On Wed, 14 Jan 1998 20:47:43 GMT, in sci.agriculture.beekeeping
[log in to unmask] (Andy Nachbaur) wrote:
 
Beekeepers should be congratulated for a job well done!
 
According to a MODEST BEE newspaper Business Section article of
January 10, 1998 the Almond harvest was a record 744 million pounds
surpassing the 1994 crop of 732.7 million pounds.
 
The pre-harvest estimates from last fall was 680 million pounds, I was
wrong when I pegged it at the first billion pound crop, but I came as
close as the growers did with their estimate.<G>
 
The gross farm income for this years crop is not yet reported as much
of the crop has yet to be sold and problems have developed with a
small growing percentage of the export market to Asia as anyone could
guess. For sure the crop will return at least one billion dollars to
the growers by the time all the crop is sold.
 
Ground conditions are wet in the almond orchards and movement has
slowed in delivering bees. The almond trees have had good dormant
weather and have dropped most of their leaves. Bud set is normal and
dormant and weed spraying is being done.
 
Bees are reported to be in average condition with local bees slightly
ahead of out of state hive because of the good fall in most of
California and the not so good fall in other states. Feeding of light
hives is being done as needed and beekeepers are ready to move onto
pollination sites as soon as weather permits. Temperatures have been
10 degrees above normal the last ten days which could bring on a early
bloom if they continue higher then normal.
 
ttul, the OLd Drone
Los Banos, California
 
011498   ... That the still murmur of the honey bee
 
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