Bulk honey prices

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This topic sure has sparked debate! I'm not sure if there would be enough or *any* actual difference in quality to warrant $8.00 a pound. Unless I was living in the arctic circle or orbiting the earth. Maybe in an underwater bio-lab or some such. MMinuet, which apiery do you get your honey from and what qualities do they or their honey have to inspire such consumer loyalty?

I am shocked to hear that there are people out there who would cut with corn syrup. It baffles me.

Overall I suppose I took for granted having access to a steady supply of good, affordable honey.
 
Little Mick said:
This topic sure has sparked debate! ...

I am shocked to hear that there are people out there who would cut with corn syrup. It baffles me.

Yes it has sparked a debate. Thats not a bad thing as long as nobody gets mad about it :drunken_smilie:

Hey LM be sure to understand that as far as I know there has not been a case of a U.S. supplier cutting their honey with corn syrup. Ony China and debate about Brazil that has to my knowledge never been confirmed.

Honey like any other product can be priced expensive or cheap depending. Hell some beer costs .50 a bottle while other stuff costs $3 a bottle. The 3 dollar bottle may be better to some, but the .50 bottle may be better to others. It just depends on what you like and what you want to do with it.

For example I only use one chemical on my hives (Fumagilin-b)and I only use it in the fall after my harvest or in early spring at least a month before the first spring flow. It is an antibiotic that combats Nosema disease.

Doing this helps me produce a different product, but that comes at a price since I tend to lose more hives to mites then most might so my costs are higher.

I never heat filter mine. I only strain it let, it sit, scrape the wax off the top, and bottle. This gives me a raw product that helps with the price.

Others may use checkmite or XXX for the mites, this for that and that for this, then heat and preasure filter it. That is not wrong, it is just different and thus they may be able to price their honey different, and when they do I don't get the least bit mad that they are selling theirs for less then me. Where I get mad is when the imported stuff is dumped on the market in the U.S. and Canada. :cheers:

OSKAAR and anyone else in Cal should note that they are spoiled when it comes to honey prices. That is one area where a large number of bee keepers actually get paid a huge amount of $ for polination. This helps reduce their cost and helps keep the price down a bit.
 
Hey Dahole where are you at? I may havemissed it somewhere. I know Honey farmer has commented on drought conditions this year and my mentor told me today that some of his connections father west in the country are facing the same problems. That it may even push honey prices up because of a poor season.
I got a good summer season but for the most part honey production has fell of in my area. Although we have had good rains the weather still isn't cooperating. In fact I think I will be pulling all my supers this weekend.
 
Dahole,
I did understand that it was China/Brazil that had been mentioned and I am sure it was a very small portion. It just struck me as odd. From a keepers point of view what causes a 'drought'? You do mean honey drought right?

Also it is good of you to keep your operation natural, although I don't claim to know what the difference in end product would be.
 
Dahole said:
Winchester WI

Yes it was very dry here also.
I just started a Peasant Pyment with a wildflower honey purchased from a member of the SCA here in Iowa ($25 per gallon). It's interesting that Wisconsin is having a drought when this individual from North Central Iowa said it was a really good year for them. But I hope next year is better for everyone that had problems this year...

Pewter
 
When I say drought I was talking about the weather not the honey crop. What is odd is that we had drought year so I would have expected the honey crop to be down since the honey flow should have been reduced by the drought. For me I had a banner year. Very odd.
 
Little Mick,
To answer your question about keeping all natural.
No it will have no effect on the end product unless the keeper isn't taking honey off before or when appropriate for the treatments you give the bees.
It boils down to personal prefrence and philosphy. Just like some meadmakers on the board perfer an all natural approach versus the addition of man made chemicals.

I do use some chemicals but try to use them lightly. For instance I gave my bees no spring treatments. Nosema, from what I know is not a big concern in my area. But Varroa mites are a big issue. So is foul brood to some degree. Others have to deal with Small Hive beetles. Some have to deal with chalkbrood. Some of these problems have to do with where you live. Mites are a common problem for all.

