[Animals 101] How To Keep Bees

Welcome to your next "Animal 101" lesson of the Farming Simulator Academy! Today, we're focusing on bees. We'll show you how to buy these little buzzers, benefit from pollination, collect honey, and make money from it.

What Is the Purpose of Bees?

Bees can benefit your farm in two ways: they produce honey and can increase the yield of certain crops.

• Pollination: Place beehives near fields with sunflowers, canola, or potatoes to increase their yield. Sunflowers receive a 5% yield increase, while canola and potatoes receive 2.5% each.
• Honey: Bees produce honey automatically. Collect the honey pallets and sell them or use the honey in a production chain.

Beehives

Beehives come in different sizes. Larger hives cost more, but they produce more honey and affect crops within a larger pollination radius. In addition you need a pallet station, where honey from all beehives on the map is collected.

What You Need for Bees

Beekeeping requires only very little equipment:

• Equipment to transport honey pallets: The setup shown above uses a tractor with a front loader and a pallet fork. Make sure the tractor supports a front loader configuration before purchasing the front loader.

Tip! You can also find a matching beekeeper's outfit on the character screen. You don't need it for beekeeping, of course, but it completes the look!

Let’s Get to Work!

Step 1: Place the beehives and pallet station

Unlike other animals, you do not have to buy bees separately. Once you place a beehive, the bees are already inside and automatically start producing honey. If you want the pollination bonus, place your beehives close to fields with sunflowers, canola, or potatoes. Then place the pallet station at a convenient location on your farm. Honey from every beehive on the map is collected at this single station.

Step 2: Sell or process the honey

Once enough honey has been produced, honey pallets appear at the pallet station. Pick them up with your pallet-handling equipment and check the prices screen to find a suitable selling point. Instead of selling the honey directly, you can also use it as an ingredient at a Cereal Factory.

Processing Honey: Products

The overview above shows how honey can be used to produce cereal. Check the production recipe for the additional ingredients you need before starting the production.

Tip! Processing honey requires more work and may require additional ingredients. In return, finished products can be more valuable than selling honey directly.

Well Done!

Congratulations! You now know the basics of keeping bees in Farming Simulator. When you're ready, continue with the next Farming Simulator Academy lesson!