Allen writes:
 
>And, as a question for everyone, what would be the average number of
>hives you would keep at one location.  I know it depend on the
>availability of flora in the surrounding area, and other factors.  Just
>curious as to how many hives most keep in one loaction.
>
We can fit 15 hives at a time on the back of our truck so apiary numbers are
in multiples of 15.   For canola crops we might put on 1 hive per acre (we
do not receive pollination fees, this is a trade-off between the farmer and
ourselves for rights for following honey flows).  For eucalypt honey flows
we calculate that an acre of blossom per hive produces a commercial honey
flow (provided nectar is actually present).  Of course calculating the
equivalent of an acre of blossom when the tree is 50 foot or more in height,
isn't easy.  We usually put down 15 hives in a new area and adjust annually
depending on the previous season and what we can observe in the current season.
 
We work 30 hives in a day (including inspection of brood), unless the honey
flow is heavy when we can fill the truck with 500 kg. of honey with 6 - 9
hives still not inspected.
 
Betty McAdam
HOG BAY APIARY
Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island
J.H. & E. McAdam<[log in to unmask]
http://kigateway.kin.on.net/hogbay/hogbay1.htm
 
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http://kw.mtx.net/sawebring/sawebring.html