Is beekeeping getting harder?

[The Poot]

I think trying to make a living with honey bees is most certainly getting more difficult.
When I started 50 years ago, the worst thing that could happen was AFB. Very little
of that ever. No real issue burning a few hives. Now, I never see the disease. Of course Acarine and Varroa changed everything.
I deal with that. Lose a little bit, gain a little bit. But in recent years, the annual losses are getting scary. 2014-2015 2% loss. 2015-2016 6% loss.
2016-2017 40% loss. 2022-2023 60% loss. My oldest apiaries that used to be the best for production are no longer so.
Maize everywhere. Pesticide level in trapped pollen is deadly. Trapped pollen in 2023 had 10.75 ppb of clothianadin maize neonic. 1 % is high enough to see measurable damage. This pollen was trapped in May when maize is just up 6". No maize pollen. It's coming from the surrounding fields that have been poisoned by maize planter dust, and migration through the soil into wildflowers in adjoining fields and meadows. The Dandelion pollen had 4.5 ppb...at 5 ppb the researchers say we lose half of our queens.
350 ppb of Metolachlor...a pre-emergent herbicide for grasses. Seriously?? And why is it that I can hardly keep my bees alive?
If you believe the propaganda that honey bees and beekeeping haven't suffered severe setbacks in the last 10 years, I have a bridge in Brooklyn
for sale. Sorry for the rant but my bees are dwindling before my very eyes, and I see their life force slipping away.

The fields adjacent to my apiary are used for intensive grass production for silage and for a digester to produce energy. The fields are regularly blitzed with Roundup and reseeded, then after each cut, the slop from the digester and slurry gets dumped on the fields. (Four times last year).
Here’s a pic showing the dandelion opportunity for my bees this year….

 

[Wilco]

The fields adjacent to my apiary are used for intensive grass production for silage and for a digester to produce energy. The fields are regularly blitzed with Roundup and reseeded, then after each cut, the slop from the digester and slurry gets dumped on the fields. (Four times last year).
Here’s a pic showing the dandelion opportunity for my bees this year….
View attachment 39838

The intensive silage/hay production trend does bug me. I hope there will be a trend toward mixed forage in it in future, which adds the wildlife value. There's also good arable land being used for it instead of food rather than traditional meadow land for the forage which I think is a concern from a food sufficiency perspective.

 

[Erichalfbee]

We have improved grassland all round us too but parts are grazed. There is clover and dandelion in the mix though.

 

[Antipodes]

The fields adjacent to my apiary are used for intensive grass production for silage and for a digester to produce energy. The fields are regularly blitzed with Roundup and reseeded, then after each cut, the slop from the digester and slurry gets dumped on the fields. (Four times last year).
Here’s a pic showing the dandelion opportunity for my bees this year….
View attachment 39838

I was going to respond with a laughing emoji, but then I realised it would be inappropriate.

 

[JamezF]

The intensive silage/hay production trend does bug me. I hope there will be a trend toward mixed forage in it in future, which adds the wildlife value. There's also good arable land being used for it instead of food rather than traditional meadow land for the forage which I think is a concern from a food sufficiency perspective.

Our neighbouring farmer cuts silage from the fields around us in late Spring/early Summer. Once the grass has started to regrow nicely he puts his cattle out on them. Because of the way the weather is changing however, he's using less and less silage, I assume because the grass is growing later at the start of the Winter and earlier in the Spring. He just seems to be backing up bales and bales of silage in his yard. Every year there's more and more left by the time they can go onto fresh grass.

He doesn't seem to stop or cut less though. It's almost as if he doesn't know what else to do, or is convinced that at any point soon everything will go back to "normal" and he'll need it. I assume he can't sell the excess because everyone else is in much the same position.

James

 

[The Poot]

I was going to respond with a laughing emoji, but then I realised it would be inappropriate.

I’ve trained the bees to form an orderly queue…..

 

[Garry R]

“Don’t cast a cloot till May’s oot” in Orkney

Absolutely Lindsay - 5 or 6 layers of thick clothing!! Was there fishing in the past week and with the weather we had on Tuesday, Wedneday and Thursday I did think about you and the beekeeping challenges there on Orkney. Our group have been going there for 13 years now and this was pretty brutal for fishing - easily the worst we have had over those years. Had to stop early on two of the days. The rain squalls and a 20-25mph wind and temperature hardly above 10C the whole time on Swannay. I take my hat off to you for keeping your bees so successfully there. However we did catch a lot of trout 152 in the 2 days we got out and all returned. A quantity of beer and whisky was consumed in the bar at the Barony Hotel in an attempt to warm up (successful). If you all out there don't know Orkney has the friendliest people you could ever wish to meet. They have time for you and have a pace of life which seems to escape us in the south. Can't wait to be back next year whatever the weather.

