Honey production this year.

[capt44]

I know we've had a lot of rain and cooler weather this year than normal but our honey flow is basically over.
Folks that have decided to harvest their honey has found the bees didn't make much this year.
I've talked to several beekeepers and their production is down about half what it normally is.
Soybeans are just starting to bloom but some won't bloom for about another month or so.
By it being so damp this year I look for a investation of army worms in the soybeans which will mean the farmers will spray insecticides including methylpyathion which will about kill any living thing.
I got a feeling there is going to be a lot of feeding going on.

[rookie2531]

How do you keep them out of the poison? Do you top water and feed and lock them in?

[capt44]

There isn't a soybean field within 10 miles of my bee yards here in the hills.
But in the delta there is thousands of acres of beans and such.

[jbeekeeper]

In central Ohio it has been rainy and cold.  The nucs I started a few month ago have very little new honey.  I would guess about a pound or two per hive.  The only forage flowers out are Canadian thistle and a few stray yarrow and such.  Any other comments for Central Ohio?  Is it just my hives or are others having a low flow too. :?

[GSF]

Welcome Jbeekeeper.

[Old Blue]

I've got 2 colonies that had a lot of uncapped honey last year that I didn't pull.  I suspect that they have capped it now and think I will have a much better harvest than last years small yield.

This was our second brown spring in a row, with slim to none rain.  I think they are subsisting on eucalyptus, backyard citrus and miscellaneous landscaping.

Last year I took 19 quarts out of 3 hives.  The year before they gave me about 100 - 120 lbs, maybe 50 quarts.

Last year there were almost no swarms to collect.  This year there were a moderate number.  I think the lucky ones were able to throw a swarm this second year after none last year.  It's been dry.

Old Blue
Where the tax perps are itching to find a way to tax the drought.  In...............
Kali-bone-ya

[BeeMaster2]

I find it amazing that we are getting the same report in the west, the mid west and here on the east coast. Last year at this time, I pulled 500 pounds of honey from 9 hives of 12 hives originally placed at my farm and thought that was low. This year I pulled 174 pounds off of 4 hives of 13 originally placed hives. I had a lot of problems with splits not building and not making queens. I did have to bring back 4 hives that were full of un capped honey. Probably as much honey as I pulled.
The biggest problem I suspect is that there are thousands of hives placed within a couple of miles of my hives. Over a hundred right next to my apiary. I suspect some of the problems were from the bees robbing the splits while waiting for the flow to start.
The flow did start late this year.
Jim

[sterling]

Here in middle TN the honey crop seems to be better then average. I helped a guy yesterday harvest his first ever hive we pulled 20 med frames and extracted 68# and got two foundationless frames for cut comb then left at least 12 med frames of capped and uncapped for the bees so he won't have to feed.

[hjon71]

My honey production was about what it was last year. I think it would have been more BUT the queen got up into the bottom honey super and laid in the middle 6 frames... Does she not know I want honey there? LOL

[Moots]

Only my second year, so tough to compare.  However, I've felt like this entire season that the majority of my bees never really got going and did much.  I pulled 350 pounds off of 9 hives this past weekend...Which while not much per hive, it was actually better than I was anticipating.   I'm guessing that the abundance of rain my have screwed things up.  On May 28th alone, we had 14 inches of rain, probably all within a 12 hour period...In one month, May 28th thru June 27th, we were at 30 inches.

[AliciaH]

My hives are looking awesome for honey!  Yay!  However....

The downside is that everything bloomed early.  And I mean E-A-R-L-Y!  If on top of that we have a fall like last year, where we didn't get measurable moisture until November, then they will need what they have stored.  Many here will make the choice between no honey or heavy feeding.

[10framer]

i had a decent flow.  i only planned on using 4 hives for production but it looks like i'll be pulling from 6.  i'm estimating i'll take 300 pounds this week and expect to get a fall flow.  all the supers i'm pulling had to be drawn out except two.  this is way better than last year but i started with stronger hives.