| BEEEKEEPER NEWSLETTER - September 28, 2004 |
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SCIENTIFIC AG CO. Toll-free: (877)356-5846 &
896-5846
Prices of all nut crops are
related. If the price of an individual nut gets too high, buyers
switch to a cheaper nut. Disasters in other nut commodities left
California almonds as the only game in town for many nut buyers
and almond prices have climbed from $1.40 to as high as $2.30/lb.
for Nonpareil-type nuts (other varieties are about 18¢ less). This years ''perfect storm(s)'' scenario is unlikely to be repeated in 2005 (or in any subsequent year) - this year's spike in almond prices is likely a 1-year phenomenom. Only a few years ago almond prices were 80¢/lb and they could easily revert to that as more acreage comes on line. Almond handlers like to attribute
current high prices to superior promotion and salesmanship, but
the reality is that Mother Nature trumped promotion this year.
As lonq as I've been in this business, almond handlers have always
painted an optimistic picture of the future of almonds and
have urged growers to plant more almonds. A large almond crop
makes it a lot easier for handlers to deal with buyers. As with our beekeepers, we have a continuous clause in our grower agreements - we notify growers of next year's pollination price in June and if they don't cancel within 30 days the agreement stays in effect at the new price. We give considerable thought when setting the price each year and we based our price increase for 2005 on 3 carefully thought-out reasons: 1. The 2nd consectutive billion lb crop would cause almond prices to fall. 2. Many older orchards would be pulled out. 3. The fogger machine would give beekeepers good mite control resulting in a greater bee supply for 2005. I was 100% wrong on each of the above. The depth of my mis-calculation was brought home to me last month when I was informed that Paramount Farming was giving their beekeepers a 20% price increase for 2005 - from $50 to $60 ($58.50 for their westside acreage which is brokered). With around 40,000 acres of almonds, what Paramount does has an influence throughout the industry. When I first started brokering almond bees my goal (or vision) was to supply growers with a superior product and to pay beekeepers a premium price for this product. In 25+ years, this coming year will be the first that I haven't fulfilled my goal with beekeepers. The price you receive for your bees in 2005 will be slightly above the industry average but will not be as high as it should be for the product you provide. You may have heard that some beekeepers are holding out for $70 to $75/colony although I know of no confirmed contracts at that price. A number of colonies have been contracted at well below the price you will receive in 2005. One beekeeper that is holding out for top dollar told me I should go back to our growers, explain the situation, and ask for a higher price. I told him, sorry; once you make a deal you stick to that deal. Beekeepers that are holding out for top prices in 2005 could be in for a rude surprise as bees overwintered in Texas find their way to California. I have talked by phone or in
person with most of you in recent weeks and explained the situation
as outlined above. In every case but one, you've said, in effect
"Joe, you've done a good job for us over the years and we're
sticking with you." (the one beekeeper that is leaving brought
us 1 fill-in load this year and will be taking all his bees to
Paramount next year). Paramount's price increase
bodes well for future almond pollination prices. Every year,
one or more of our growers asks me "Why are we paying so
much more than Paramount?" Well, they can't say that any
more. Paramount is sending a message to the almond industry and
the bee industry - a message we have been preaching for years:
beekeepers should be paid a fair price for their services. In
contrast to their low-ball philosophy of past years, Paramount
has realized the value of bees and is paying accordingly. Stick
with us and you'll get paid accordingly in future years - it
should be a nice ride. Formic acid - several formulations give good varroa control (temperature and humidity dependent). Matt Beekman (209)669-6323 is a distributor for Mite-Gone strips. Thymol Gel - sold as ApiGuard by Vita, Ltd. Frank Eischen (956)969-5007 is enthused about this product (50 grams on cardboard next to brood; 2 applications, 2 weeks apart). Sioux Bee is working on biological control using a fungus. Oxalic acid shows promise using a Hudson sprayer for delivery. Formic acid is hazardous to
handle but a pre-packaged product reduces this hazard. Thymol
and oxalic acid are not considered harmful.
Marla Spivak has been the driving force behind hygenic queens and you may have seen her presentations at one or more bee meetings over the years. The naysayers (including me) said "it will never work in a commercial operation because you can't control the drones." Well, thanks to Marla's persistence, it IS working in a commercial operation. Ellison runs 3500 colonies and is large enough that
How about a U.S. bee industry where there are ONLY hygenic drones out there? Ask your queen supplier if his (her) stock has hygenic genes from hygenic drones. I + P = Success Maria's success story, above, is a good example of how Intelligence + Persistence leads to success. One without the other doesn't work (we all know examples). The problems in the bee industry in recent years have weeded out a number of beekeepers that lacked the proper combination of I + P. Beekeepers today are both more intelligent and persistent than beekeepers of 20 years ago. This rise in intelligence was recently documented in the somewhat obscure Journal of Beekeeper Psychology (Vol. 12, No. 5, pp. 352-360). This study compared the IQ of beekeepers 20 years ago with the IQ of beekeepers in 2003 (a 50 person sample was used in each case). The results showed a remarkable 30 point difference in the 2 groups (120 in 1983 vs. 150 in 2003). Even when the 2 acknowledged California beekeeping geniuses, Ron Spears and Norm Cary (aka Cash & Carry) were excluded from the 2003 data, a significant 20 point rise in IQ was confirmed. (Both Spears and Cary have a dominant Persistence gene, which goes a long way towards explaining their success as beekeepers). Patti Elzen Those that attend bee meetings probably remember Patti Elzen who passed away this year. Patti had a wonderful combination of intelligence and perseverance that allowed her to make significant contributions to bee research esp. in regard to mite control and the proper use of chemicals to avoid mite resistance. Patti was a littly dynamo of energy and controlled enthusiasm. She will be missed by all in the beekeeping community. Philosphy Note More than one philosopher (or psychologist) has said that in order to really experience happiness you have to know pain; that true happiness is not possible when there is no knowledge of hardship; that if we go through life with everything going just right - no upsets - we don't really experience or appreciate the highs of good times. This is why a glass of cold water after a hard day's work in the sun can provide more pleasure than an expensive drink if one has been sitting in the shade all day. I think that is one of the attractions of beekeeping (and farming) - stay in it long enough and you're bound to experience pain, but also the highs and rewards of a job well done. Several California beekeepers have suffered devastating losses in recent years - Pat Heitkam and Les Ferguson lost warehouses to fire; Ron Spears lost 2,000 colonies in last fall's fires; Chuck and John Nickels suffered heavy colony loss in the same fires. I remember about 10 years ago, Wade Anderson lost several hundred colonies when the San Joaquin River overflowed. There are many other examples. All these beekeepers took their losses in stride and soldiered on admirably in spite of the difficulties. All can now savor the good times, when they come, with more zest then if they had not gone through the bad times. Every beekeeper has experienced the low of going to a bee yard and finding vandalism or bear damage or pesticide loss or starvation, disease, mites (or all of the preceding); this makes the high that much higher when you visit a yard and find the supers chock full of honey and the bees in great shape. Fall is not often the happiest
time in the beekeeping cycle. When going through bad times, always
remember the good times lie somewhere ahead. Think also about using fumadil
for nosema control. Its helped a lot of beekeepers. With honey prices declining, I can see bee operations being managed solely for almond pollination. The next few years should be interesting. Stay in touch. Call anytime to let us know how things are going and for an update here.
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