Originally Posted by
mbc
My apiaries are a work in progress, the worst ones get dropped and I'm always looking for good new sites, it's a holistic process and generally I've found apiaries as bee numbers have dictated I need them.
I started on a shoe string with no financial reserves but a willingness to turn my hand at earning an alternative income in the quiet season, it's resulted in a bit of a Hodge podge of a tin pot operation but overheads are low and I'm still in business after two decades ( may have to do a bit of labouring this winter as crop forecast is dismal!). A high earning spouse would be a godsend but I've not had that either and have been my families primary wage earner. If the passion and willingness to make sacrifices is there then it can be done, "where there's a will, there's a way".
I don't see apprentices in any field walking out of the apprenticeships into owning a ready made business, the usual mo is to work for someone else for a few years more. I think one of the aims of the bfa apprenticeship scheme is to provide a route for succession planning, most bee farmers being ancient with bits starting to fall off.
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