>
>>When I first saw California beekeeping I thought I had went back in time a
>>few
> decades.
>
> Bob, beekeepers using boom loaders are the exception in California.  Most
> all commercial operations are fully palletized.

Maybe today but were not a decade ago. Gene Brandi was still using boom
loaders with thousands but his brother Bob was not.

The Wooten's were still running thousands with boom loaders.

I  am not saying boom loaders do not work as I have one sitting out back but
only that in Florida & Texas they are rare.

The movie Eulee's Gold was not a true representation of Florida commercial
beekeeping at the time the movie was made but the boom was used ( I was
told) to show an old beekeeper keeping bees the way his grandfather did.
Even when the movie came out I could not think of a commercial beekeeper 
still using a
boom in Florida but as you point out might be a few.

When I started in Florida booms were all there was or hives moved by hand. I
have experience both ways. Semi's were loaded for the fireweed in the north
by hand. Unloaded by hand. Reloaded in the north by hand and then unloaded
back in Florida by hand by Bell Honey.8000 hives sent north to fireweed in
1964 .

Bell *to my knowledge * never owned or used a boom. Went directly to
pallets.

Bell was one of the first to use pallets.

bob

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