# Pollination Advice



## High-On-Burlap (May 6, 2013)

It all depends on the three W's what where and when. If you miss your main honey flow and lose half your hives then it might not be. Some brokers are bad plenty are good. Even with the same crop different areas can be harder on the bees then others. If your main goal is pollination then your honey production will likely decrease. There are a lot of variables, labor cost, fuel cost, honey price. You could send one load to the almonds (408 hives), your shipping will be more then someone from Texas or south Dakota. there is no simple answer but a lot of outfits pollinate.


----------



## camero7 (Sep 21, 2009)

I'd think about blueberries on the east coast. Start in SC and move north until you get to Maine. But you'll need to manage them pretty good, blueberry pollination is very hard on them. Maybe stop by and do some cranberries on the way back down. I quit pollinating because I was losing so many hives.


----------



## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

So what cause the losing of the hives?


----------



## B&E (Dec 27, 2011)

did the loses stop?


----------



## camero7 (Sep 21, 2009)

> So what cause the losing of the hives?


I suspect the fungicides and the other stuff they put in the spray. 



> did the loses stop?


 Sure did. I only pollinate organic fruit now.


----------



## DmacShack (May 22, 2013)

With honey prices where they are now, pollination doesn't seem profitable these days unless you are going to almonds and getting 150+ a hive. The 50/hive I get offered for watermelons around here isn't worth the fuel, time, or potential hive loss when compared to stationary honey yards.


----------



## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

No kidding DmacShack. Stationary is so much more enjoyable assuming there is honey coming in. If you have the yards and the flow even if only 50-60 pounds then for sure avoid the summer pollinations at $50/hive. Especially will all the sprays. It is so discouraging when a high proportion of the bees are dead. Avoid those places. Hard to earn money with dead hives. 

Sounds like almonds could work.I am not sure if the timing of it would impact your honey production. If it is double the money for double the work then ok. If it is one and half times the work for double money then go for it. If more work same money then avoid. Try one season then figure it out after. Hopefully when you do it, it is not the best nor the worst year. Good luck.

Jean-Marc


----------



## DmacShack (May 22, 2013)

These farmers act shocked when I decline their offer of $50/hive. If they offered $120, which is the cost of a replacement nuc in my area, then I may consider. The area watermelon farmers are fortunate in that there are plenty of massive panhandle beekeepers just south looking for holding yards to grow bees in before they head north. Meanwhile, I'll be in the swamp tending to my 80-100lb yields.


----------



## camero7 (Sep 21, 2009)

Just had a conversation with a farmer looking for bees for his orchards [apples]. Asked him if he sprayed and he said yes. Asked him what he sprayed and he said "pesticides and fungicides" Asked him what the pesticide was and he couldn't remember but knew it didn't hurt the bees. Asked him when he sprayed the last time and he said he was still spraying. He needs bees now. I again asked him what he was spraying and he got angry and said, "I've had bees before." I said bees are insects and pesticides hurts them. He got angrier and it was clear there was no reason to continue the conversation. This is exactly why I quit most of my pollination. Tired of bees going downhill and then dieing in the winter.


----------



## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

Exactly!
He's trying to evade the answer. Good questions taht you asked him.
Obviously he doesn't care about your bee's life and death. He just care about his
apples. If he's that good then he should be upfront with his spraying information. I'm sure
he know how to read the pesticide label. So should know its name as well. It is better to find a
contamination free zone to hive your bees there.


----------



## dfortune (Aug 10, 2012)

>I again asked him what he was spraying and he got angry and said, "I've had bees before." 

He might be spraying something illegal if he's being that evasive.


----------



## Ben Little (Apr 9, 2012)

We pollinate Low bush Blueberries and the growers know their stuff, I am not sure what restrictions on sprays you have in the states but here in Nova Scotia we make sure we know all of the fungicides and other sprays they use aren't harmful to bees, the biggest grower in NS is also the biggest beekeeper too, with 12000 + colonies they know they need to be careful what they do with spraying.
We send our hives out with 2 pounds of pollen sub on them even if they have pollen frames, blueberries can cause some EFB if you aren't careful. It is a major part of our operation to rent to Blueberry growers and a good working relationship takes a lot of worry out of it. 
So I would say go for it and try out some blueberries along the East coast, they are probably looking for hives right now ! We are heading into the fields in a couple of weeks, it would have been next week but my truck is having a new custom hitch welded on the frame for pulling our loader and the fabricator who is doing it is a tad bit slow getting to it we had to wake him up a bit with a we need the truck done now please


----------

