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Posted November 16, 2011
The quantity, quality and diversity of naturally available honey bee forage is a primary determinant in the health of the hive and colony strength at almond pollination and therefore increasingly a subject of research. While supplemental feeding of protein and carbohydrates plays an important role in the management of hive health, there is no substitute for an abundance of diverse natural forage. 2011 has been a year of extremes at both ends of the weather spectrum and 2012 portends the same with a second year of La Nina conditions present.
The following is an excerpt from the latest El Niño/La Niña-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) update from the National Weather Service, “A majority of the models now predict La Niña to continue through the Northern Hemisphere winter and then gradually weaken after peaking during the November – January period...Over the last half-century, La Niña events that were preceded by ENSO-neutral conditions during the Northern Hemisphere summer (May-August). as occurred in 2011, were less likely to attain strong amplitude (less than –1.5°C) the following winter. This observation, in combination with the model forecasts, favors a weak-to-moderate strength La Niña during the Northern Hemisphere winter.” The full discussion can be accessed here.
The Western Weather Group has provided a very interesting graphic attempting to predict another La Niña year. Please see their graphic here. You will find graphs for both precipitation and for temperatures. Pay particular attention to the almond growing region, which is split between the odds for cooler, wetter Pacific Northwest influences and warmer, dryer Southwest influence. Some almond growing areas lie on the dividing line between the influences and are given “equal chances” for wetter/cooler and dryer/warmer.
The impact on honey bee forage of this past year La Nina was felt throughout the country with cold and wet late springs and summers in the north and a pronounced drought in the south. “Exceptional drought record for United States set in July” is the headline at the US Drought Monitor. The report goes on to state, “The percent of contiguous U.S. land area experiencing exceptional drought in July reached the highest levels in the history of the U.S. Drought Monitor… nearly 12% of the contiguous United States fell into the "exceptional" classification during the month, peaking at 11.96 percent on July 12. That level of exceptional drought had never before been seen in the monitor's 12-year history…” Reporting on their summer experience and plans for almond pollination, beekeepers from around the country had the following to report:
“In Central California from the Sierra foothills to the coast, cooler than normal wet spring kept the bees and plants from producing a great spring honey crop. The summer honey crop was better than last year primarily because of the increase in cotton acreage, a primary summer nectar source for the bees. Many locations where bluecurl and tarweed normally exist in abundance (during a wet year) in late summer were totally bare of either of these great bee plants. Most of the hives have decent populations, similar to the last couple of years and better than a few years prior to that. We plan to rent about the same amount as last year.”
“Since my bees spend the summer pollinating blueberries in Maine and cranberries in Massachusetts, we do not try to make a honey crop. The fall honey flow in South Florida… has been normal. Our expectation is to bring a few more hives to almonds. A nationwide shortage of truckers to move bees has resulted in almost 50% increase in transportation fees. Sugar prices are at an all-time high. We will need more money in the almond pollination contract to make this work.”
“The Wisconsin spring was late again this year, cold and wet. The crop was poor again this year with a 58 pound average. Because of the late spring and flooding down South, many package bees and nucs were not installed in Wisconsin until middle to the end of May. The overall honey crop in Wisconsin ended up spotty. This fall is better than last year. We may ship 200 more colonies into the almonds but are waiting to see what other beekeepers are thinking on price.”
Northern California and Montana: “Spring supply of nectar is the worst I have ever seen and the pollen supply was adequate in California. Honey flow was 2 weeks late but good in Montana. Summer forage and fall forage was good in CA and Montana overall. Bees going into the fall this year coming from Montana are lighter than last year. Bee strength is about the same as the last few years being “real good” right now. This year may go down as one of the worst honey crops the US has ever experienced. Will have about the same number and rental price for hives going into almonds this year. The USDA National Honey Report, provides a more detailed discussion of honey producing conditions and beekeeping activities by state through September 2011.
In summary, this was generally not a good year for summer bee forage. However, bee colonies look to be going into the fall in pretty good shape but more dependent than usual on supplemental feeding. Most beekeepers are planning on running about the same number of hives as last year in almond pollination and at about the same price. The exception would be those beekeepers that have been priced “under market” and may raise their prices a bit to be nearer the norm.
Posted July 29, 2011 by Dan Cummings 2010 Honey Report US honey production in 2010 was up 20% over 2009. Average honey prices also increased 8.8% from $1.47/lb to a record high $1.60/lb. Hive numbers were up 7% from 2009 at 2.68 million. Click here for the 2010 National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) report for the 2010 US honey production released February 25, 2011.
