The advantages of a large beekeeping farm are obvious. This is an opportunity to receive annual honey and other bee products in larger volumes than in an amateur apiary or a small farm. The larger the farm, the wider the opportunities for the use of technology and special mechanisms, as well as the introduction of advanced care technologies.
The content of the article
- 1 The advantages of industrial technology
- 2 Optimal farm sizes
- 3 Choice of specialization
- 4 Possibility of cooperation
- 5 Features of different directions
- 6 The difference in size of farms
- 7 Production assets and labor force
- 8 Technical base
The advantages of industrial technology
Industrial apiaries receive additional income from the pollination of crops – rent is paid for each family brought to the fields. Therefore, the migration of large beekeeping farms is practiced abroad in countries with a developed beekeeping industry. For example, this phenomenon is widespread in Canada.
The positive aspects of the industrial organization of this business include:
- the ability to carry out breeding work at a high level;
- reducing the cost of purchasing equipment and construction, based on the calculation of one bee family;
- the possibility of expanding the economy through the creation of additional services and industries (for example, the construction of a carpentry workshop, workshops for processing products, and so on).
Optimal farm sizes
A profitable beekeeping farm, according to domestic standards, should include between 300 and 5 bee colonies.
But these are only approximate data that are advisory in nature. In each specific case, it is necessary to focus on the climate and economic conditions in the region. The enlargement of farms is carried out taking into account the listed factors.
The increase in the number of bee colonies is carried out at the expense of their own reproduction or with the help of bees acquired in small farms from the local population or in nurseries. At the same time, the veterinary state of insects is carefully monitored, since individual infections are capable of infecting most of the families in a short time.
If there is a possibility of wandering, it must be used to increase the productivity of the farm. It is possible to enter into agreements with agricultural organizations for the pollination of entomophilous (insect-pollinated) crops.
Choice of specialization
Farms that have chosen beekeeping as their leading specialization can expand and strengthen at the expense of ancillary and additional industries. For example, gardening or growing cereals and other crops.
However, beekeeping farms show the greatest efficiency. Such an economy uses:
- construction crews engaged in the construction of ancillary buildings;
- own sewing workshops used for sewing warm pillows and mattresses, as well as workwear;
- carpentry workshops for the repair and production of frames, beehives and other wooden accessories;
- small locksmith shops engaged in the repair of equipment and machinery;
- garages for vehicles.
The following specializations are distinguished:
- Obtaining certain types of bee products (specialization within the industry). In the southern regions, they concentrate on raising queen bees, in the east and in temperate latitudes, they produce honey and wax.
- Obtaining different types of bee products (specialization within the farm). It can be a combination of a breeding apiary with commercial honey farms.
- Division into several divisions performing a separate process (technological specialization). For example, one of the apiaries is exclusively engaged in the withdrawal of infertile queens. And other apiaries of the farm fertilize them.
Possibility of cooperation
Concentration of the beekeeping industry can be accomplished through the cooperation of several farms. This will allow pooling financial and other resources to increase the production of bee products (mainly honey).
Such inter-farm enterprises can significantly increase the profitability of production.
For their effective work, a plan is being drawn up for the coming years, including the creation of a forage base by sowing agricultural crops, breeding work, the expansion of apiaries, the prevention of infectious and invasive diseases, and the construction of production facilities.
The first results of cooperation will be noticeable already in the second year of joint management by several entities. In particular, the production of commercial honey increases two to three times compared to small amateur apiaries in a particular region.
Production volumes allow such enterprises to develop their own factories for the production of protein feed for bees and build large workshops for packaging honey.
Features of different directions
The economy can develop in a complex way or in one of the selected directions.
With an integrated approach, there is no pronounced focus in the activities of an industrial apiary… Different types of products are produced in approximately the same proportions. Insects can also be used to pollinate agricultural land.
