Production Planning

Production planning is deciding at the start of the season how much of which bee product the apiary will produce, and with which colonies and in which period this will be done. Honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly, queens and comb honey all compete for the same colony strength; unplanned production gives mediocre results in all of them. A good plan assigns colonies to roles and stops busy jobs from falling in the same week.

Why do bee products compete with each other?

A colony's strength – its number of bees, amount of brood and the forage it gathers – is limited. Every intervention made for one product takes something away from the others:

• Pollen trap: Cuts off part of the protein coming into the colony; if left on for a long time, brood rearing and therefore honey yield fall.
• Royal jelly production: Requires the colony to be run so that it constantly feeds queen cells (queenless, or with a section separated from the queen); it wears the colony down and takes intensive labour.
• Bee venom collection: Leaves colonies restless and aggressive for a while; working with them becomes harder.
• Queen rearing: Uses the strongest colonies as starters and finishers; these colonies cannot work for honey in the same period.
• Comb honey: The bees have to build new wax every time; so the total yield is lower than for extracted honey, but the product's value is high.

The conclusion is simple: don't expect everything from every colony. Assign colonies to roles.

How are colonies assigned to roles?

For most operations the simple division below is enough. Each colony's role should be set at the start of the season and written on the hive card.

How do you decide which product to produce?

Choosing a product is a matter of calculation, not enthusiasm. Assess these five criteria in turn:

1. Market: Don't produce what you cannot sell. The market for honey is wide; buyers for royal jelly, bee venom and similar products are limited and often require an agreement in advance.
2. Equipment and storage: Royal jelly needs a cold chain, pollen quick drying and freezing, and honey a clean extraction and filling area. Calculate the investment needed and compliance with food legislation in advance.
3. Labour: A pollen trap must be emptied every few days; royal jelly production needs grafting and harvesting at set intervals. These jobs can clash with the swarming season.
4. Forage: Propolis needs resinous trees, pollen needs varied plants that give plenty of pollen, and monofloral honey needs a single source that is widespread enough.
5. Climate and season length: In regions with a short season it is hard to aim for more than one product in the same year; giving priority to honey is usually safer.

How do you avoid timing clashes?

What is most often overlooked when planning is different jobs falling in the same week. Typical clashes:

• Queen rearing and swarm checks: Both fall in late spring and both demand regular work whose timing cannot be missed.
• Harvest and late-summer varroa treatment: If the harvest drags on, treatment is delayed; this is one of the most common causes of winter losses.
• Pollen trap and main flow: If the trap slows the colony's development before the main flow starts, honey yield falls.
• Moving and production in migratory beekeeping: The week of a move should not clash with other busy work.

A practical method: write the weeks of the year in a table and note next to each how many hours each job will take. In weeks where jobs clash, bring one of them forward or push it back, and if necessary reduce the volume of that product.

Quality or quantity?

As scale grows, maintaining quality gets harder. A small amount of good produce is both more profitable and better for your reputation than a lot of mediocre produce. This applies especially to:

• Monofloral honey claims: These must be backed by a separate harvest, a separate label and pollen analysis when needed.
• Selling queens: Selling queens whose mating and laying have not been confirmed loses you customers.
• Moisture and ripeness: Harvesting unripe honey increases the quantity but spoils the product through the risk of fermentation.

Why keep production records?

Record each colony's role, the amount produced and the time spent. Only then can the following questions be answered in the second year:

• Which product really pays per hour spent?
• How far did the pollen or propolis colonies fall behind the honey colonies?
• Which breeder line is more productive and gentler?

What the records show is often surprising: the product that takes the most work is not always the most profitable.