# Soy beans



## Loghm4u (Apr 6, 2016)

Could I get everyone's opinions about bees and soy beans? How do they usually do? How many hives per acre? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

I wish


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

If you search, it's been discussed ad nauseum, and recently too. I and only a few others seem to have even see bees working them, and even then it's REALLY hit or miss. FWIW, IF the weather pans out, and IF the farmer plants a suitable variety, and IF your hives are strong, it does produce a monster flow. Those are ALOT of ifs to be moving bees to them, but if they happen to be around and they happen to hit, it's a bonus.


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## mark g (Jun 6, 2006)

I have seen bees working soy beans. I can't help but think that in my area beans do some good. I know of a guy who says he gets a box of honey off of them in Mississippi every August.


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## ChrisBex (Jul 24, 2014)

mark g said:


> I have seen bees working soy beans. I can't help but think that in my area beans do some good. I know of a guy who says he gets a box of honey off of them in Mississippi every August.


Yup its possible to get some good growth on bees, but try getting a grower to work with you. Mississippi known for its hospitality but farmers are a different story haha. Most won't call you when they spray.


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## Broke-T (Jul 9, 2008)

I am in the process of moving about 300 hive to soybeans now. Did 200 last year a little late and still averaged 60 lbs per hive. Not having any trouble with growers. Just takes communication.

Johnny


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## pinkpantherbeekeeper (Feb 10, 2016)

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?326265-Soybean-Pollination


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## pinkpantherbeekeeper (Feb 10, 2016)

Broke-T - How many hives per acre are putting on the beans?


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## Loghm4u (Apr 6, 2016)

I would like to know how many hives to acre to. Thanks for everyone's response.


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## Broke-T (Jul 9, 2008)

If my calculations are correct there are around 2,000 acres in a 1 mile radius of a bee yard. In most of my locations at least half that is soybeans. I place 48 hives per yard. That calculates to around 21 acres per hive. I know commercial guys who put 120 to 140 per yard.
That would cut it to about 7.5 acres per hive.


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## Myron Denny (Sep 27, 2009)

Our area of Oklahoma plants beans with white blooms. In the Mississippi valley don't they plant purple bloom beans? I very seldom see bee's on the white blooms. Anyone else have this observation?
Myron Denny
Glencoe Okla


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## Loghm4u (Apr 6, 2016)

We have bees in Kansas on two fields of beans. One has white and one has purple. We will be putting on extra boxes today. I'll let you know what we find out.


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## GoodyFarms (Jul 10, 2016)

I've read that it depends on the variety of soybean but nobody says WHAT varieties provide a honey crop. I have a friendly local farmer that said he'd plant a Bee friendly variety if I tell him what it is.


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## sakhoney (Apr 3, 2016)

I know that the USDS had a soybean classification for honey - I seen it on paper - some were trying to pass tallow honey as bean honey before it was classified as table grade - back in the day it was classified as baking honey


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT59l3vLfUk


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## Myron Denny (Sep 27, 2009)

If you do see a difference in the amount of bee activity on the white and purple blooms will you tell us the different Company and varietys?
If this is not permited on BeeSource please email me direct.
Do you see a difference in bad insect population on the purple and white blooms?
[email protected]


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

Myron Denny said:


> If you do see a difference in the amount of bee activity on the white and purple blooms will you tell us the different Company and varietys?
> If this is not permited on BeeSource please email me direct.
> Do you see a difference in bad insect population on the purple and white blooms?
> [email protected]


A good mid season purple flower variety, last yr I asked the frmer what kind they were and he said "33s" the field next to us this yr has white blooms and I havent seen a single bee on it


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## Loghm4u (Apr 6, 2016)

We checked bees yesterday. One field with white blooms one with purple. Could tell a difference in both sets of bees. Will reply when we know more.


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## johno (Dec 4, 2011)

I get the white and the blue blossoms on the beans they grow down here, I have seen foragers going to them and then give up and don't come back. So my guess is that it is dependent the variety. I think the stuff they grow here is for animal feed and there are other varieties for human consumption.
Johno


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## Loghm4u (Apr 6, 2016)

Update on the progress. Checked on things last night. Both yards of bees had improvement. They have been there one month today. Lots of fresh nectar and new wax. Did not see any difference between the white blooms and the purple blooms. Pleased with what we saw


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## Myron Denny (Sep 27, 2009)

Did you notice any difference in the size of the white or purple blooms? Did you see any difference in insect population between the two colors?


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## Loghm4u (Apr 6, 2016)

No I didn't see any difference in the blooms except the color. Very little sign of insect population. This is all new. The beans do not quit blooming until there are pods all the way to the top of the plant. So right now there are pods low and blooms at the top.


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## Myron Denny (Sep 27, 2009)

I drove to 2 fields of soybeans about 9 AM, the first are purple blooms and in full bloom, I saw Millers and a few other flying insects but 0 honeybees. There is a trailer loaded with 20+ colonies of bees within 1 mile on a fresh cut Alfalfa field. 

I next drove to a field of white bloom soybeans that were putting on pods. There were no blooms and few insect flying.

It is extremely hot here and we are below normal on moisture in our part of Okla.


