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Pollination prices

365K views 353 replies 119 participants last post by  soarwitheagles 
#1 ·
I wonder if we can get a thread going for the posting of the going or standard pollination rates for various crops.
 
#196 ·
Dr George, (inside joke folks)

At this point I can not answer that question knowledgeably. Sorry!!!! If you really want to know you might want to ask the broker on this thread what he is willing to sign you up for as of yesterday. That will give you a basis from which to begin to work with. If you know the last one he signed I doubt it will be going down from that point till end of January. If you happened to be so blessed as to get a notarized copy of the last one he signed let me know. I might be missing it but I haven't seen him reveal his current offering on here.

Brokers can be a good deal for some. That depends on what the beek needs and what the broker offers.

It has been my observation that the folks who gain the most out of a brokering situation fall into two categories of beekeepers. If you are not wearing one of the of these beekeeping sandals you'd most often be better of going on you own straight to the grower or through a friend who is well connected and respected. ( you are familiar with what i mean here I assume)

1. Those who go through a frame count program that pays top bucks per frame similar to what Mr. Mike R. offers and repeatedly has performed under in Northern California.

2. Those who live far away and can ship bees last minute to someone who is dumping them in, pulling them straight out,( no care needed) and aren't inclined to want to the travels,hassles, and expenses of coming to the land of Fruits and nuts.

Any other reason someone would use a broker?
 
#199 ·
Trevor,

Thank you for clarifying that it was the loading and unloading fees you were speaking of, yes you are correct that doesn't directly effect the grower's offer.

I'm still curious as to why you don't name the source of the information.

As a beekeeper I would jump all over a hive rental price of $180.00 - $185.00.
 
#200 ·
Its Ryan Cusins from Chowchilla ,its not a secret. Why are you so worried about who it is ? You seem to know so much about Almond pollination tell us ,where will the market be this year? I mean you are the one pontificating on this thread about all things Almond pollination .
 
#201 ·
Trevor, I'm not "worried" about who it is, as I said earlier if it was someone I knew I would be more inclined to give the rumor some creditability. I do not know Ryan Cusins and he probably doesn't know me.
As for the market this coming year, I have no idea what it will be in February 2014, I haven't guessed it right in 15 years other than it was going up.
However, I do know what the market is today and if the beekeepers are trying to set a rate at $180.00 per hive as you say, the Growers are trying to set the rate at $145.00 . Just today I've received calls from three different growers totaling over 1,100 hives, (all in central California) (yes I realize it's a drop in the bucket but this was just today's inquiries) asking what our rates were, none of them are willing at this time to comment to anything over $145.00. I have one contract in Chowchilla that has agreed to $155.00 per hive and I have a small local beekeeper very happy with that rate. As a second generation almond grower for over 30 years, Yes, I do know a little about almond pollination, more than most, less then some.
 
#208 ·
It was one of them. who made the comment.



The reason I ask who these brokers are (and I assume they do not mine their names being revealed since they are promoting their services via visits to your area) is because if its Joe Traynor or Denise Quails that are saying it, it a lot difference then if someone like.....is saying it.[/QUOTE]
 
#211 ·
I have commitments for field run hives at $180/hive for 2014. After the California Beekeepers Association meeting this week, the word was a $20-$30 dollar jump from what it was last year. Last year, I raised my prices in December and saw my price become low-to average by the time the market shook out. To say that almond growers won't contract for anything over $155 is simply not true. My growers have all heard the $180 price tag already, some were hearing hive prices closer to $200/hive and up.

These guys are worried about getting quality hives for their orchards. It's worth the money to guarantee that they will have the bees to produce their crop. Right now almond growers are showing a 4k profit per acre on average. They don't want to pay more than their neighbors or over the market price, but they also want to make sure they have the bees. Last year was tight on GOOD bees, and they know it… this year, CA has another ~50,000 acres needing hives and its been another relatively dry year. The number of good hives out there are going to be limited. If you are one who has put the effort into your hives and they are paying you back with health of an 8 frame average or more than make sure you are compensated for it.
 
#213 ·
I have commitments for field run hives at $180/hive for 2014. ..............its been another relatively dry year. The number of good hives out there are going to be limited. If you are one who has put the effort into your hives and they are paying you back with health of an 8 frame average or more than make sure you are compensated for it.

You are right on "Double T". The way I see it the 180 is split as follows: Syrup since April $30-35. Sub $20. Sore back from applying $30 (aka labor) Bees and queens $50. Dead out factor for every great one going in $45. Trucks, forklifts and diesel... $30. That leaves $20 for the slack or the old lady.... :shhhh:
 
#212 ·
current offer prices, just returned from CA state beekeepers meeting

paramount 160 base for 8 frame with bounus of 7.50 each for frame 9 & 10, & 5.00 per frame 11 & 12, max price 185

standard price should be around 180 for 8 frames & 160 for 6 frames with high probability of going up.

supply short, supply of good bees really short.
 
#216 ·
Anyone have a link to how to go about evaluating number of frames?

I am looking to send a hand full of hives to Almonds for the first time. Have a local guy sending his down on the 27th. Weather has been good and I may be able to get a look for myself before taking them down.
 
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