A good relationship between beekeepers and farmers is the linchpin to protect bee health and promote robust pollination. This historic collaboration finds multiple benefits in communication and cover crops. John and Jason Miller of Miller Honey Bees and Nick Edsall of Bullseye Farms share their advice. ​

Every year queen bee producers ship honey bee queens to beekeepers across the USA and Canada. Often people are surprised that bees can be mailed– by both the US Postal Service and UPS. Each box can contain hundreds of queens, and as you might imagine, that's a highly perishable shipment! Queens are vulnerable in transit, especially to temperature extremes. Studies have shown that even though the queens may arrive alive, unseen damage due to temperature exposure will result in lower colony productivity. That means less honey, poor brood patterns, premature supersedure and lower winter survival.     ​