# I want to send bees to N. Dakota



## happybees (Oct 30, 2007)

Hi, I am interested in sending a semi of beehives to North Dakota or other places during the summer for honey. I had one truck last year in N. Dakota and they did well, but the beekeeper I worked with decided to place his own hives. Currently, my hives are strong on at least 2 deep boxes, full of bees, they just came out of citrus (oranges). I was wondering if you know (recommend) someone that has registered locations and does a fair job, is honest, as we are. Thanks.


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## Shouse (Jul 1, 2010)

We are leaving June 17th. from Sacramento to North Dakota.


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## gregstahlman (Oct 7, 2009)

North Dakota is FULL


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## Mbeck (Apr 27, 2011)

You have to hate the Internet.

Here are all thier phone #'s

http://www.nd.gov/ndda/files/resource/2012BeekeepersList_0.pdf


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## Birdman (May 8, 2009)

Mbeck said:


> You have to hate the Internet.
> 
> Here are all thier phone #'s
> 
> http://www.nd.gov/ndda/files/resource/2012BeekeepersList_0.pdf


Thanks for the post, I got nucs this spring from a supplier in Kentucky. Some of the frame are branded and there name was on that list. Make's a person think, how many miles bee's travels in a couple months.


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## bigbill (Sep 27, 2009)

gregstahlman said:


> North Dakota is FULL


hold the horses! I believe we had this discussion on out of staters dumping there semi loads right on top of us here in the California orange belt . every commercial guy I've talked to since pettle fall has a story of a Montana ,north Dakota ,Russian or some other out of towner dumping a semi load on them. turn around is fair trade so one of you that took our liguid gold help the California guy out an find him a spot least he's asking do do it nicely


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## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

gregstahlman said:


> North Dakota is FULL


Yeah, better yet send them to S. Dakota there's more room there. lol

Sorry Jimmy, couldn't let Gregg get off scott free.


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## Allen Martens (Jan 13, 2007)

gregstahlman said:


> North Dakota is FULL


It so packed full the hives are lined up against the Canadian border.


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## busy bee apiary (Aug 7, 2010)

All the added pressure I observed this year was from California opperations holding bees back from coastal and southern regions do to the drought. Nothing to do with out of state opperations.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Allen Martens said:


> It so packed full the hives are lined up against the Canadian border.


Wait a minute, last I heard all the bees were dying. What gives?


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## Flyer Jim (Apr 22, 2004)

busy bee apiary said:


> All the added pressure I observed this year was from California opperations holding bees back from coastal and southern regions do to the drought. Nothing to do with out of state opperations.


You must have been looking in the wrong spots. You sure it didn't have something to do with snow?
I think Bigbill has it right.


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## busy bee apiary (Aug 7, 2010)

Flyer Jim said:


> You must have been looking in the wrong spots. You sure it didn't have something to do with snow?
> I think Bigbill has it right.


I'm referring to the area between Elderwood, ca and porterville, ca not to much snow to be had there around mid to late April. Nothing I'm saying is ment to cause controversey just stating my observations as I'm in that area 8 months out of the year.


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## bigbill (Sep 27, 2009)

busy bee apiary said:


> I'm referring to the area between Elderwood, ca and porterville, ca not to much snow to be had there around mid to late April. Nothing I'm saying is ment to cause controversey just stating my observations as I'm in that area 8 months out of the year.


an almost every one a new neighbor known effectionatly as the Russian or that Montana outfit when you get the big an little guys talkin about it im talken about guys like Max , norm, mike an others . for you guys that run here you know these guys . you know we have a problem so I feel for you N.dakota guys .


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## busy bee apiary (Aug 7, 2010)

bigbill said:


> an almost every one a new neighbor known effectionatly as the Russian or that Montana outfit when you get the big an little guys talkin about it im talken about guys like Max , norm, mike an others . for you guys that run here you know these guys . you know we have a problem so I feel for you N.dakota guys .


So Big Bill,
If I'm understanding this right a young ambitious guy like myself shouldn't get the same opportunity as many of the keepers had 25+ years ago. As most of the operations I know started the same way as I did with a few hives and grown from there. 
As for your Russian/Montana comment that's a bunch of bs. I feel as though I am representing the bee industry as it should be. I supply awesome bees for the growers I work with and if anyone farmer or the public ever has a bee problem I address it quickly and get it taken care of. Both of the above I feel as though many guys are doing a piss poor job of.


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## Flyer Jim (Apr 22, 2004)

busy bee apiary said:


> I'm referring to the area between Elderwood, ca and porterville, ca not to much snow to be had there around mid to late April.


I'm referring to Montana. Any snow there in April?


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## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

Where could I set down a couple loads in Montana this summer? Its wide open like California, right?


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## irwin harlton (Jan 7, 2005)

North Dakota is FULL
It so packed full the hives are lined up against the Canadian border. 

Not only are bees flying across the border,....small hive beetle is migrating also and whatever else will eventually arrive....duty free
and without clearing customs......so there goes for your tight secure border


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## busy bee apiary (Aug 7, 2010)

loggermike said:


> Where could I set down a couple loads in Montana this summer? Its wide open like California, right?


Hey Mike, if your asking me for permission I don't beleave it's my right to grant or deny what you wish to do. Sounds kinda like the guys that are trying to tell the farmers what they are able to do and apply to there crops. I run half my opperation in North Dakota and I picked up two new neighbors last year. Obviously I would prefer it to be just me there as years past but that's not my call, they should have the same opportunity. Right? Put your time and effort into your business, own up to your mistakes(not passing the blame onto someone else), and make the best of what you have.


