There's insurance available to beekeepers.

Naw. He should have had killer bees.

As a beekeeper of 12 hives, that would be terribly hard to come back from for many years. I think the 60K would be for equipment and honey for next year and the year after and drawn out frames. It takes a lot of energy for bees to draw out comb. I have heard others say it and I think they are right that drawn out comb is the most valuable resource to beekeepers.

that's messed up....hope he finds a way to rebuild what he had.

Darn punks need a whippin.

It sounds like some kind of scam to me. $50 to $60 thousand! Oh lord! If he would knock a zero off that I would be more inclined to believe.
He lost the bees not the equipment so he buys some packages next spring. He supposedly collected $30,000 off the Go Fund Me page. I can't imagine any beekeeper spending all that to restart.
Sounds like the guy is making out like a bandit. Probably is a bandit.

The guy was victimized and lost his entire source of income. Ain't no one paying him. It is simply an estimate of his loss. the Go Fund Me thing may or may not be true. If true, great. It will lessen the blow. But, 30k ain't but a third over the bare cost of hive replacement.

So, humptulips, do you really believe all those hives could be replaced and filled with bees for $5-$6 thou. You are living in some kind of dream world. The cost to replace the bees alone are twice what you generously allow the (bandit) victim.

I am just thinking how many splits he could have made with 50 strong hives come spring. If all 50 made it through the winter.

So, you're telling me you think a package of bees should cost a thousand bucks.
Depending on where he is at he should be able to buy packages to install in his equipment for $5000 to $6000. Christ, I would tip my own bees over for $30,000.

I don't know about your numbers or your interpretation on mine; but here is where I'm coming from:

An assembled painted hive is about $150. A package of bees is about $200. You buy 50 of each, $17,500

In another story I saw that everything was smashed, so, there isn't much to start with. Even if there was, the restoration time would be prohibitive.

Just because you claim you might be willing to commit fraud for 30 grand; not everyone is.

It not what it cost to replace it's what the established hive is worth I would say, If they were mine anyway. A double deep hive is worth slot more then a package.

Anybody that claims their bee hive is worth a thousand bucks either doesn't have a clue or is a fraud.
If you have 50 hives I suspect you would have a clue what they are worth. That leaves one option.
You could start from scratch and include next years honey production and still not get to $50,000.
I suppose it is possible the reporter inadvertently added a zero.

I never said I would commit fraud but this guy apparently might be. Even at your inflated value for equipment and bees It is still a long ways from 50 grand.
If everything was destroyed which I find hard to believe it should cost no more then $275 to get started again but let's round it off to $300/hive. That gets you to $15,000. I doubt any insurance company would pay more then that.

Counting the nucs he likely was selling into the loss as well as honey would add up quick as well. Fractured foundation doesn't work well either. In the cold they were having I would imagine a lot that looks god from a picture isn't once up close.

what a loss! Just terrible

I figure 600 a hive. If you want to say he was going to break all down to multiple nucs then it would be more. I am not saying 50000 is right I am saying 5000 is wrong 30000 is close to what I would expect back.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

The president of PETA (Newkirk?)once made the comment that it was immoral to take honey from a bee or milk from a cow. The "milk from a cow" comment is an indication of how stupid these people are.

So much for that guy's credibility.

But, really...Who's paying the beekeeper, anyway?? NO ONE! At least no one is being compelled to pay. He had no insurance, or didn't think it would cover his loss if he had. He made some statement off the top of his head either to LE or reporter. What was included in the number? Who knows? Hives? Labor? Bees? Lost income, present?, Lost income, future? When it comes to the actual value of the loss; I don't question it, and don't even think the IRS would despute it, if reported as a loss.

In another article I found he did raise $35,000 in Go Fund Me. He sounded really grateful and encouraged. Good for him.

Well, W.C. Fields was right. "There's a sucker born every minute."

That'd be sexual harassment or assault nowadays

W.C. Fields?

While there is no proof he ever said it; that quote is generally attributed to PT Barnum.

The translation is: "There is always someone trusting enough to take advantage of."