Becoming an Apiculturist: How much does it cost?

Indeed, beekeeping is a constantly evolving field and taking an educational course and refresher courses is undoubtedly the first step. Beekeeping associations near you organise beekeeping courses that can explain the phenomena that take place inside the hive and the main beekeeping operations for between 100 and 150 euros. It is also important to bear in mind that theory without practice is sterile, especially in the beekeeping field, so getting your hands dirty and gaining experience as an experienced beekeeper is more than advisable!

To begin with, one must therefore purchase the material for visiting the apiary including overalls, gloves and mask and the key tools of the trade: smoker and lever. There are garments and materials on the market with different characteristics and prices, but a hundred euros should suffice for professional clothing. In addition to one's own safety, using specific material is essential for the success of the work one is going to do. There are not many tools needed, but it is also important to have them in order to learn how to use them properly.

The next step will then be finding land to house our new apiary. Unfortunate beekeepers without their own land will have to add to their expenses the agricultural rent of a small plot of land, or at most pay the tenant with a small share of the honey produced (a few kilograms at most). You will not need a huge space, quite the contrary! You will see that even a small space of land will give you a lot of satisfaction. Furthermore, it is necessary that the place where you will be planting the hives is well sheltered, so that you will not have problems with any passers-by. Also make sure that the ground on which the hives are located is not excessively wet: the bee hives should not sink into the bog, but be placed on dry earth.

As far as hives are concerned, on the other hand, the cost is around 110-150 euro each, including the melarium and frames, and my advice is to start with two/three hives and gradually increase the number. Inexperience, in fact, can play tricks on beekeepers and make us lose the money initially invested. For the purchase of colonies you can turn to your trusted beekeeper who, in the spring period, will provide you with the nuclei to be transferred to the previously purchased hives. The transfer must take place subject to certification by the competent health authority in the territory from which the bees come, stating that the bees transferred and the apiary of origin show no symptoms of infectious disease. The cost of nuclei varies according to the number of brood frames and is between 100 and 130 euro.

Now that the bees are ready to produce, we can equip for honey extraction. If you only have a few hives, the best choice is to work with an extraction laboratory that provides a service on behalf of a third party or with beekeeping associations that are equipped. The cost of this service is very variable and sometimes it is convenient to buy some tools of the trade, such as an extractor, and use your own kitchen. The cost of a small honey extractor is between 300 and 500 euro, depending on capacity, while the cost of the filter, uncapping fork and ripener is around 200/300 euro. To start with two to three hives, the total expenditure is therefore between EUR 1500 and EUR 2500. Enlarging our apiaries will then be the next step and will allow us to optimise our expenses. At some point, if the passion and desire is great, you may decide to open a VAT number and start your own farm!

All 3Bee beekeepers on the 3Bee website are technological beekeepers: they use the Hive-tech devices with which they can monitor their bees 24 hours a day and understand their needs. Thanks to 3Bee, they can not only manage their hives more efficiently and sustainably, saving time and money, but they can also make their reality, whether large or small, known in Italy and around the world. Thanks to these systems, it will not be necessary to travel every time to check the status of our pollinator friends, but it will be enough to check the hive via the application on our mobile phone.

Now that you know the guidelines for becoming a beekeeper and how much it costs to start a beekeeping business, you just have to get started. If you haven't already done so, we recommend that you protect 3Bee bees by choosing a 3Bee hive so that you can monitor your hive, displaying the same data that the beekeeper sees. By adopting a 3Bee hive, you support a beekeeper of your choice and help him/her protect the bees. In fact, for each adopted hive you will enable the safeguarding of 300 thousand bees and the pollination of 300 million flowers. Bee the Change!