Beekeeping/Pollination Services - Looking for land

[Oddmott]

Hey all, I'm getting into beekeeping (a little late for this season, but still of value to most crop growers) in the Ottawa area and I'm looking for good land to set up my first beeyard on.

If any of you know anyone who could be interested, please let me know. I'd prefer that they're within 45 min drive of Ottawa South, but for a perfect property i could stretch that out to an hour's drive.

There are quite a few factors that go into choosing a good site, but there's no need to worry about that as I'd do an on-site assessment.

Please send me any suggestions in PM, thanks!

[northernontario]

Best suggestion I can give, same with finding hunting spots... drive around places near where you're located, look for farm locations you'd like to put hives on, and go knock on the door. That's how I did it. Farm nearby, have a good relationship with the farmer now. Running 10-15 hives on there.

Coincidentally, 2 years after I started in bees, my father who owns 160 acres near Peterborough gets a knock on the door from a beekeeper... so now there's 20 hives sitting in the pasture area.

Try to keep yards within a reasonable driving distance to home. 45 minutes out is a decent amount of time, especially if you have to go back a couple of times in a week to make splits/requeen/etc etc...

Start scouring satellite images to figure out who's got open land, pasture, crops, etc in the area. Ideally you want pasture with varying wildflowers, so you get a varied source of pollen/nectar throughout the season. Monocrop can be hard on hives and you risk pesticide/herbicide sprays.

Don't necessarily go in offering pollination services... simply state that you're looking for a yard to keep bees. Pollination is a 'service', one which should be charged for... and if you imply that you'll give it away for free it devalues the service. Next thing you know you'll have people wanting pollination services for free... "cause it's a great spot for your bees."

[Oddmott]

Don't necessarily go in offering pollination services... simply state that you're looking for a yard to keep bees. Pollination is a 'service', one which should be charged for... and if you imply that you'll give it away for free it devalues the service. Next thing you know you'll have people wanting pollination services for free... "cause it's a great spot for your bees."

Point taken.

[last5oh_302]

Wouldn't the pollination service be a trade off since the farmer is allowing somebody to place their bee's on his property for free? I mean I don't know anything about this subject and I'm probably way off in my thinking, but if I owned the land and somebody asked me if they could park their bee hives on my property, I'd think the pollination comes as part of the deal?

[dutchhunter]

in this kind of case It does ,but there are cash croppers who hire bee keepers to bring in hives to work there crops ,this cost huge money with transporting hives and all kinds of logistics ,a lot of orchards and vineyards and soft fruit crops hire in bee keepers ,The hobby bee keepers are looking for a place to leave there hives for a few years and with that you get the benefits of the bees ,most put there bees were thy can get a good variety of wild flowers that bloom at different times threw the season as well as crops and hay fields Dutch

[rf2]

There is a small bee yard located near Development Road and Kerrs Ridge Road in Mountain township. It appears to be on public land (part of the Mountain Provincial Wildlife area). I have no idea how the beekeeper obtained permission to use this land, but it might be something you could look into. It's with your boundary too.

[Oddmott]

There is a small bee yard located near Development Road and Kerrs Ridge Road in Mountain township. It appears to be on public land (part of the Mountain Provincial Wildlife area). I have no idea how the beekeeper obtained permission to use this land, but it might be something you could look into. It's with your boundary too.

Vandalism and now 'bee rustlers' are a growing concern. I don't think i'd ever feel good about placing my hives on public land. It's nice to have a landowner nearby to act as a watchdog, since i can't be around every day.

[northernontario]

Wouldn't the pollination service be a trade off since the farmer is allowing somebody to place their bee's on his property for free? I mean I don't know anything about this subject and I'm probably way off in my thinking, but if I owned the land and somebody asked me if they could park their bee hives on my property, I'd think the pollination comes as part of the deal?

Typically the "trade-off" is a couple kg's of honey a year. The beekeeper keeping 20+ hives on my father's property drops off 2x3kg pails every year. I deliver a similar quantity to the farmer where I keep hives. The typical charge for pollination services is $120/hive. Yes, you as the landowner would be getting pollination; the difference is there is no set contract in place, nothing saying the beekeeper has to supply hives at a specific time meeting a specific quality. Ultimately it's how the value is perceived... beekeeper is looking for a spot, land owner benefits from pollination, but the land owner needs to know it's a secondary benefit that they aren't paying for. If they want guaranteed pollination from a specific number of hives, that has to be paid for.

Like I said, I've had plenty of people call me up and ask if I can place hives at their farm/garden/property for pollination. Things change when the topic of money comes up; If I'm moving hives around, travelling, having to meet deadlines... I expect to be paid for it. If I can place hives on land 5-10 minutes from my home there needs to be some incentive to load up hives and make a 2hr+ round trip to put hives somewhere else.

I know beekeepers in my area who keep hives at local berry farms... 90 minute round trip... and don't charge for pollination. I can't figure out why; they would produce just as much (or little) honey in their own backyard as they would at the farms.

Slightly off topic, but it's the same issue as perceived value of other items produced. I sell beeswax. Customer emailed me last week, said she wanted more of my wax as the wax she got for free last year from another beekeeper wasn't as nice as mine. Why would a beekeeper be giving their wax away for free? That stuff is valuable, even if you only have 1lb of it. Giving it away devalues it for those who sell it. I gave her my latest price... no reply.

[yellow dog]

There is a small bee yard located near Development Road and Kerrs Ridge Road in Mountain township. It appears to be on public land (part of the Mountain Provincial Wildlife area). I have no idea how the beekeeper obtained permission to use this land, but it might be something you could look into. It's with your boundary too.

Yes I remember that spot well as it was in my backyard on crown land. I haven't lived there in almost three years but it was a very good set up. I did lots of grouse hunting in that particular bush lot of 2000 acres. I also found lots of pot plants growing in various places. lol

[Plog]

Good luck with your search, my 2 nucs are ready for pick up the week of June8 and then the new adventure begins. I am still in the process of putting up my electric fence as bears are quite common here, will you need an electric fence in your neck of the woods??? I have a "tag along" day set up with the bee farm soon, so it'll be good experience to get some hands on prior to the arrival of the nucs.