View Full Version : Question for the Almond pollinators
just wondered what you do after the Almond (gold rush) ? do you travel to other areas to pollinate or is the almonds enough to do you for the year?
jjgbee
08-23-2008, 08:39 PM
If you live in CA, you go to a honey flow. If you are from out of state, I wish that you go back home.
Tom G. Laury
08-23-2008, 08:52 PM
JJG I'll second that
Tom G. Laury
08-23-2008, 08:55 PM
Try to make a living
suttonbeeman
08-24-2008, 09:11 AM
From almonds we go back to Florida for Orange9if we get back soon enough)then Tupelo and from there back home to Ky for honey. 400 colonies go from florida to wisconsin for cranberries then honey followed by coming back to Ky for fall crop. All are returned to Florida around Dec 1 to start all over again!
From almonds we go back to Florida for Orange9if we get back soon enough)then Tupelo and from there back home to Ky for honey. 400 colonies go from florida to wisconsin for cranberries then honey followed by coming back to Ky for fall crop. All are returned to Florida around Dec 1 to start all over again!
thats what I was thinking suttonbeeman, I thought if someone traveled hives there they might go other places, guess I was kinda wondering about the locals that have thousands of hives, I could be out of place asking this but wondered if they made enough off the almonds just to manage and maybe increase hives until next seasons almonds bloom? waiting on Keith Jarret to chime in, how is your year planned out Keith if it ok to tell?
Flyer Jim
08-24-2008, 03:17 PM
http://www.honey.com/media/presskit/industry.asp
According to these people, I'm a commercial beekeeper, just barely. :)
Some do make a little bit of honey in CA, but it's not easy. And there are some other interesting facts about beekeeping in the US
Jim
JohnK and Sheri
08-24-2008, 03:20 PM
Not all the out of staters go on to other pollination. Some, like us, do the almond thing then back to the home state for honey production. There are some that leave California then go to Texas to do their splits and make queens then up north, (Dakotas, MN, WI) for honey, then take their colonies back to TX in the fall to stage for CA. Some go right out to CA early winter.
Sheri
Gregg
08-25-2008, 09:17 AM
We send ours out to CA in the Fall before (hopefully) the weather gets bad; like to have them outta here by November 1, and then ship them back between April 15 & May 1.
alpha6
08-25-2008, 10:25 AM
Yep...what Gregg said.
Nick Noyes
08-26-2008, 09:02 AM
We pull out and head to other pollination in the northwest with part of the operation. Some come back home and we start making splits and requeening.
We try to be out of CA by the first of april. It can get pretty ugly down there after the bloom with lots of bees and very little forage.