• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.82 no.4
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• pp.311-318
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• 1993

This study was conducted to obtain necessary information to improve beekeeping farmhouses management and to establish related problem. Using data obtained from 50 beekeeping farmhouses in Korea, current status of management and optimum sales scale were analysed. The results of the study are summarized as follows ; 1. Managers of beekeeping farmhouses are relatively old(64% of them is over 50 years old) and highly educated and experienced(76% of them is in the business more than 10 years). 2. Only a portion of managers(38%) considers beekeeping as a major job, while the rest(62%) involves as a side job working with other agricultural business. 3. Major supply of labor force comes from family group. Total input of family labor is 6.4 months a year. Fourty-four percent of management units is migrating and 56% of them is settled in specific locations. 4. In 1991, the average number of conventional beehive casks per farmhouse is decreased by 2.94 casks but improved-type beehive casks is increased by 13.79 casks. Total number of beehive casks per farmhouse is increased by 12.66 casks during the year. 5. Major cost items of beekeeping farmhouses include bee colony aquisition cost, feeding cost, depreciation cost, wages in an order. The average yearly profit rate of farmhouses is about 29.4%. 6. The break-even point of honey sales is about 3 million won. The optimum sales scale was 52.2l, then average production cost was estimated 53,800Won.