2009 Season
We are increasing our 2009 almond pollination prices to growers by $15/colony and passing on the entire $15 to beekeepers. We gave a lot of thought to 2009 prices in order to come up with prices that are fair to both almond growers and beekeepers.
Some beekeepers think that by the time things settle out in January, almond bees will be going for $200/colony - that the combination of high honey prices (causing eastern beekeepers to stay home), increased almond acreage and continuing CCD problems will create a severe shortage of bees next year. They may well be right, but growers have to plan their budgets well ahead of time and don't want to be subject to last-minute market vagaries. Also, with water shortages on the west side, it is possible that significant almond acreage will be taken out of production; if so, there could well be a surplus of bees.
We could probably raise our price by more than $15 to growers and they would go along because we have established a reputation for fairness over the years. It would be unfair, though, to take advantage of the current perception of a bee shortage in 2009.
Note: Unless you cancel your current agreement with us by June 1st, your agreement remains in effect for 2009 at the price given on the enclosed slip. I hope you stay on the bus, but if you want to get off, I will respect that. If you stay with us, please fill in the enclosed slip with the number of colonies you can bring and return it to us by July 1st , if possible. I realize that no beekeeper knows what his winter losses will be, so be conservative on the number of colonies you put down. We will notify you by October 30 (sooner, if necessary) of the number of colonies we will need in 2009.
Frost Event
On April 20, temperatures hit 27 degrees (F) in the Sacramento Valley, damaging the crop in some orchards. Statewide, we're still looking at a record crop. This same cold air gave temperature readings as low as 18 degrees in some apple growing areas in Washington, causing significant damage to the early bloom.
Worth Repeating
We are increasing our 2009 almond pollination prices to growers by $15/colony and passing on the entire $15 to beekeepers. We gave a lot of thought to 2009 prices in order to come up with prices that are fair to both almond growers and beekeepers.
Some beekeepers think that by the time things settle out in January, almond bees will be going for $200/colony - that the combination of high honey prices (causing eastern beekeepers to stay home), increased almond acreage and continuing CCD problems will create a severe shortage of bees next year. They may well be right, but growers have to plan their budgets well ahead of time and don't want to be subject to last-minute market vagaries. Also, with water shortages on the west side, it is possible that significant almond acreage will be taken out of production; if so, there could well be a surplus of bees.
We could probably raise our price by more than $15 to growers and they would go along because we have established a reputation for fairness over the years. It would be unfair, though, to take advantage of the current perception of a bee shortage in 2009.
Note: Unless you cancel your current agreement with us by June 1st, your agreement remains in effect for 2009 at the price given on the enclosed slip. I hope you stay on the bus, but if you want to get off, I will respect that. If you stay with us, please fill in the enclosed slip with the number of colonies you can bring and return it to us by July 1st , if possible. I realize that no beekeeper knows what his winter losses will be, so be conservative on the number of colonies you put down. We will notify you by October 30 (sooner, if necessary) of the number of colonies we will need in 2009.
Frost Event
On April 20, temperatures hit 27 degrees (F) in the Sacramento Valley, damaging the crop in some orchards. Statewide, we're still looking at a record crop. This same cold air gave temperature readings as low as 18 degrees in some apple growing areas in Washington, causing significant damage to the early bloom.
Worth Repeating
Date of Mite Treatment | Frames of bees in December* |
August 15 | 17+ |
September 15 | 9 |
October 15 | 2.5 |
*from August 2005, ABJ, p.631. Assume 2,000 bees per frame |