Jose Antonio,

 Thanks so much for asking, you are the first.

The mix is ( 50 pounds brewers yeast, 7-8 gals syrup, 1.5 gals bee pollen). The mixer is a Kushlan 150 motor mixer, Leland 200 meat mixer. I use a Kusland 150  model. You can order them at (home depot) some East coast stores have them in stock, thousand dollars or so. A batch will do about 25 hives and will weigh about 145 pounds. A two man crew can feed about two hundred hives a day or about 1200 pounds of product. I use  tubs I bought at Wal Mart , 6 dollars a piece. I run a load of mix , slide the tub underneath and pull the pin (use cooking oil to coat the tub first). When I get to the bee yard, I use a three feet by three feet plywood, flip the tub on to it .One guy handles the mix the other handles the bees. It's a sticky mess if you try to do both. Two  keepers work the best. The keeper will crack the supers apart and smoke the hell out of them (I use burlap soaked in oil ), so when we apply the patty (6 pounds, about the size of a gallon milk jug ) the bees and queen don't get crushed. Also bring water and some dry brewers with  you. Its kind of like making biskets on a larger scale.Try to use all the mix up that day as it will be harder the day after.

 I don't use last names but I'm sure Pat wont mind the plug.

Pat Heitkam sells brewers yeast, he can be found in the ABJ. ( Pat, good friend of mine and the industry )
Glorybee Foods sells bee feed pollen.
Syrup is 11.5 pounds per gallon, DO NOT ADD WATER.

 The first rounds start about October 20, I spend  the first part of the fall getting mite levels as low as I can, it would be nice to start in September but I don't have the time (other job ). Once you get the first round on, make sure to keep your dates, you do not want the queen to stop and start, I.e. run out. The first round is consumed a little faster as the urethral glands are dry (royal jelly gland) but once the glands are full its off to the races. Fifty, forty degrees even mid thirty keeps pushing them. Do not put patty on top (lid) as it won't work and do not let them get wet. Pain in the ass in the middle of  winter, have been run out of the bee yards by rain many times.

  Its nice to hear somebody wanting to improve their hives instead of whining about them. It's time to flip over the broken record even if its a couple generations old. Speaking of generations, an old group called JOURNEY album is out called generations. I like the old stuff better like, DON'T STOP BELIEVING. Don't give up, those of you that have had a bad almond year.Things will get better if you keep trying.

 I've shaked a lot of bees lately, I have given most beekeepers a year to pay me back, after the almonds following year. (Funny thing, these beekeepers, I haven't been stiffed once:) .

This pollen feeding is hard work but the rewards are worth it. Twelve frames in the almonds speaks for itself.


 Keith Jarrett 
California Natural's

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