Ettamarie Peterson
Recently, I went to a farm conference and heard a talk on Farmland Assessment that gave some very good advice on how to decide what land is best for leasing. As I listened to the talk, my thoughts were on how much of this applies to beekeepers looking for places to keep any number of colonies. I realized a lot was good information, but even more considerations should be added.
Make yourself a list of what you must have and what you would like to have before you even go to the property. Some things such as access to water would be on your vital to your operation list.
Other things I would also consider would be roads to the exact location your bees would be set down on. Some roads might be unusable in wet weather. That would be a deal breaker if your colonies are going to the California almonds in early February. It might not be a problem if you are not intending to move the colonies once they were in place and don’t mind hiking and transporting your hives and other equipment from a parking area to them.
Consider how safe the colonies are from thieves, animals, floods and fire. I recall being called to a friend’s farm property to rescue bee colonies after the cows had knocked them over. The owner of the bees lived about fifty miles away and couldn’t quickly get back to help. I hate to say it but, I had pointed out that problem and told my friend that owned the land there needed to be fences between her cattle and his bees. A few years ago, a friend lost sixty colonies to one of our California wildfires because he wasn’t allowed into the area to truck them out before the fire destroyed them. I know two different beekeepers that lost several colonies to unexpected flooding. When selecting land, you must think of the worst-case possibilities.
When looking at land you are considering leasing or even short-term renting, bring your check list and make notes so you can compare properties later. Take pictures to help you remember what you saw. After looking at more than one site, it is easy to forget those mental notes you took. Trust your instincts and ask lots of questions. If that bothers the owners, maybe they are not people you want to be dealing with. It would help if you could do a background check on the land owner just as he would be expected to do one on you.
Overall, when looking for property, learn all the zoning restrictions. Generally, bees are welcomed onto rural land, but some areas might restrict number of colonies or distances between apiaries. Know how much land you will need. Some beekeepers might want to have a mobile home or travel trailer near the proposed apiary. Find out what is allowed. It might be possible to have temporary housing. If housing is on your needs list, find out what the potable water and sewage disposal sources are.
As they say in the real estate business “Location, Location, Location” is important. How far away are lands that are being sprayed with chemicals that could harm your bees? In California, there is a BeeWhere program that by law makes beekeepers register their colonies and tell their location. They must notify the county when they are moved. This law protects the beekeepers because commercial agriculture operations must notify in a timely manner when spraying will occur. I remember listening to a bee speaker that said the quickest way to kill your hives is have them near a cornfield. If possible, I would also want to keep my colonies close to my home for many reasons such as saving fuel costs and time.
Determine how compatible the landholder and the neighbors are to having an apiary on the property. In my county, many hobby beekeepers are adamantly against having commercial beekeepers nearby. They accuse them of causing robbing and carrying diseases. Recently there was an article in the newspaper talking about how wonderful it was that 120 colonies were going to be placed on county-owned land leased to a professional operation. The uproar from several hobby beekeepers started. The professional beekeeper told me that he and two other beekeepers I know have been leasing land around the county for the last twenty years without problems. He will try to have a reasonable discussion with the objectors. Hopefully it will work out for everyone.
Having secure storage near your colonies could be on your list. Find out if there is a safe place to use. If you have to build a storage unit or buy a prefab one, decide if the cost will “pencil out” as they say in accounting. If your expenses make a negative cash flow, that is not a good business model. Another cost could be fencing. If it is already there, make sure you have access to the colonies whenever you want to be there. It is easy enough to have chains with multiple combination locks. Explain how sometimes you might want to be there after dark to lock up the colonies for one reason or another.
Water is an important factor to consider. You need to know how reliable it is. The creek on our property is a dry creek once the rainy season stops. Our dry season can last for as much as six months, so my colonies have to depend on my well water. I remember visiting a beekeeper on the Greek Island of Milos. He had to bring large containers of water where he kept his bees because there was no close water. He also had to put large rocks on the hives to keep the wind from blowing them over!
The terrain is important. Flat land is much preferred for obvious reasons. If the only flat land is on the top of an incline, it will be more difficult to move your colonies to the level ground.
Besides considering how level an area is, think about how much sun, shade and wind to expect. Maybe you have found some land that has everything but some feature you value. Decide if you can change that, such as providing shade or a wind break. Remember to think about the cost.
Another important factor to investigate is insurance. Check with the owner about what is insured and what you would need to insure on your own. Typically, you will have to have owner’s insurance on your personal equipment much as you would have to have when renting a dwelling for yourself.
Get everything in writing and sign an agreement as to price, expectations of your responsibilities, promises made by the landowner and length of time the agreement is good for.
All these considerations and cautions might sound scary but remember you have an investment whether it is one colony or hundreds of colonies.