Posted June 7, 2011 by Dan Cummings
California: The same wet and cool conditions retarding the development of California’s almond crop are also hampering bees in the Golden State. Orange honey production in the Southern San Joaquin Valley is reported down significantly as a result of poor nectar flows, netting of significant acreage for seedless mandarin production, and over stocking of locations. Many beekeepers throughout the State have been forced to feed far heavier after almond pollination this year than past years. Late spring rains have developed significant wild flower populations but cold weather has compromised nectar flows. Beekeepers are reporting significant grasshopper populations in the coastal foothills of the Sacramento Valley which bodes poorly for this year’s vetch and star thistle honey crops. Northern Central US: Very wet conditions prevail in most areas of this region; e.g. Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota. Hive placement for honey crops is two to three weeks later than normal. While the abundant moisture is favorable for sweet clover, alfalfa, and other native forage, the same wet conditions may impede planting of crops like canola that are rich in nectar and pollen sources for bees. Climbing agricultural commodity prices, e.g. corn and soybeans, may result in these less nutritious bee food sources displacing previously rich bee pastures. East Coast: Hives returned from almond pollination to find good spring nectar flows of titi and gallberry in the Florida woods. Tupelo, however, was a disappointment. Beekeepers have been moving hives north into Maine blueberries since early May. Maine too has been cold and wet and the blueberries are slow to bloom. Cranberries will follow typically from mid-June to mid- July. Bees are fed both protein and sugar during the blueberry and cranberry blooms to maintain the colony. Queen Production: Roughly half of all queen bees raised in the United States come from Northern California. Production started off slow in March with early graphs not experiencing warm enough conditions for mating. The virgin queen must fly to mate with a large drone population in mid-air. The queen and drones require at least 65 degrees with calm winds -conditions in scarce supply for much of the spring. Queen producers report sales a few weeks behind normal but hopeful any shortfall can be addressed before rising summer temperatures bring a close to the season. Cold and wet conditions elsewhere in the United States have delayed demand for re-queening and populating new or lost hives so supply and demand may not be as out of balance as would otherwise be the case. Production of queens in Hawaii has become increasing difficult with the appearance on the Big Island of Varroa mite in August 2008 and more recently small hive beetles in May 2010. Honey bee queen production in Hawaii takes place on the Big Island. Feral colonies have all but disappeared and managed colonies are under continual attack from the noxious hive beetle raiding colonies and fouling comb. Organic beekeepers have been particularly hard hit trying to manage the parasites and not lose their organic designation which garners a sufficient sales premium to offset shipping costs to the mainland. This especially valuable supply of fresh queens in the winter months ahead of almond pollination is adapting, but costs of production have risen dramatically in the last two years.
Annual Colony Loss Survey: The Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) report preliminary survey results indicating 30% of managed honey bee colonies in the U.S. were lost during the 2010/2011 winter. The report is available here. Losses have remained fairly constant over the last 5 years ranging between 29% and 36%. Roughly 20% of all beekeepers participated in the survey representing over 15% of the 2.68 million hives in the U.S. This survey does not include additional colony losses incurred other times of the year. ***************** Posted April 2, 2011 by Dan Cummings
Most almond growers are cautiously optimistic about the prospects of the 2011 almond crop, with the notable exception of Sacramento Valley growers who suffered the brunt of bad weather during and after bloom. We thought it would be interesting to share the observations of beekeepers throughout California’s almond growing regions on pollination this year and their insights on bee activity relative to pollen collection, flight and overall quality of pollination.
Northern almond growing region. “We fed 100% of the colonies in the field … more than double in the past… because of the cold wet weather here in the Sacramento Valley. I’ve heard those that who didn’t feed saw a decline of 2 to 3 frames of bees during the first half of bloom. When the bees finally did get to work, the colonies were loaded with pollen; most pollen came in the second half of bloom. We made more nectar this year than I’ve seen in a long time, most of it during and after petal fall. Bees did fly at lower temperatures than customary, even below 50 degrees, but they had to be strong hives. It all depends on what you put into your bees prior to bloom.”
Central almond growing region. “The bees had four or five great days on the early varieties and they had a terrific run the last 10 days of bloom for the late trees. It started slow but ended up being a great year for the bees.”
“I know the almond crop will vary depending on bloom stage in different areas during the early rain but I pollinate an area 60 miles radius from Madera and the set appears to be very heavy at this time. The bees also gained weight in the orchard, gaining higher amounts on the west side of the Valley (Los Banos to Coalinga). If you had strong hives, they made a lot of nectar. If they were weak hives, they did very little.”
“We fed about one third of the colonies at least once after they were placed in the orchards, and had to feed again to hold them over through the subsequent cold spell. Populations increased during bloom as expected given that most colonies came in with at least 4-5 frames of brood. There was quite a bit of pollen collected during bloom even though some of it no doubt contained fungicide residues. All in all, I think the bees were able to fly enough here in the central portion of the Valley to set a decent crop of almonds.”
Southern almond growing region. “The delayed bloom was hard on colonies this year. Many beekeepers were going through their colonies in the orchards and feeding syrup. There was a serious threat of starvation – all that brood and not enough food. Colonies fed just prior to bloom and during bloom (protein and syrup) faired very well. Nectar and pollen wasn’t a problem the second two thirds of the bloom. Pollination was excellent the last two thirds of bloom. Some beekeepers had weight problems shipping their bees out - the colonies put on a lot of honey.”
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