The national bee meetings are now behind us, and what a motivating week it was!  Danielle Downey and Billy Synk covered the American Beekeeping Federation's meeting for Project Apis m. (PAm) and Tara McCall and myself participated in the American Honey Producer's Conference.   Danielle will cover the ABF meeting below and my comments on the AHPA meeting include that it was well-attended with motivating and informational speakers such as Dr. Jonathan Lundgren, Blue Dasher Farm and Dr. Bruce Rodan, White House Staff.  Keep reading.  The 4 things you'll want to read in this enewsletter are Billy's Blog, Danielle's Discourse, The Word from Wardell, and BIP's Box.  

What does this mean for the bee supply for almond pollination?  At present, while individual beekeepers' numbers appear to be down, there doesn't appear to be a shortage of colonies for almond pollination this year.  While the supply might be tight, I don't foresee major shortages.  Rental prices are up this year, averaging $170 to $185 per colony.  This is $10 to $15 over rental prices last year.  These prices are fair increases considering the amount of feeding needed to ready the colonies for February pollination and the increases in transportation costs.  

After the severe colony losses of 2005 and 2006, beekeepers in Florida and the Southeast stepped up to fill the growing need for colonies in California almonds.  Increasing almond rental fees coupled with relentless sprays in Florida citrus to control the Huanglongbing , also known as citrus greening disease, beekeepers began shipping more colonies to California instead of staying in Florida to make orange blossom honey.  The increase in rental fees made it cost effective for beekeepers to ship colonies across the country.  These additional colonies were welcomed in California almond orchards, and their numbers and frame counts have been consistent for the past ten years.  This year, however, colonies out of the Southeast are experiencing many of the health challenges as seen across the country.  Culling heavily this year, beekeepers are recognizing that inconsistency is one of the consistent trends seen this year.  While individual beekeepers are experiencing higher than normal losses many had planned for losses by making more splits.  This coupled with new beekeepers entering the industry has eased the shortfall for this year's almond pollination.  With bloom just around the corner, colonies are starting to show up in orchards, and the greatest commercial pollination event in the world is getting started.  Good luck beekeepers and growers alike.