has always bought our white clover honey has been remarkably quiet for the last two years. The last time he came to visit his comment was that NZ honey was very expensive on the world market, and that he was nervous to buy " High grade NZ manuka" as it was a lot of risk to carry for a few years .....

 

Clover honey ......who knows, but as a bulk market commodiity we are looking at cranking up our "Label sales' again into Europe and making a mark up on a  commodidity item.  As hobbyist's who produce  a limited amount of product it may be the way to go.  No different from selling honey at a Farmers market, just a little bit more complexed.

 

I pass this on, more in a sense of community as a way a "Commercial Hobbyist" is looking to the future in what is obviously gonna be a market of oversupply out of NZ for the next few years.

 

Good luck.

 

 

[Philbee 4,675]

4 hours ago, john berry said:

Two. They have the hives but nowhere to put them.

My bet

[flash4cash 262]

59 minutes ago, jamesc said:

Commercial Hobbyist"

 

I was reading a report an they describe anyone in NZ with over 3,000 hives a Mega  Corporate, of which there is suppose to be 23 of you as at 2016. I am guess that is you. 

[jamesc 4,928]

No ... we gave up being a Mega Corporate and downscaled to a commercial hobbyist with 1500. I have a feeling we might downscale again this year, which is why it is important that the Mega Corporates have a good year to keep up the optimism  in the industry, not to mention the price of bee hives. 

Edited January 3, 2018 by jamesc

[kaihoka 2,976]

Bee keeping is not the only industry to face a major shakedown under a new testing regime.

With the change of status of cannabis in California traditional cannabis farms in northern California got licences and went legit as the rules gradually changed.

One northern California farm which produces about 600 lbs of cannabis annually recently  had 80% rejected under the new testing regime.

For relatively minor things the black market would ignore.

So there will  soon be a 2 tier market of expensive cannabis that passes the test and really cheap black market stuff.

The industry will soon be  completely dominated by big business who  have no historical experience or interest in cannabis but can afford the very expensive controlled climate conditions to grow it and access to law makers to write rules to suit them. 

 

[Philbee 4,675]

50 minutes ago, kaihoka said:

Bee keeping is not the only industry to face a major shakedown under a new testing regime.

With the change of status of cannabis in California traditional cannabis farms in northern California got licences and went legit as the rules gradually changed.

One northern California farm which produces about 600 lbs of cannabis annually recently  had 80% rejected under the new testing regime.

For relatively minor things the black market would ignore.

So there will  soon be a 2 tier market of expensive cannabis that passes the test and really cheap black market stuff.

The industry will soon be  completely dominated by big business who  have no historical experience or interest in cannabis but can afford the very expensive controlled climate conditions to grow it and access to law makers to write rules to suit them. 

 

Lol, So its true, you are an old hippy

[kaihoka 2,976]

1 hour ago, Philbee said:

Lol, So its true, you are an old hippy

or i could just read investment magazines.

honestly they are full of invest in cannabis futures now.

its the same old story.

it was tulips once.

[black bee 39]

 i find it funny how talking about pot instantly makes you a hippy ROFL.