Small-scale, home-based beekeeping for personal honey consumption and selling the finished product is viable for those willing to put in the time and effort but what options are available for larger landowners who don’t want to manage bees or produce honey themselves? Landowners can profit from their otherwise unprofitable land by leasing it for large-scale beekeepers to place honeybee hives. Large-scale beekeepers truck semi-loads of bee hives on a periodic rotating schedule so the bees can harvest specific crops when they are in bloom. This benefits both the landowner, who rents beehive space, and the beekeeper, who gains honey for sale.
Not every vacant plot of land will be suitable for such a rental arrangement. Land located close to cropland requiring insect pollination is an ideal example of how a rental arrangement with a large commercial beekeeping operation can benefit both the landowner and the beekeeper.
How Does Leasing Land to Beekeepers Work?
In the last decade, beekeeping has qualified as an Agricultural Exemption, which can save landowners a lot of money in property taxes. The great thing about qualifying for this special valuation is you don’t have to do the work—you just need to lease your land to a beekeeper or a commercial beekeeping operation. Many websites and online forums can help you match with beekeeping operations in your area.
Massive truckloads of sealed hives will be placed on rented land locations.
There are several reasons a landowner might want to consider renting land to a large-scale honey producer. Perhaps you are a farmer who wants to pollinate your crops. Maybe you are a land trust holding land for an extended period. Or maybe you have land and don’t want to or can’t build on it. Regardless of your reason, everyone can appreciate making non-income-producing land productive and increasing crop yields.
Reasons for a Beekeeping Lease Arrangement
- Add Pollinators: Pollinators help increase the production and output of plants, flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Farmers can add honeybees to help their crops grow and thrive.
- Make Use of Unused Land: Underutilized or long-term-hold land will enjoy a low-impact or no-impact use that, depending on your agreement, brings in money and honey.
- Lower Real Estate Taxes: Depending on your state, county, and city, beekeeping can greatly reduce the real estate taxes on your land.
- Help the Planet: Adding bees to your land helps increase the bee population, reduce killer bee populations, and is good for plants and the environment.
Beekeeping Business Facts
Bee farming can be profitable. A healthy hive can produce 60–200 pounds of honey per season, selling at up to $10 per pound. Additional revenue sources include beeswax, pollen, royal jelly, propolis, and beekeeping services like pollination. Average profit margins range from 15% to 40%.
Beekeeping is a diverse income source. With the growing awareness of bees’ importance in our ecosystem, there’s an increasing market for sustainable and environmentally friendly bee products. For a landowner who is not actually in the honey production end of an agreement, the income will depend on the terms of the rental agreement, and these agreements vary greatly. For example, a landowner who rents land near a large flower source may command higher rent than one whose land is not.
The hives are carefully sealed and loaded for transport to rented land.
The quality of the land you’re renting can also affect the rental costs for beekeepers. Honeybees rely on the land’s floral diversity for adequate foraging opportunities, so renting land with high pollination value and a wide variety of flowers can be beneficial for your bees. Such land is often in demand and may come at a higher price.
Additionally, the absence of pesticides is crucial for maintaining the health and well-being of the bees. Land that is certified organic or follows organic practices is more desirable for beekeepers. However, renting such land may come with a higher cost due to the extra care and management required to ensure the bees are not exposed to harmful chemicals.
Agreements Between Landowner and Beekeeper
For all parties concerned, any lease agreement between landowner and beekeeper needs to be clearly written, with all terms and conditions understood. A good example of a lease agreement contract has been published by LeaseHoney, a major player in the land rental business for honey production. Their lease form includes:
- Rent or Value Given (this is what makes a contract a contract)
- Access, Egress & Ingress
- Limitation of Liability
- Damages (in the event of damage to hives by landowner negligence)
- Termination / Move Out
- Exclusivity for the Beekeeper
- Duty to Report a Swarm
- Pesticides & Due Care
- Unforeseeable Frustration (what happens if forage is destroyed by fire, etc.)
This lease agreement is a good example of the kind of written agreement landowners and beekeepers need for everyone’s protection.
How to Find a Beekeeper to Lease Your Land
One of the most difficult parts of any land-rental arrangement for beekeeping is simply locating a large-scale beekeeper who needs land to rent. These big beekeeping operations are not found everywhere, but a surprising number of these big beekeepers are scattered around the country. A good way to locate and make a rental arrangement with a commercial beekeeper is to use the services of companies set up to make these kinds of arrangements. Bee-lease companies like Lease Honey and online forums like BeeSource are a good place to start when looking to make connections between landowners and large-scale beekeepers looking for rental land.