How many hives do I need for pollination of 6 acres squash?

[contactme_11]

I've got a farmer calling me for pollination of his 6 acre squash field. I usually do pollination for orchards not squash. How many hives do I need to qoute him for good saturation?

[doak]

I'd say 4 or 5 would be enough. Spread them out. 6 or 7 at most. just guessing :)doak

[contactme_11]

That's kind of what I was thinking. Maybe 2 in one corner and 2 at the other end of the field for a total of 4 hives.

[Wynoochee_newbee_guy]

two would be fine. when I send my bees out to some cranberry farms its 4 hives per 20 acres. thats not what I tell them its what the ag guy tells me. so two hives would be more then enough.

[hardwood]

Squash, watermelon, and cucumber use 1.5 hives per acre here.

Scott

[wd]

I would think  1 to 2 hives per acre. Some study's suggest 2 per acre in Cailf. I'd place the equivalence of 1 strong hive
however, it would probably be best to speak with your ag dept. if possible.

[Yappy]

Maybe you should just ask him how many he has budgeted for?

[contactme_11]

Maybe you should just ask him how many he has budgeted for?

That's not an issue. He just wants adequate saturation.

[harvey]

You charge to have a guy let you get pollen and nectar?   How much?   Seems backwards. 

[contactme_11]

You charge to have a guy let you get pollen and nectar?   How much?   Seems backwards. 

It's just they way it is. That's why professional beekeepers can exist. Price depends on location but around here it is usually between $65 and $90 per hive, per month. You keep all the honey. Some guys charge less in exchange for produce or land use.

[doak]

You don't get paid for receiving nectar and pollen. You get paid for the pollination services.
Nothing in beekeeping works backwards. :)doak

[bigbearomaha]

You charge to have a guy let you get pollen and nectar?   How much?   Seems backwards.  

As Doak said, you are charging for pollination service.

First, they need the pollination, you may not need to have their crop for your bees to make honey.

Second, There is considerable work and risk in having hives available, preparing the hives for transportation, setting them out, picking them back up and transporting them again.

Some folks may not agree, but  I do believe every time you transport a hive, it adds stress on the bees, thereby incurring risks for loss of colonies as a beekeeper.

Another risk for the bees and beekeeper is what is the crop being treated with.  There has to be a clear understanding of when treatments are applied to the crop so the beekeeper can take appropriate actions if need to protect the bees.

The cost is easily justified.

Big Bear

[Scadsobees]

You charge to have a guy let you get pollen and nectar?   How much?   Seems backwards. 

Especially so with cucurbits (cucumbers, squash, melons, pumpkin) since those benefit from the bees but don't produce much pollen/nectar generally and can be hard on the hives.

Locally for fruit (apples, cherry, blueberries etc) I think it is something in the area of $50-60 per hive paid to the beekeeper (it varies by season, crop, and location).  And that isn't worth it to me.
Get over to California in the almonds in February and it is $150 / hive. And a lot of beekeepers still lose their shirts.

Rick

[Damonh]

Last year I put 3 on a 6 acre pumpkin field. It worked out fine, the farmer had the most pumpkins he ever had. He wants me back this year. I love it when everything works out.

[luvin honey]

You charge to have a guy let you get pollen and nectar?   How much?   Seems backwards. 

Especially so with cucurbits (cucumbers, squash, melons, pumpkin) since those benefit from the bees but don't produce much pollen/nectar generally and can be hard on the hives.

Could you please explain this? I saw my bees like crazy on the cucurbits last year and would hate to think they're not benefitting as much as I. However, my bees also have incredible diversity in their habitat...

[wd]

Depending on the type of bee, there is a 1.5 mile radius to consider. Yes, they pollinate the crop and what ever else they can get. It is about saturation. Some hives in almonds must also have feed.