Full-Time honey farm with wholesale

Grocery and specialty shops, restaurants, cafés, gift buyers and direct customers buying online or at the farm gate.

Wholesale and retail honey sales, beeswax products, and sometimes extra income from selling nucs or pollination services to nearby growers.

• Hands-on beekeeping experience, ideally a few seasons
• Managing seasonal workloads and equipment
• Selling to shops and handling food-safe packing

• Provincial apiary registration and any inspection requirements, check with your provincial regulator
• Honey processing and packing spaces may need to meet food safety and CFIA labelling rules, check what applies to you
• Commercial general liability insurance, and WCB/WSIB coverage if you hire seasonal help
• Long winters mean colony losses, feeding costs and income that swings by year
• Bee diseases and pests such as varroa mites need ongoing management
• Check zoning if you extract or sell from your property

Startup costs are typically estimated at around $15,000 to $70,000, depending on the number of colonies, equipment and your extraction and packing space. Feeding costs and colony replacement should also be part of your plan.

Monthly revenue is typically estimated at around $1,500 to $7,500, depending on your hive numbers, harvests and mix of wholesale and retail sales. Income can swing by year because of winter losses and seasonal conditions.

Check provincial apiary registration and any inspection requirements with your regulator. Check food safety and CFIA labelling rules for processing and packing, zoning if you extract or sell from your property, and insurance, including WCB/WSIB if you hire seasonal help.