"What is the quivalency of HFCS to granulated sugar?"

I asked this very question in an ABJ column called the "Classroom."  I've been searching for that issue in vain, it was probably six or seven years ago, at least.  Jerry answered it precisely!

Here's what I remember:  The key to understanding this question is in figuring out the cost of the actual pound of sugar that is fed, whether that sugar is mixed in a variety of different ratios or in the HFCS.  We want to know how much it costs us to feed a pound of sugar, the stuff the bees need.  Everything else is superflous.

I think the answer to our question comes in two forms.  First, what is the cost of the available sugar in a 55% HFCS syrup when compared with cost of dry, granulated sugar sold in bags that I'm going to mix up into sugar syrup?

But second, if there is a price difference between cost of the sugar in HFCS and the cost of dry, granulated sugar, assuming the granulated sugar is cheaper, then what does it "pay" me to mix up my own sugar?  In other words, what is my labor worth in monetary savings if I mix up the cheaper granulated sugar rather than buy the complete type 55 HFCS?

Then there is a third question, a variation of the first question that asks, "At what price is HFCS the same as a bag of granulated sugar?"  How do I go about comparing apples to oranges?  To find out the answers to these questions, we need to find that common denominator, the cost of the actual pound of sugar.

Here's how I go about figuring this out, and if my math is quirky, somebody hollar!

In a nutshell, and based on my feeble memory (and Jerry, I hope you're around to help me) 55% HFCS was considered to be 55% "available sugar."  If you mix up a light syrup with granulated sugar, in a 1:1 ratio, you have 50% available sugar.   If you mix up a 2:1 ratio of granulated sugar to water, you have a 66% available sugar (which is 2/3 sugar and 1/3 water).

And, BTW, if a "pint is a pound the world around," then it doesn't matter if you mix up this granulated sugar syrup by weight or volume.  They both come out about the same.  One of my beekeeping buddies complained he couldn't afford 2:1 syrup and went about feeding 1:1.  I could not convince him that he was merely feeding less sugar in the 1:1 and the real cost of what the bees need (the sugar) was the same in either ratio.

But I digress.

I can get a five-gallon bucket of 55% HFCS for $17, which comes to around 28 cents per pound (figuring that bucket weighs 60 pounds).  But only 55% of that is available sugar.  One way to find out the cost of the sugar is to take 28 cents and divide it by 55%

$17 per bucket / 60 pounds per bucket = .28 cents per pound complete product, sugar and the other stuff in the HFCS

.28 / .55 = .53 cents (rounding up) per pound of the sugar content (what the bees need) in the HFCS

Bags of granulated sugar run around .36 cents per pound.

From these general figures, the granulated sugar is cheaper when compared to the cost of a pound of sugar in HFCS.

And remember, whether you mix up a 1:1 or a 2:1 ratio sugar mix, your sugar cost will always be .36 cents per pound of sugar because the rest of that mix is water.  Your amount of sugar will vary from 2:1 and 1:1, but the actual cost of a pound of sugar you are feeding your bees will always remain at .36 cents per pound.  A gallon of 1:1 costs less than a gallon of 2:1, but you're merely feeding more water to the bees in the 1:1.  The bees need the sugar.

From this example, granulated sugar is cheaper by .17 cents per pound.  But I still have to mix it up.  Time is money!

So my question now becomes, based on the volume of syrup I need, is my labor for mixing my own syrup worth the difference of .17 cents per pound (.53 - .36 cents per pound) ?

If I buy two 50# bags of granulated sugar (at .36 cents a pound or roughly $18.00 per bag), and I mix up my own syrup, the value of my labor becomes $17.00  (100 pounds at .17 cents per pound difference).  If it takes me thirty minutes to mix up two 50# bags, then my labor is worth $34 per hour ($17 per half hour x 2).

Since I pick up my sugar locally, I could also factor in the small amount of time and cost of gas it takes to pick it up.

Further, HFCS is available in St. Louis, 100 miles away.  Now I also have gas/time costs involved in picking it up, making that bucket cost more than $17.00.

So it pays me, in my situation, to mix up my own syrup from granulated sugar.  Or in other words, I pay .17 cents per pound for the convenience of having that HFCS mixed for me.  Which, on a 60 pound bucket, comes to around $5.61 for that convenience.  If I bought ten buckets, then I'm paying $56.10 extra.  Is the time it takes me to mix up ten buckets of syrup worth $56.10 ?

60 pounds of HFCS x 55% = 33 pounds of actual sugar in HFCS
33 pounds of sugar x .17 cents per pound savings = $5.61 convenience cost

So my question now becomes, if sugar is .36 a pound locally and I choose to mix it up myself and not factor in my time and labor, what is the cost of HFCS that would make it a break-even proposition?

I take the cost of the dry sugar and multiply it by 55% to get the equivalent cost of a pound of HFCS syrup.

.36 x .55 = .20 (rounded up) cents per pound of HFCS, type 55, syrup

That five-gallon bucket of HFCS would have to cost $12.00 (60 pounds x .20 cents per pound) to equal the cost of that 50# bag of granulated sugar sold for .36 a pound.

Are all our eyes glazed over yet?

Further thoughts:

Do I have the time to buy and mix the granulated sugar?  If I had more hives, then I may want to pay the extra money for HFCS and forgo the savings.

If I had more hives, do I have the containers to mix that kind of volume of syrup?  And how many trips to the store would it take to buy all this granulated sugar?

If I had storage containers on my farm, then I could buy larger volumes of HFCS at a cheaper price per pound?

And what about the cost of type 45 HFCS when compared to the cost of type 55 HFCS?

I hope this helps.

Grant
Jackson, MO










Michael Palmer <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Again: What is the equivalency of HFCS 55 to granulated sugar?


Not really sure the % solids in 55 HFCS, but it weighs 11.55 pounds per
gallon, and honey is 12. So, it is almost as thick as honey...if that helps.
Mike




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