Interestingly on Orkney there was quite a bit of the rough roadside clover out but have seen none at home in Somerset so far. Daylength perhaps?

 

[lindsay s]

Absolutely Lindsay - 5 or 6 layers of thick clothing!! Was there fishing in the past week and with the weather we had on Tuesday, Wedneday and Thursday I did think about you and the beekeeping challenges there on Orkney. Our group have been going there for 13 years now and this was pretty brutal for fishing - easily the worst we have had over those years. Had to stop early on two of the days. The rain squalls and a 20-25mph wind and temperature hardly above 10C the whole time on Swannay. I take my hat off to you for keeping your bees so successfully there. However we did catch a lot of trout 152 in the 2 days we got out and all returned. A quantity of beer and whisky was consumed in the bar at the Barony Hotel in an attempt to warm up (successful). If you all out there don't know Orkney has the friendliest people you could ever wish to meet. They have time for you and have a pace of life which seems to escape us in the south. Can't wait to be back next year whatever the weather.

Interestingly on Orkney there was quite a bit of the rough roadside clover out but have seen none at home in Somerset so far. Daylength perhaps?

Very sorry for the very late reply Garry.
It seems you enjoyed your time here despite the weather which lasted for about five to six weeks with an occasional bonnie day thrown in.
Wild rough white clover is common all over Orkney and is supposedly different from some of the varieties grown in the fields. If the conditions are right, white clover is one of our main sources of forage up here. I move a few of my town hives to a good clover area every summer, sometimes it’s not successful.

 

[Garry R]

Having spent 34 years beekeeping in Aberdeenshire and now 13 years in Somerset there are advantages to both placs. I think my yields are similar although in Aberdeenshire we did have oil seed rape and love it or hate it I found it a bit of a life saver early season. I don't have it here but dandelions and early blossom thrive (not this year with the rain we had) Of course I miss the heather crop down south. I am sure that the trick is to have the right bees for the area. Trout fishing on Orkney is a challenge weather-wise but if we had that weather in Somerset you would catch nothing - in fact due to Health and Safety you wouldn't be allowed out in a boat!! Will be back next year for the annual trip.

 

[jarmo henttu]

My impression is that due to climate change, novel pests etc there is less profit in beekeeping now than, say, 10 years ago. What are your views on this?

Obviously you get more skilled as time goes on, which compensates, but do you have to work significantly harder now compared to, say, 5 years after you started, for the same level of innflation-adjusted income?

Carbon diokside in atmosphere begun to rise 300 years ago.

 

[Ely]

I've heard it said that Australia is the hardest place in the world to keep bees. And that was before varroa.

I've heard from the penguins that it is trickier in Antarctica. Probably because they don't have fingers to hold the frames properly.

 

[Antipodes]

I've heard from the penguins that it is trickier in Antarctica. Probably because they don't have fingers to hold the frames properly.

Certain lack of flowers at Casey too .

 

[Vanterrier]

Carbon diokside in atmosphere begun to rise 300 years ago.

That'll be those bloody 4x4 chariots being used for ye olde schoole run...
K

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

people need to stop breathing!

 

[JamezF]

people need to stop breathing!

I've got a little list...

James

 

[Garry R]

people need to stop breathing!

Or we need to have more vegetarians or vegans to reduce the number of farting and belching cows..................

 

[The Poot]

Or we need to have more vegetarians or vegans to reduce the number of farting and belching cows..................

Or reduce the number of farting and belching vegans!

 

[Garry R]

Or reduce the number of farting and belching vegans!

I think it's called the food chain

 

[jarmo henttu]

Or reduce the number of farting and belching vegans!

Series farter

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Or we need to have more vegetarians or vegans to reduce the number of farting and belching cows

I'm doing the world a favour then by eating as many cows as I can.
I'd be more concerned about vegematarians and vogons farting - as well as shipping veg halfway around the world to satisfy their habit.