This years honey crop

[clintonbemrose]

This year before moving 500 hives South. We pulled and extracted the honey suppers.
We averaged about 30 pounds of honey per hive this poor year. Our normal pull from the same areas is about 95 pounds per hive.
I think that this year for me was a bust as far as honey. With 500 hives that is only 15,000 pounds. The norm for these areas is between 47,000 pounds and 50,000 pounds of honey. I could have gotten more if I could have left the hives for annother week but I had contracts to fill.
Clint


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Clinton Bemrose
just South of Lansing Michigan

[BILLY BOB]

I think it was a bad year for everybody. It must have rained here every other day, dring the flow. I did average about 60lb. per hive. Clint, was it the rain that kept your hives from bringing in the nector?

BB

[mark williams]

I did'nt average,But 26 pound's per hive,out of close to 100 hives I just robbed 8.
Some of my bee's are in Ms.& I havn't checked them yet.
Hoping for a better year next year>>>>MARK

[clintonbemrose]

I think it was a bad year for everybody. It must have rained here every other day, dring the flow. I did average about 60lb. per hive. Clint, was it the rain that kept your hives from bringing in the nector?

Answer
Too much rain in the spring, then an 8 week drought with no rain here but rain all around us. Last week we got about 3/4 inch of rain and that is bringing on the goldenrod and asters. But I had to move the hives before the major flow. The 3 experimental hives look like they will have a large crop of goldenrod honey.

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Clinton Bemrose
just South of Lansing Michigan

[swarm_trapper]

most guys around here had a less than average year but I am hopeing for 80 pounds a hive average and those a from swarms http://www.beesource.com/ubb/biggrin.gif I am pretty happy but now a have a good problem where am I going to sell this honey http://www.beesource.com/ubb/wink.gif
S_T

[Got Honey?]

"I just robbed 8."

Robbed? We beekeepers don't rob honey. We collect RENT for housing, medication, protection from pests and feeding. :^)

[WineMan]

Clinton....

Why are you heading south so early? Do you usually go so soon?

I havent really even heard of many guys extracting yet let alone heading south. But there definately wasnt any honey. Goldenrod just kicked in at least in my opinion. with the rain from this week and the predicted hot weather next maybe there will be the first flow of the year.

[mark williams]

your right Got Honey: If them tree hugging,animal right's people read's this I'm going to jail,
Man I love to collect Rent.& the medical insurance that I provide the bees,Thank you very much.>>>>Mark

[clintonbemrose]

"moving 500 hives"
"47,000 pounds and 50,000 pounds of honey"

So many questions, so little time. What do you do with that much honey?
Answer
Sell it bulk and sell some at farmers market, donate some to the church and some to The local Boy Scouts for a fund raiser for camp.

How many people does it take to manage it,
Answer
My wife, my oldest son, and I.

How do you find the help if you need it?
Answer
High school kids and college kids usually only 1 to help bottle as we extract.

What kind of processing setup does it take to harvest and process 50,000 lbs of honey?
Answer
many tanks, 2 large extractors, a chain uncapper, filters, many bottling buckets and settleing tanks
2 large semi truck flatbed trailers, a small bobcat for loading the flatbed trailers and a honey house built on one semi trailer.

How large of a geographic area do your hives cover?
we cover 3 counties of mostly orchards and large growing vegetable farms.

Are 500 hives considered a lot where you are?
Answer
No I am considered small, some of my friends have over 1000 hives and one has 3200 hives
Clint

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Clinton Bemrose
just South of Lansing Michigan

[clintonbemrose]

Clinton....

Why are you heading south so early? Do you usually go so soon?
Answer
No but the farmers down south put in the contract that they wanted me there by Laborday and were willing to pay for an extra
month

I havent really even heard of many guys extracting yet let alone heading south. But there definately wasnt any honey.
Answer
You got that right.

Goldenrod just kicked in at least in my opinion. with the rain from this week and the predicted hot weather next maybe there will be the first flow of the year.
Answer
The 3 experimental hives that I still have here are working very hard.
It seems that every 2nd bee is overloaded with yellow pollen and crash lands on the landing board, then there is a mad rush of bees picking up the pollen and taking it into the hive.
I have never seen the bees working this hard in my 30 years of beekeeping.
Clint


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Clinton Bemrose
just South of Lansing Michigan

[Ian]

The bees brought honey in heavey during the first hney flow here. From that flow I got ~140 lbs/hive. They were on their way to a 200lbs crop but record breaking heat and little rain stopped them from working and everything else flowereing for about three weeks. Ave temps now and a bit of moisture has brought the buckwheat back on, so I might collect some of the end fall flow. Expecting another 20 lbs/hive now...
Shouldn't complain with the prices where they are now anyway

Ian

[wishthecuttlefish]

Clinton,
What would you gues, on average, is your maintenance cost per hive yearly?

[Ian]

$50-$80 /hive costs, on the high side
half done my last pull and the supers are coming in heavier than expected!!

[clintonbemrose]

What would you gues, on average, is your maintenance cost per hive yearly?
Answer
in 2002 the cost of maintenance per hive ran $77.23 including transportation to the North in the spring and South in the fall. This spring I went overbudget because I modified 250 bottom bords by cutting then adding the screen so I have SBB on 250 hives. This spring I will do the same on the other 250. In the modification I also made a slider board to close the bottoms and hold a sticky board for a drop test.
Sorry to have taken so long to answer but I was in the field repairing & painting the pallet stands that I use to elevate the pallets 16 inches off the ground.
Clint

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Clinton Bemrose
just South of Lansing Michigan

[swarm_trapper]

in my last post i was way off with honey production i extracted today and only got 40pd average a hive http://www.beesource.com/ubb/frown.gif

[WineMan]

Dont feel too bad swarmtrapper. None of us made any honey this year. Lots of guys didnt get close to 40 pounds.

[loggermike]

Yeah it was sure a hit and miss year here.Some yards did pretty good on a late irrigated flow ,others made hardly anything.The star thistle looked good but I got nothing,not enough moisture in the ground and it was too dry and windy.

[dburgess]

Clinton,
What type of crops do you help pollinate?
Do you use doubles for brood?
Do you leave the hives in the south for the winter? Where do you winter your hives?

Thanks, Duane in VA.

[clintonbemrose]

Clinton,
What type of crops do you help pollinate?
Do you use doubles for brood?
Do you leave the hives in the south for the winter? Where do you winter your hives?

We polliniate large comercial gardens, Fruit orchards and also with some farmers wanting up to 20 hives scattered in their farm fields in Michigan. Then down South in southern Georga and in Florida the same thing.
All hives use 2 large brood boxes each with 4 hives mounted on each pallet.
500 hives are in the North for summer and are moves South for the late fall, winter, early spring.
I also have 3 experimental hives here in Michigan that I have been trying different things to before incorporating something to the 500.
Clint


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Clinton Bemrose
just South of Lansing Michigan

[hoosierhiver]

clover seemd to do okay here,otherwise not a good year,i got into a few hives that i was sure would be full by the size of the population,but the supers were empty.