I do plan on making some sort of treatment for the Fall. I will determine what I will do after I pull my supers and give my girls a good examination. I would perfer to go all natural. But it is almost impossible nowadays. Especially if you want to avoid buying bees in the spring. Not to say that it can't be done. I defenitely admire anyone who does not use chemicals for their operations. I am lucky enough to be in a position to get treatments for mine cheap and would perfer to see my girls have the best chance to overwinter.

But this boils down to personal preference with no difference in the end product but possibly how much of it there will be.

With that said I would defenitly not try to argue that either method is better than the other. What works for one person may not work for another.

Hope this gives you some insight, I'm sure others will chime in with their opinions for what has and hasn't worked.
 
Well I want to thank you all for answering my questions! Keeping bees is very interesting to me and is becoming more so. Whether small farm or large, whether all natural or cutting edge science you all make mead possible. My hat off to you guys for enduring the sting.
 
Just thought I'd pass on some of the honey prices that are listed in the August Bee Culture. Every month they publish a chart showing bulk and bottled price averages in 12 different regions of the US.
Packaging Region Highest Region lowest Wholesale/Retail
60# light S.Mid $135.00 Great $90.29 Retail
West Lakes
60# amber S.Mid $135.00 Great $83.75 Retail
West Lakes
2# Glass/ Central $7.75 N.Mid $5.65 Retail Shelf
Plastic US West Price
5# Glass/ Central $15.99 Northern $12.46 Retail Shelf
Plastic US New Eng. Price

The prices are just the highs and lows shown on the chart and really don't reflect any specific honey but it will give everybody an idea of the price range across the US.
Now just for a laugh lets see how much my honey crop cost me this year since all I needed were the bees and a little equipment.
3 packages of bees - $200.00
2 Queens for older - $32.00
Hive
2 cases 24 oz - $35.00
plastic bottles
Total - $267.00
Honey Produced - 130 lbs
Cost per pound - $2.05
Looks like I need to charge more than $3.00 per 24 oz bottle to make any money at all.
Oh yea, stings per pound of honey
Only had about 10 stings this year(love my smoker) so that figures to 13 pounds per sting ;D.
Been pulling off the extra supers and will try Grapefruit leaves in the smoker as a mite treatment this year. Will let everybody know how it works out.
Just checked the price chart and it is a little confused, oops, sorry.
 
We offer our honey at $6.50/pound, with discounts for quantity purchases. Then again, we often have 15+ varietal honeys in one spot, and you can get as much or as little as you want and pay for shipping only once. A local beekeeper can sell for less than us, but they don't have the variety we offer. Plus, many times a small beekeeper will sell at a loss, just because he doesn't know what to do with 200# of honey.

The prices mentioned in the journals reflect wholesale prices to largescale bakeries and the such. Think Sunbeam, McDonalds, that sort of thing. Don't know about you guys, but even after selling 13,000 pounds of honey last year, even WE don't get that rate!

When the Chinese honey was found with antibiotics in it, literally thousands of tons of honey had to be trashed. In Europe, the antibiotic that was used is banned in foodstuffs. The US is more lax, but followed suit the following year after Chinese honey was found to be contaminated in the US.

To my knowledge, Brazil has not had problems with contamination. However, South America tends to dump their honey on the US for less than what US beekeepers can afford to sell for. Laws were enacted within the last year to levy higher tariffs on imported honey, to try to help protect US beekeepers. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be enough. I know of several pollination services that have folded because they cannot get a high enough price for their honey. They are not even covering the price of the gas required for the trucks and equipment.... This will eventually affect US crops, too, as bees for pollination become harder to find.

We are trying to keep away from chemical treatments in our hives, and stick with essential oil treatments. So far, we have a few hives that seem to be mite resistant, and we keep trying to expand them each year. Definitely makes our own beekeeping more expensive, and reduces the amount of honey that we get from our hives (due to weaker bees, replacement of hives killed by mites, etc.).
 