When focusing on breeding bee colonies, all attention is paid to the spring build-up of their strength and division into layering… The farms sell packaged bees and sell queens separately. They are concentrated in the southern regions with mild and short winters, in early spring – in the south of Ukraine, in Moldova, in the North Caucasus and in Central Asia.
The use of bees exclusively for pollination is available in regions specializing in the cultivation of crops, vegetables, orchards and berries, melons and greenhouses… This is mainly inherent in the Far North, where large-scale greenhouse production is developed. The use of apiaries can increase the yield by 20-30 percent. If you need to pollinate plants that are poorly visited by bees (for example, flax or alfalfa), the insects are pre-set – fed with a syrup prepared from the infusion of the flowers of these plants. The terms of the lease are fixed in a separate agreement.
The pollination-honey direction is chosen by the majority of beekeeping farms.… The main task for them is to increase the yield of agricultural crops growing in the open field. In this case, the cost of the products obtained is several times higher than the income from the sale of honey. Part of the cost of keeping bees can be attributed to the cost of products obtained from pollinated crops. And this is from 20 to 60 percent of the total cost.
Specialization in the production of honey is typical for the Far East with its rich vegetation.… Here, the industrial scale of production means keeping from 6 to 000 bee colonies. Livestock raising, gardening, fodder and grain crops are used as subsidiary industries.
It should be noted that such production volumes are not typical for private apiaries. This is mainly a consequence of cooperation – well-coordinated work of large inter-farm enterprises.
Industrial beekeeping farms, engaged in the production of wax and honey, are found in the taiga and mountain-forest regions of Kazakhstan, the Far East and the Urals. In the forest-steppe, the mass production of commercial honey is possible provided that buckwheat, sunflower and other productive melliferous plants are cultivated in large areas.
The difference in size of farms
Depending on the specialization and form of farming, all bee farms can be conditionally divided into several types:
- Off-farm enterprises engaged in the production of wax, honey and / or pollination of agricultural land contain up to 12 bee colonies. And for successful breeding of insects, from 000 to 3 hives are enough.
- Large farms for pollination and honey production include from 2 to 500 bee colonies. And enterprises specializing in breeding and insect breeding are formed from 5-000 hives.
- Small industrial apiaries include from 600 to 1 families (in the case of pollination and honey). To focus on breeding, up to 200-500 bee families are used.
Production assets and labor force
The optimal fund size for a large apiary is 100-200 rubles for each bee colony, not counting their initial cost. At the same time, for each ruble of the main fund there should be 50-70 kopecks of working capital – only in this case the production will pay off.
The most convenient work organization is a team of up to ten apiaries, subordinate to one foreman. With this structure, management personnel is kept to a minimum. The foreman reports directly to the owners of the enterprise.
For an apiary of 600 families, three or four staff are enough (subject to good technical support).
Technical base
Mechanization in a commercial apiary is crucial.
For a farm of 600 bee families, you need to purchase the following machinery and equipment:
- a car for transporting hives during the wandering (ZIL) and / or a tractor with a platform;
- UAZ for transportation of the brigade to the place of work (if necessary) and other needs of the farm;
- a hydraulic crane or a crane mounted on a truck chassis (ZIL accommodates eighty three-body hives with frame dimensions of 435 by 230 mm);
- mechanical kneader for mixing honey-sugar dough;
- fifty frame honey extractor;
- on the basis of the same model, a device for stirring syrup is mounted – a shaft with an impeller is inserted into the tank;
- container with hoses for installation on a car – used for transportation and distribution of syrup;
- steam wax melters and wax presses (or TV-600 centrifuges).
The video will tell you about the features of the equipment for professionals:
When expanding the economy, you will need:
- line for pumping and bottling (packing) honey – the cost is about 2-400 rubles;
- frame feeding mechanism;
- pumps for pumping honey – from 100 rubles.
This equipment requires professional commissioning and maintenance. Firms engaged in its implementation carry out delivery and debugging work themselves, as well as provide warranty service and individual consultations.
