[Guest]

Where would one look into information on pollination contracts. The who, where, etc

 

[beeman 202]

Please round out your question more.

If you are asking about who rents bees, there are a number of ads in American Bee Journal looking for beekeepers to pollinate the almonds this spring (Feb 2005).

For local pollination contracts, you just need to knock on the doors of any local apple orchards you might have. I am not aware of any other crops in North Dakota that require paid pollination to produce. So many beekeepers migrate to North Dakota after doing almond and fruit in California/Washington, that there is bee saturation in many areas. Perhaps someone in seed production.

Regarding the contract itself, there have been articles written in the past in either American Bee Journal or Bee Culture, I don't remember which. Some do a handshake, while others do a three page document.
There used to be a sample at www.beepollination.com

A quick glance @ Oct 2005 American Bee Journal, I see at least 8 ads for almond pollination(looking for bees) all in CA, some with advertised rents of $48-$52/hive. I know some get more.

If you can move your bees out of North Dakota, to California, there is huge demand.
If you are stuck in ND, you will find sparse demand.

 

[SippyBees]

Is there anyone using this forum that does pollination services? I would like to know their opinion of it all.... is it profitable? Any harm to your bees.. like starving?? Any bad experiences with growers killing all your bees..and if they do are they liable?
Any info would be interesting to hear...
Thanx

 

[McTurk4a]

FWIW I did pollination work for many years. It was worthwhile and some years I was able to make nearly as much in a few months as I did as a high school teacher full time. Getting customers was no problem. I would type out a set of two postage paid postcards. One which the customer could just write in on the "form" message the number of hives he wished to rent and his phone number,his address was already in the form. This card had my address on it and was simply mailed back to me by the customer. The other attached card explained the rental fee, type of hives, etc. Both cards were scotch taped together lightly. I got the addresses of the various orchardists, blueberry growers, and cranberry growers and other fruit and veg. producers from the state's agricultural office. Before I started I rented some of my hives to a pollinator and in return for his profit I learned from him as I accompanied him in the transporting of my hives and the next year that customer wanted my hives. It's excellent work for a teacher as it starts in the spring and goes through the summer. All the transporting is done at night, no classes are missed unless the customer is very far. It is hard work though and getting help to load the hives is one of the problems as not many people can tolerate a lot of stings in one night and all it takes is one strong hive that breaks open to discourage the "helper" from returning the next time. Good luck. McTurk4a

 

[Guest]

I am looking beyond ND......... I chated with a large commercial bee outfit yesterday and they do extensice pollination from Texas, Mane, Michigan, and Calif.

As China will soon be exporting honey to the US and the price is certain to drop to 50 to 60 cents a pound, the pollination income will stay steady.

My goal is to make beekeeping and my apple orchard my only income.

Thanks