# Crop estimate NoDak, SoDak & MN



## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

The guy running my bees in ND says that the alfalfa and (no show) clover were a bust. He moved on to canola and the real good bees made a deep. Now the bees are all on sunflower, due to begin in a few days. Night before last 45o. Yesterday windy. He has heard of some decent crops in western N&S Dakota.


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## pahvantpiper (Apr 25, 2006)

I have a buddy who takes a couple semis out every year. Last year and this year bumper honey crops - 300 lbs. That would be in western South Dakota. Water white to boot.


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## Nick Noyes (Apr 28, 2005)

I predict average crop but it will take until frost to get it. I was told it looked like the 1st of july on the 1st of aug. So hopefully it will continue to trickle in into sept.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

It would be a mistake to assume that very many areas are producing 300 lb. crops. Here in central SD we are running about 100 lbs. with prospects for maybe another 50 lbs. at best if we get some heat in August. My gut feeling after everything shakes out would be a crop similar to last years here in SD. Don't have much info from ND but what I have heard would lead me to believe that production will probably be down a bit.


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## simplyhoney (Sep 14, 2004)

Wow, ya'll are trippin me out! We are seeing the same here. Spotty at best. Are you all finding mixed results in yards of bees or just in location to location. We are seeing that about 5% of the bees in a yard are plugged full and the others are struggling. This tells me that the honey is there but something is wrong with 95% of the bees. I guess if one location is kicking butt and another isn't , then perhaps its due to forage. Just curious.
I figured that with all of the moisture the Dakota's had early this year that they would crush the market. But we did have similar conditions. Better raise the old price little.


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## Beeslave (Feb 6, 2009)

simplyhoney said:


> We are seeing that about 5% of the bees in a yard are plugged full and the others are struggling. This tells me that the honey is there but something is wrong with 95% of the bees. QUOTE]
> 
> I'm seeing that also. I was blaiming it on older queens but I got it with my young ones to( the weather kept shutting them down), causing supercedure and in 10% they became queenless and never even tried to make a new queen. Then the bees from the poor hives just move to the stronger ones making them even stronger causing them to get all the honey. I also started to notice about 5 wks ago like I was losing all my field force. They had good brood, good stores starting then all the sudden lack of population. No sign what so ever that they swarmed. Field bees just gone. Sorry Bud, I'm not trying to hijack your post.


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## simplyhoney (Sep 14, 2004)

I heard from a friend of a friend that the guys in the Dakotas are finding massive nosema problems. My cousin tested his bees a couple of weeks ago and found quite a few spores. Unfortunately the supers are on and there is nothing that can be done until fall. Nosema, probably cerane (sp?), makes sense. The adult population dwendles even though there is lots of good hatching brood the colonie can't grow nearly as fast. Then you have the few colonies that, for what ever reason, aren't effected. My guess is that populations will eventually be big by fall, but too late for the big flows.
Honey prices might get interesting.


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## Bud Dingler (Feb 8, 2008)

Nick Noyes said:


> I predict average crop but it will take until frost to get it. I was told it looked like the 1st of july on the 1st of aug. So hopefully it will continue to trickle in into sept.


I see some similarities here in that statement also. For 50 years I have seen Dutch Clover followed by Basswood followed by Sweet Clover in that order of large flows by Aug 1st. This year the Sweet Clover has stalled out even though we see plenty in bloom. 

While rain is an issue all over, I feel the lack of heat overnight keeps the nectar levels down. Instead of 60's or better at night try 50's for most of July. Forage times are cut short also as the morning are so cool. My weather crystal ball service suggests a warmer Aug then July for the upper plains and midwest region but a possible early fall by the 1st week of Sept. 

The far flung operations may be in the best shape this year as its spotty all over from what I hear here. Thanks for the many reports and keep them coming.


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