pollination

what is the going rate per. hive for orchard pollination

Perhaps there are allready enough pollinators.

td4bees said:

what is the going rate per. hive for orchard pollination

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Judging by the lack of replies you might be better off asking on Beesource

I would suggest to keep bees because it is fun and a good thing to do in general. For the apple yields it is more likely to be a management issue. Prune well, assess how old the trees are and see if there are any suitable varieties to pollinate nearby. if all tree are favorable, then a beehive will maximize the crop. in any case, you will be able to get honey...

td4bees said:

what is the going rate per. hive for orchard pollination

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Around £60 per hive.

Most of the pollination contracts are organised by the BFA (Bee Farmers Association). When you have 40+ hives I suggest you contact and join them. Differents amounts are paid depending type of crop to be pollinated so typically £60 for soft/top fruit crop but less for seedcrops. Premium rate (over £100) paid per hive for pollination of restricted flight crops (ie grown under under netting or grown in glasshouses & polytunnels).

HM....why can't I look at td4bees blog?

Erichalfbee said:

HM....why can't I look at td4bees blog?

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I would guess that this should be in the bee farmers section and that's why we don't have permission to see blog.

Yes....that crossed my mind after I posted.
That's probably it.

There's a bee farmers section?

Finman said:

Perhaps there are allready enough pollinators.

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Unfortunately the rise of commercial pollination is an indication of ecological destruction parallelling the demise of insect eating bird species.

sussexbaker said:

There's a bee farmers section?

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Yes.

pollatinaton

Hivemaker. said:

Around £60 per hive.

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thank you for replying. sorry if I had it in wrong section. not to handy with these computers. again thank you.

masterBK said:

Most of the pollination contracts are organised by the BFA (Bee Farmers Association). ...

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In the past it was something that hobbyists got involved in too, whereas nowadays I have the strong impression that it is regarded as 'poaching' on the big boys' territory.
Personally, I tend to regard trucking bees a couple of hundred miles into my county - where there are lots of amateurs' colonies available - as being the poaching!

Some associations even used to help matchmaking between beeks and farmers. Seems to have fallen by the wayside. Maybe something to revive?

Hivemaker. said:

Around £60 per hive.

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I know someone that takes some to kent and gets £60-00 per hive and this year he says he isn't going to bother.. he said iff he leaves them here and gets 2 supers of rape honey at 20 pound in each at £-00 per pound £120-00 double his money for no moving

TOBY-3652 said:

I know someone that takes some to kent and gets £60-00 per hive and this year he says he isn't going to bother.. he said iff he leaves them here and gets 2 supers of rape honey at 20 pound in each at £-00 per pound £120-00 double his money for no moving

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He has the right idea if in a good area, i don't move bees for pollination either, too far, and they are better off staying here with regards honey, the growers usually want lots of them in and out by certain dates, this type of co-ordination is best left to the hobbyists in my opinion.

lol hm

I turned down a site that had pyo fruit trees and strawberries as it was too much of a ballache to do what he wanted, he wasn't offering payment either lol.
Bees on site for this time and gone before the public turned up to pick the fruit. If that's beefarming you can keep it.

I do hope the hives dumped in a field near me isn't a true reflection on the beefarming industry in this country. Neglect doesn't come close.
They have DWV and god knows what else. If they were animals the owner would be in court.

you sure they are a beefarmers? might be someone who has decided they have had enough and just dumped them.

dpearce4 said:

you sure they are a beefarmers? might be someone who has decided they have had enough and just dumped them.

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Yes
After a conversation with the local inspector he knew who's they were straight away.