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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.
 
#2 ·
Sure, but it can very, by state, and contract.

My pollination price on apples in NY for 2010 will be $60.00 for orders less than 200 colonies and $55.00 for orders of 200 plus.

Cranberries $60.00/ colony.

That's about all I pollinate. Unless some of my bees go to CA.
 
#12 ·
I noticed... I figure they're just scared of being undercut. I can understand that. I for one, have no interest in undercutting anyone. It's never been my goal to work just as hard but get paid less than anyone else. I'd rather charge a fair price that borders on being too high. If I miss out on a contract or ten, that's ok with me. I wouldn't want those contracts from growers that have too little respect for the services we provide to pay a fair price anyway. In my opinion, those are likely to be the same growers that would try to cheat you out of what little they did agree to pay you anyway. Who needs the hassle of dealing with that?
 
#9 ·
About almond prices...that's because speculation runs the gamete on them and really are meaningless in the sense that most of us are already in contracts for a certain price. Those speculating on the prices are those that don't have contracts left and are almond growers who waited till the last minute to try and see if the prices would drop and now are running crazy trying to fill their needs. Contract prices run from $100 to ?? depending on frame strength and such.

If anyone needs to put their bees in Almonds I suggest Tom L. on this forum. He is a decent guy who will take care of your bees and you won't have to worry about getting paid.
 
#15 ·
You do know averages need data to be accurate. If noone's talking then how can they find the average? Actually if I could gather, confidentially, accurate data, I could have a mean, and ask commercials what the "average" price is and do a chi square test to quantitatively tell you how far they're off, and if anyone even knows.
In short, I think it's just about not spouting off pollination prices, and I agree possibly competetion.
125 sounds Ok. Long time contracts, or brokers?
 
#17 ·
I'll go ahead and spill my beans:lookout:, I'm charging 120.00 a hive with 8-12 frame (average) to an almond grower who is also a good buddy, a fellow beekeeper i know is charging 130-140 depending on condition of hive's, last year i got 35.oo a hive for mellons and went in with spring splits averaging 5-8 frames could have gotten more money but had the parent hives in the mountains and didn't want to move them, the grower was late getting bee's but was happy with what he got:)
 
#18 ·
Mike T.,
Gene Brandi has been saying he has been seeing problems in melons treated with neonicotinoids.
What have you seen or heard?
I was told a few years ago if stopped at the bug stations for Small hive beetle you could enter Madera county if you agreed to treat for beetles. True?
Is Kermin in Madera county?
 
#21 ·
I have not heard about the neonicotinoids, last year was the first time heading to the melons, although me bee's did get sprayed but it wasn't the melon grower, I'm positive that it came from a cotton grower two miles east of the melons, I never got a phone call and my bee's where registard, fresno county ag comissioner said that if it was over1.5 miles the grower didn't have to notify me:scratch:, I checked the distances as the crow flies it was exactly 2 miles. I asked if they would change their policy to two miles but the response was not to my favor luckily i recouped and as of last monday my bee's are still looking good:cool: after the orange bloom i typicaly run to the mountains to make mountain honey. as to the hive beetles that would be a good question for the ag comissioners office, (559)-675-7876 is their number. Kerman is just inside fresno county about 30 mins sw of me.
 
#24 ·
Skinner: $125 may sound OK, but if you're coming from NC, trucking eats $40 or so, straight off the top. Theb hotels, meals, airline tickets?, Will you bring your own truck and forklift to place your bees in the orchards? These are other costs that can easily add another $20 per hive. On a side note what does it cost to place bees in and out of the marshalling yards and then get them to the almonds? Then you have the risk factors. To me it seems way simpler to go a little further south and sell nucs. This kind of situation you can control way better than sending your bees 5000 miles away. The risk factor is especially true when starting out. Can you afford to lose 100 hives if you only have 100? That could kill your will to work, demoralize you, start a fire in your belly and send you out on a rampage etc...

When I send bees very far away I try to minimize risks and at some point I ask myself can I afford to loose these bees? My willingness to send them off increases as I get closer to answering yes to a potential loss of bees. I also ask, do I think I will loose bees to theft, vandalism, ignorance? If no then off they go.

Jean-Marc

PS- Anything with beekeeping and easy does not match.
 
#29 ·
Skinner: $125 may sound OK, but if you're coming from NC, trucking eats $40 or so, straight off the top.
Jean-Marc

PS- Anything with beekeeping and easy does not match.
No, jean-marc, it's more like $9.00 per hive for transportation. I'm not sending any because I don't have enuf good ones to make it worth while, but the guy that does send them from SC says that he clears $90.00 per colony. And he doesn't go to CA himself. He puts them on a truck and waves good by.
 
#32 ·
I must have heard him incorrectly, or the grower is paying alot more than others.

If there are 544 story and a halfs (halves?) on a load and you get $125.00 per colony that comes to $68,000.00 per semi in income. Minus $20.00 per colony for handling in CA, which drops it by $10,880.00, down to $47,120.00. Minus $14,000.00 round trip for trucking ($27.?? each) which brings it down to $33,120.00, which is clearing $60.88 per colony.

So, I don't know where I got the $9.00 idea from. Must have misunderstood someone.

Did I do my math correctly?
 
#33 · (Edited)
Mark, $9, Perhaps he was talking one way and it's his brother in law doing the hauling.:D
We pay just under $5000 one way. We put between 480-512 on the truck so the cost varies but I round to $10 each way. We pay on average $20 per hive round trip. $27 from Carilinas sounds about right.
But I think your math is off. Just take per colony. $125 - $20 handling = $105 - $27 = $78.
There are usually more expenses. He probably gives them a little more TLC either before shipping or after getting to CA, pollen sub and such.
If the losses he takes out there are similar to what he would expect in the home state, that is a wash. If they are more that needs to be added to the equation.
Sheri
 
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