> The principle [pollination] shortage that
> everyone talks about is bees for almonds,
> a luxury export crop. Not exactly a national crisis.
And a crop that continues to enjoy expanded cultivation every year, with
more acres are planted with almonds, and more trees maturing to ages that
make them producing trees.
From the 2012 USDA Almond Forecast:
Year Bearing Non-Bearing
==== ======= =======
1995 418,000 65,700
1996 428,000 72,400
1997 442,000 63,000
1998 460,000 120,000
1999 485,000 115,000
2000 510,000 100,000
2001 530,000 75,000
2002 545,000 65,000
2003 550,000 60,000
2004 570,000 70,000
2005 590,000 110,000
2006 610,000 145,000
2007 640,000 125,000
2008 680,000 115,000
2009 720,000 90,000
2010 740,000 85,000
2011 760,000 75,000
2012 780,000 ?
So, at 2 hives per acre, that's 1.56 million colonies. The almond growers
can continue to expand, and continue to keep throwing money at the problem
of pollination, as their profits are so massive.
As I've said before, Almonds did for beekeeping what cocaine did for South
Florida. Note that I have not kept a residence in South Florida since.
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