Montana's long-standing Bee Act has 4 categories of beekeeper:
Commercial, Landowner, Hobby, and Pollinator.
Hobbyist are not required to register, can have up to 10 colonies per family, do not have to adhere to spacing regulations.
At 11 Colonies the Apiary automatically comes under a Commercial classification and must meet the requirement of 3 miles from another commercial beekeepers apiary. MT in 2018 had nearly 6000 registered apiary locations which are located by GPS or to the nearest quarter section. The maps are public, online.
If you want a model, this is a proven one.
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