Hey Lori,

Great information! I'm glad you joined the boards and are actively posting. It's an education for those of us who are ignorant of the beekeeping field!

Thanks again,

Oskaar
 
I bought my 5 gallon bucket of clover honey two weeks ago for $108, which, if it is 60 pounds, works out to $1.80 a pound. My local health food co-op sells it in bulk out of a big drum for $2.25 a pound (I think; I haven't priced it in a few months).
 
I should amend my comment to include the fact that I bought my honey from a vendor at the Saugerties Garlic Festival. There were a LOT of honey vendors there this year. I don't know if the price of honey would have been cheaper outside of the festival, but I get the impression that it wouldn't.
 
I recently hooked up with the local beekeeper. I tried my first 1 gallon batch on store bought honey and now know what a big no no that is. I first bought 2 gallons in quart jars. It's wildflower honey and he charged me $25 a gallon. I went back last night for a 3 gallon purchase and of course at $25 a lb. it was $75. It wasn't until after I got there that he told me if I bring my own 5 gallon bucket he'll fill it for $60 dollars! Before I go back again I'll be stopping by the brew shop to pick up one of those pails with a spout.
 
i just got about 32 pounds of honey from fruitwood orchards(mailorder) for $122(not including shipping), about 3.80 a pound. i got kinda shafted but the only local guy around here only sells dark wildflower and i was lookin for some cranberry honey(which doesnt taste much like cranberries) and i figured i would just order it all at once..... the local guy sells it for $25 a gallon(the dark wf). i think ill be making my next few batches from darK wildflower honey lol..... show mead here i come!!!!
 
ucflumberjack said:
i just got about 32 pounds of honey from fruitwood orchards(mailorder) for $122(not including shipping), about 3.80 a pound. i got kinda shafted but the only local guy around here only sells dark wildflower and i was lookin for some cranberry honey(which doesnt taste much like cranberries) and i figured i would just order it all at once..... the local guy sells it for $25 a gallon(the dark wf). i think ill be making my next few batches from darK wildflower honey lol..... show mead here i come!!!!

In you post, you state "i got kinda shafted". Did fruitwood orchards shaft you? Or was it the local guy? Please ellaborate! I'm of the opinion that potentially bad feedback (allegations) be well substantiated.

Did they not send the honey? Did it arrive damaged or different than what you sampled? Do you think the honey wasn't worth the price?

I've bought a lot of honeys and really don't feel shafted in my deals. I've bought some pretty good honeys and have also bought some that I did not like. I've paid more per gallon than you at times and sometimes less. Did your honey source represent it to taste like cranberries? Was it blended with something else? Was it watered down and/or partially fermented ... etc!
 
I have purchased 15# of Buckwheat in the past from Fruitwood and was pleased with the result. When I bought it though it was about $7 cheaper per 5# jar and that was only 6 months ago.

Peace
 
i just thought it would be more tart. i just dont taste any tartness to it at all. my original plan was to make a show mead out of it but now i kinda have to throw in some cranberries to get the desired level of tartness.....

i didnt get shafted at all though. i just kinda felt like it after reading prices from other people it made me feel like i paid to much.

they were good though, they shipped promptly, provided tracking numbers, and everything was carefully packed. i would encourage anyone else to buy from them, that is unless of course you have a cheaper source.

im actually impressed with the alfalfa i got, i like the flavor its kind of got a buttery aftertaste...

im going to get a hold of come of that local wf after christmas or maybe before(am savin for keg system), so that i can avoid shipping costs. i might be using that alot for a while lol...
 
ucflumberjack said:
im actually impressed with the alfalfa i got, i like the flavor its kind of got a buttery aftertaste...

Cool! I'm bidding on a gallon of Alfalfa myself on ebay through abigailshoney so if all goes well I should have some alfalfa myself to try out.