Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
So the orchardist could choose how many hives he wanted, when he wanted them,
whether they needed placing and by whom, and who would feed them. He would pay
for each service accordingly. Generally, the operation ran smoothly but there were the
inevitable hiccups caused by working at night and becoming tired and miserable or
being stuck in an orchard in the truck. One of the most difficult tasks was to find the
right orchard at night when they all looked exactly the same. We had a system in place
in the form of signs at the orchard's entrance, but these were often pulled off by small
boys, resulting in many a load of bees ending up in the wrong place.
Making a profit
Generally speaking, pollination contracts will make you money, but at a cost. The main
costs are fuel, sugar syrup (if the crop doesn't give nectar) and wages (if you have to
employ people). It is hard work and always at night. And because bees won't fly at night
- they crawl - this can make the situation worse. I have never been stung so much as
when I was doing this work.
We eventually worked out that, if each hive could obtain just a few more kilos of manuka
honey (a very few kilos more), it would make more profit. This would also remove the
need to reposition the bees so frequently, thus reducing the beekeepers' stress, saving
fuel and truck wear and preventing the bees from being sprayed with insecticide (which
always seemed to happen). This example, however, concerns kiwi (a non-nectar giving
plant) and manuka honey (a very high-value crop). The same maths may not work for
other crops. Before you decide to take up this potentially lucrative aspect of beekeeping,
therefore, work out your maths and then, if all is well, go for it.
Before you decide whether to harvest other products, it's worthwhile finding out the
value of them in your own country. In other words, will anyone buy them, and how
much will they pay? Another factor to bear in mind are compliance issues. These apply
to honey as well as to the other food items, such as pollen, royal jelly and, perhaps,
propolis if it is to be used for internal consumption as a tincture, etc.
