How are the professional beekeeper doing?

[BeeNice]

Like everyone else, this year has been very difficult with the weather as it is and is continuing to be bad. I have heard horrid stories about lack of honey stores, I lost out on a spring crop, and if the bees can come out for the Lime then I should get something.
But, how are the professional beekeepers doing, after all it's your living. If you are doing okay, can you give some pointers for the rest of us. If not, give vent to the jet stream!!!
Cheers
Steven

 

[george]

Not one myself but help one out .
He spoke to a full timer last week and is supplying honey , ' hand to mouth ' as it were . All last years buffer stock has gone and he is taking what honey his hives have and selling that on a week by week basis .
Could be a grim year unless the Heather is very good .

 

[stephenpug]

A friend of mine who is a honey farmer is 10 ton down on this years crops he is realy starting to stress over it

 

[Chris Luck]

Things are OK but not brilliant here in Poitou-Charentes with the main crop still to come, just need the temperatures to rise a bit in the next week or so to get a good flow on the sunflowers.

Chris

 

[Bates]

Left all spring crop on to feed them and have had to feed all today. Not expecting much this season but honey is not our main trade.

 

[Winker]

I am not a bee farmer but im doing ok here in bedfordshire. I got around 120lb of OSR honey a few months back, which was not to bad considering all the rain we had at the start of the year and i now have 14 hives each with a full super and a second half full super on them. If it keeps going this way, im on for a good year.

 

[protheroe]

i think i will move to bedfordshire

 

[stephenpug]

i think i will move to bedfordshire

 

[AMAE]

Similarly not a bee farmer, but in Berkshire we got 120 Kilos of honey off 6 productive hives, and we have close to 150 kilos on the hives at the moment. When the sun comes out, they are hitting the limes and bramble.

 

[Queens59]

Come on protheroe Ammanford?? I spent 1/2 my childhood visiting a cousin there. Bees - you're lucky with what you get!!