A nuc is a small colony, usually five frames: a laying queen, brood, bees, and some stores. For a sideliner it is one of the best ways to turn strong hives into cash, because you are selling bees, not waiting on a honey flow. What we charge: our 2027 five-frame nucs were $250 on presale through November 1. The regular price is now $275. Pickup is in early May at the farm in Burleson, and we do not ship bees. What goes into one nuc. Work out your own cost for each line before you set a price: 1. The queen. A mated queen from us is $50. If you raise your own, your cost is time, equipment, and the ones that fail to mate. 2. Brood and bees. These come out of a strong colony. Every frame you pull is a frame that is not making honey or building that hive, so count it as a cost even though you did not buy it. 3. The box and frames. A nuc box and five frames, either sold with the nuc or returned. Price this from your own supplier. 4. Feed. Most nucs get syrup while they build up. My estimate is a few dollars per nuc, but it depends on sugar prices and your weather. 5. Losses. Some nucs fail: the queen does not take, robbing, a cold snap. Plan for a share of them not making it to sale and spread that cost over the ones that do. 6. Your time. Making splits, checking for eggs, feeding, and handing off to customers. Add those up and you have your cost per nuc. The gap between that and your sale price is the profit, and it can shrink fast if you lose a lot of them. Why presale matters: - It tells you how many nucs to make, so you are not guessing in March. - Deposits bring cash in during winter, when nothing else is selling. - It locks in buyers before everyone else's nucs hit the market in spring. - A lower presale price rewards people for committing early, and it gives you a deadline to point to. The catch: once you take money, you owe bees. Do not sell more nucs than your strong colonies can make, and keep enough back to cover your own winter losses. Your turn: if you sell nucs, reply with what you charge, how many you made this year, and what share failed before sale. If you have not sold any, how many strong colonies do you think you could split next spring?

This is the least exciting income stream in beekeeping and one of the steadiest. It comes from landowners who want their property valued as agricultural land and do not have the time to keep bees themselves. We manage hives for 75+ landowner clients around Burleson, and this is how it works. The basics: Texas lets small acreage qualify for agricultural valuation through beekeeping. The land has to be used for bees at the level your county appraisal district requires, and the rules on acres, hive counts, and paperwork differ by county. Always have the landowner check with their own appraisal district before anybody signs anything. I am not giving tax advice here, just explaining the business side. What the landowner pays us: - $385 per hive per year. - $200 one-time setup for a new property. - Example: 5 acres with 5 hives is $1,925 a year, or $2,125 the first year with setup. What the landowner gets: bees on the property, a beekeeper who does the work, and the records they need to show the land is in use. They do not have to suit up. How the beekeeper gets paid and what it costs: the lease is steady money that does not depend on a honey flow. Your costs are the colonies, the woodenware, fuel and time to visit every yard, and replacing hives that die. Those costs vary a lot by how far apart your yards are, so work out your own numbers before you set a price. Do not copy ours without knowing your cost per hive per year. What makes it work: 1. Keep records on every visit. Date, hive count, what you saw, what you did. That is what the landowner needs and what protects you. 2. Use a written agreement. Hive count, price, visit schedule, who owns the bees, and how either side ends it. 3. Group your yards. Clients close together are where the profit is. Driving is the hidden cost. 4. Keep hives alive. A dead hive on a lease property has to be replaced, so mite control and winter feeding come straight out of your margin. A sideliner does not need dozens of clients to start. A couple of nearby properties can be a test of whether you like the work and whether your numbers hold up.

November to February is planning season in North Texas: classes, gear, budgets and presales before spring. What is one thing you want to learn before spring? I will use your answers to plan the next lessons and the Q and A calls. @Gus Lutjens @Xander Du Preez @Fiercely Sweet what is on your winter list?

I started in 2017 with 10 hives here around Burleson, Texas. Where did you start, how many hives, and what year? If you have not started yet, tell us where you are and what is holding you back. @Gus Lutjens , @Xander Du Preez , and @Fiercely Sweet , I would love to hear your start story. How many hives did you begin with?

How many hives do you run right now, and what kind (Langstroth, top bar, something else)? Where are they: backyard, a friend's land, a leased yard? Post a photo if you have one. Zero hives is fine, tell us what you are planning. @Justin McAdams @Paula Carnell @Jennifer Rochlin, what are you running this fall, and what would you change about your setup before spring?