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## Hillbillybees (Mar 3, 2016)

The soybeans we have the best production with is Maturity Group 4 thru 6 beans and a smaller degree of success on 7's. Then the varieties also are determinate and indeterminate. The determinate variety are better to the beekeeper as the farmer does not need to apply fungicides but once usually. The bloom also seems to be more timely so the bees pack it in faster. The indeterminate continue to put on vegetation then more flowers, etc. This extra vegetation needs to be treated by the farmer for rust hence more applications of fungicides. We have gotten between 30 and 80 pounds of honey averages on beans dependent on weather, irrigation and quality of the farmer. With heavy bloom set we pile the bees on then move them to fields planted a little later then again until the season is over. It is a great midsummer plant for us as nothing else is happening here in Arkansas. It also allows us to harvest the majority of our spring crop.


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## Loghm4u (Apr 6, 2016)

I really didn't look that much to see if the bees where on the plants. After looking inside the hives I was able to see that they where bringing in lots of nectar. Hope this continues.


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## Myron Denny (Sep 27, 2009)

I went to the purple bloom beans at 9 AM today, it was cool enough that the bee's were flying from the trailer. I saw no bee's on the bean blooms or in the field. I did see a few millers flying. The blooms on these beans are extremely small. Are the blooms that the bee's do work small?


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## Loghm4u (Apr 6, 2016)

The white and purple blooms seem to be the same size. I've never really walked the fields looking for bees. Just inspected the hives and see a difference in the amount of nectar in the hives.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

Myron Denny said:


> I went to the purple bloom beans at 9 AM today, it was cool enough that the bee's were flying from the trailer. I saw no bee's on the bean blooms or in the field. I did see a few millers flying. The blooms on these beans are extremely small. Are the blooms that the bee's do work small?



That was most likely your problem. Beans need 3 things to produce nectar from the best I can tell, and others seem to agree. 1 correct variety ( just because it's purple doesn't mean it;s the correct one. 2. adequate moisture in the ground.. and 3. It needs to get really hot out. The last field I personally saw my bees working was a purple variety that where 33's ( maturity level) but even when I don't see them on the field by out house, there are many fields withing flight distance. The farmer that plant the 33's the last time, has a white flower variety that is indeterminate and I haven't seen a bee or a butterfly on it.


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## Myron Denny (Sep 27, 2009)

I am trying to contact the grower of the beans as to the variety and maturity. The road had ruts in it but very few people drive it. We are nearing 100 degrees nearly every afternoon, that's why I visited the field in the AM.


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## Clairesmom (Jun 6, 2012)

Hillbillybees said:


> The soybeans we have the best production with is Maturity Group 4 thru 6 beans and a smaller degree of success on 7's. Then the varieties also are determinate and indeterminate. The determinate variety are better to the beekeeper as the farmer does not need to apply fungicides but once usually. The bloom also seems to be more timely so the bees pack it in faster. The indeterminate continue to put on vegetation then more flowers, etc. This extra vegetation needs to be treated by the farmer for rust hence more applications of fungicides. We have gotten between 30 and 80 pounds of honey averages on beans dependent on weather, irrigation and quality of the farmer. With heavy bloom set we pile the bees on then move them to fields planted a little later then again until the season is over. It is a great midsummer plant for us as nothing else is happening here in Arkansas. It also allows us to harvest the majority of our spring crop.


Thanks for the information, Hillbilly.

We lease some fields to a farmer who rotates corn and soybeans. I have never asked what variety of beans he plants, but if I can find out what varieties are good for nectar production I could probably get him to plant one of them, assuming that they are equal in other regards and would work for his purposes.


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## Myron Denny (Sep 27, 2009)

Our TV indicates there is going to be a "Soybean College" in Arkansas to answer production questions in the next few days. I sent a message to the contact they had listed to see if they can be of help.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

caught em workin white flower soybean today https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIR0L97piz4 11:am 87 deg


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## Myron Denny (Sep 27, 2009)

The purple bloom beans are 5.1 determinate beans. I went at 2 PM yesterday, the bee's on the trailer were not flying toward the bean field. They were actually flying away from the beans. The bee owner called later on in the evening, he said the bee's were still flying away from the beans. The note I sent to the Arkansas Soybean College has sofar not been acknowledged. Could we get some help from the Arkansas beekeepers? This looks like a good opportunity to get some badly needed information.


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## Loghm4u (Apr 6, 2016)

We had to move bees back to OK over the weekend due to spraying this week. Both sets of bees had large amounts of nectar and new brood. The farmer told us we probably missed two weeks of blooming. If it wasn't for being late and needing to move I'm sure there would have been a decent honey crop made. It seems that the purple blooms did a little better than the white. Not sure why could have been the strength of the bees. We moved them to some bean fields here in OK that are just starting to bloom. Will update when we know more v


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## Myron Denny (Sep 27, 2009)

Do the soybean growers in Arkansas that beans work for honey production solicit people to bring in Honeybees for polination?
If yes how do we get on there mailing list?


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## Hillbillybees (Mar 3, 2016)

The farmers may allow you to place bees but they don't need you. So no list or anything.


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