Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 12
possibilities
This final chapter introduces you to the many possibilities of obtaining an income
from beekeeping, from harvesting pollen, to becoming a research scientist, to working
as a jobbing beekeeper on the world stage - beekeeping has immense possibilities for
everyone.
We looked at the products of the hive in Chapter 3, and we dealt with the honey
harvest in Chapter 7, but what about harvesting other products? But first, we explore
here the main purpose of the bees - pollination - a big subject that can be a very good
financial proposition for beekeepers.
Bees and the farmer
Many fruit and other crops produce more and better fruit or more and better seeds if
they are pollinated by bees. The percentages of increased fruit yield are, in particular,
amazing. Many orchards farmers have thus, at one time or another, kept bees to perform
this vital function for free. This isn't really for free, however, because beehives have to
be managed well if the bees are to take advantage of the often very early-flowering fruit
crops, and this management is usually needed when farmers are, themselves, busy with
their fruit or crops. Farmers also often find that they need to spray insecticides on their
crops at the pre- and post-flowering stage, and so they have to move the bees out of the
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