[idaho bee guy]

Good afternoon all
I tried this in the bee forum and got no replay so I'll try it here
Was talking with the local farmer this morning and he asked some questions i could not answer. He/we have about 11,000 acres of large Garbanzo beans small Garbs. ( check peas ) and some dry peas are these good for bees? Will they work them? Will I benefit from them in honey or pollen? will the farmer benefit from pollination?( probably not noticeable but he asked )
I think I was told a long time ago dry peas were not a bee plant but not sure. any help guys?
Thanks in advance
Ace

 

[standman]

Ace,
Look here http://www.beeculture.com/content/pollination_handbook/broad.html. I don't know exactly which one might match up most closely to your particular crop. Best I can tell, it looks like there might be some value to having bees on those kinds of crops, even when they are not required for cross-pollination. The benefit appears to come from the bees collecting the pollen. Not sure how much nectar they produce, so you may not get any honey? Hope that is a help. Stan

 

[idaho bee guy]

thanks standman
I was afraid of that
thanks for the replay
Ace