Is pollination in Wisconsin $$worth$$ it

[WI-beek]

Are they any pollination jobs in Wisconsin that make it worth the effort? I have heard cranberries are like chasing your tale.

[Michael Palmer]

Only if you charge enough. You have to recover the 40-50 pounds lost production, beat up bees, broken equipment, truck expenses...and of course you. Work day and night. Get behind on your bee work. Are we having fun yet?

[suttonbeeman]

michael is right. You loose a at least box of honey but the pollination is guaranteed $$. This year was very late and probably lost two boxes. Bees came back VERY light..some about to starve and of course not as strong as usual. This was caused by cold weather during anda longer season of little nectar flow. So now bees need to brood up AND put in stores. This was the year NOT to be in cranberries. Fortunately I didnt have any go in and made enough honey to come out better than pollination fees!

[Tom G. Laury]

Seems like summer pollination is about the same everywhere. Works good if you need some empty hive bodies for next year.

[Trevor Mansell]

It can be worth it depending on where the bog is. You dont need to put out supers or extract the honey. I had a bog in Tomah last year that the bees came out heavier than when they went in. It all depends on the year and the location of the bog.

[Beeslave]

I haven't heard any good stories on pollinating cranberries in WI. If you do go I have heard it is wise to keep syrup on them and you will have a lot better outcome.

On a side note, because of the cranberry pollinator who dumped his semi load of bees in the Eastern Jackson County Forest, the local hobbiest are pushing hard to make it mandatory that all hives and locations in Jackson County be registered. With their reason for doing this I believe it will be passed as a law soon. I think it is a good thing.

[rainesridgefarm]

It is hard to justify unless pollintaion is all you do. Wis is a great honey state so if you get $55 per hive for cranberry you loose $200 per hive for honey......

[Beeslave]

Wis is a great honey state so if you get $55 per hive for cranberry you loose $200 per hive for honey......

Not this year!

[Trevor Mansell]

Not this year!

aint that the truth!!!

[Beeslave]

There's always next year.

[Beeslave]

What was going rate for cranberries this year? I heard 60-75$

[rainesridgefarm]

a bad year is still worth more then a good year in cranberry...

[suttonbeeman]

All you Wi guys....I just got back from checking bees ...crop really varies between colonies and locations....one location on sandy soil had decent crop...2-4 med supers and with rain crop prospects look good as clover/starthistle are still bloomng after dry weather. One yard on heavy soil (basswood area) had 3-4 supers but a few were empty....overall a 40 lb ave when prospects looked so good first of june...hopefully another 40 lbs this month! All said most of above crop was made during cranberry bloom..so I believe after two years more $ in honey than cranberries on average. Especially with 1.50 + honey prices!