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## BMAC (Jun 23, 2009)

irwin harlton said:


> North Dakota is FULL
> It so packed full the hives are lined up against the Canadian border.
> 
> Not only are bees flying across the border,....small hive beetle is migrating also and whatever else will eventually arrive....duty free
> and without clearing customs......so there goes for your tight secure border


arrest those bees and export everyone that doesnt clear customs and make em spit out the nectar prior to exportation.


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

Montana has a three mile radius registration law.


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## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

>>Montana has a three mile radius registration law.<<

Exactly. Its understandable that hives were left longer in Ca after almonds because of the late spring in the North. But with the drought in Ca, the choice is stay put and feed or move North and take a chance on making some honey. Big Bill said it right " turn around is fair trade "


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## bigbill (Sep 27, 2009)

loggermike said:


> >>Montana has a three mile radius registration law.<<
> 
> Exactly. Its understandable that hives were left longer in Ca after almonds because of the late spring in the North. But with the drought in Ca, the choice is stay put and feed or move North and take a chance on making some honey. Big Bill said it right " turn around is fair trade "


very well said loggermike . busy bee apiary how about you invite these poor California boys to drop a semi load on each of your Montana locations. we could create a beekeeper exchange system for every box you leave in our orange we get to take one to your flows it will be great for the industry im sure one of these guys could come up with 4 or 500 hives to drop on every registered location.


busy bee contact mattbeekman about the Porterville beekeeper with the microscope an ask him how the few hives looked around the shop they were the junkers 17 /18 frames in jan/feb you will have to go far to provide a better service to the growers. by the way I am the young, ambitious , start from ground up beekeeper . shoot I even studded my bird dog for hives a few years ago now that's ambitious


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## busy bee apiary (Aug 7, 2010)

Hey, that's great Bill sounds as though you are doing well.


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## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

bigbill said:


> junkers 17 /18 frames in jan/feb .


Ole boy must have got his hands on some Nutra Bee.


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## Gregg (Dec 22, 2003)

No one else from ND is chiming in so I guess it's up to me .

First off, I was actually looking for a load to lease when Victor posted this, and did talk to him. Wound up getting a load from someone I know but did talk to Victor about a friend who is looking to lease bees so that may work out for him.

As far as out-of-staters go, this is a touchy issue whether it is ND, CA or anywhere else. I can just speak from my experience and my opinion. Comparing pollination in CA to honey production in ND is like comparing apples to oranges (pun intended). Everyone knows bees need to be brought in to pollinate the almonds. After the almonds are done is when the debate really begins: where does the northern tier beek go with his bees? They can't come back to ND until mid April at the very earliest (and that would've been too soon this year, as we were hit with a blizzard on April 14-15 and got almost 2 feet of snow; mine were delayed leaving CA until April 30). Have tried going to WA for apples for a few years, didn't go well the last 2 so I passed on that this year. For me at least, options are quite limited: bees sit in holding yard until sent back up here.

As far as out-of-staters showing up in ND, I don't have a problem with it as long as they do it the "right way" (do the leg work and get yards registered like you're supposed to) and be somewhat respectful (don't drop a yard of 200 hives across the section line 50 yards away from my yard of 40 hives; I always try to keep my yards at least a mile from other guy's yards). I understand lots of CA guys have nowhere to go in the summer and look to the north to make a honey crop. What baffles me somewhat is why ND seems to be considered the "promised land". According to the latest statistics in 2012 ND had 495,000 registered (emphasis on registered) hives, SD 270,000 and MT 149,000. Our state wide avg. (69 lbs) wasn't that spectacular when compared to SD (63 lbs), yet we have almost double the number of hives.

Anyway, my $.02.


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## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

Well said, Gregg!. Almonds were the big game changer as everyone knows. And as you point out, its what happens afterwards that can be a problem. Someone apparently dumped a lot of hives on top of bigbill and others, and overstocked the flow. Maybe it was brokers, out of staters, or desperate beeks. Who knows.

I am glad there are beekeepers like you that will work with others to find solutions to problems.I agree that the Dakotas sound like the promised land when there is a good year. Its the bad years no one wants to talk about. 

I always opted to stay home and take my chances here.Sometimes I win sometimes I lose.


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## Nature Coast beek (Jun 10, 2012)

Might be interested in Dakota's honey production.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Nature Coast beek said:


> Might be interested in Dakota's honey production.


The Dakotas are large states that produce a lot of honey primarily because there is still a lot of area that isn't as intensively row cropped as areas to the east. It is the transitional area between the corn belt and the desert west. As this shows:
http://usda01.library.cornell.edu/usda/current/Hone/Hone-03-18-2013.pdf
The per hive yields are really not much above the national average it's just that the transitional areas are pretty large. Yields tend to get held down by hive saturation and how quickly promising honey prospects can dry up when the hot dry winds typically begin in mid summer. I am always amused when I hear people complain about droughts out here. Drought in the Dakota's? I keep forgetting if that happens on the odd or the even years.


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## Dakotabee (Dec 8, 2010)

Hi, I have some registered locations in South Dakota that would be available this year if you are interested. We are a little behind this year due to the cooler weather. Let me know if your interested. Thanks


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## bigbill (Sep 27, 2009)

Gregg I totally agree with you. just from the cal. side its all about respect Dakota I applaud you stepping up thank you ! 
happy bees sounds like this might be a better option for you good luck to you all hope you have a great season:thumbsup:


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## Gregg (Dec 22, 2003)

Vicor (Happybees) is sending a load up here to a friend of mine for the honey season. Hopefully it will be profitable for everyone. Looking better as we have received some substantial rain over the last couple of days with good chances for more over the next few days.


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