Randy Oliver wrote: "I'm seeing that an agribusiness-style, high-effeciency model of producing bees for pollination is likely to be the model for the future."

Enjoyed your latest response, Randy

You are on the target and in the bulls eye area on your assessment of the situation.   When market anomalies occur the immediate response is chaotic and unplanned, poorly managed responses....... initially.  Then, with time, money goes to work and finds the most efficient model for response which will once again be the ultimate answer to filling the market monsters needs.  Sometimes this takes a few years and the demand (for almond pollinators) fluctuates, perhaps less and less wildly until supply levels out with demand once again.   With ever increasing costs of transportation, the answer to almond growers needs does not reside on the east coast of the country and perhaps eventually not even in the mid-west.   As you already noted, large beekeeping operators or perhaps even growers may find the need to set up units for pollination that will reside in CA to avoid going in and out of the state and save transportation costs.  It would make more sense to me for large mid-west o!
 perators to have base units in CA and make splits in the almonds and ship those splits back to the mid-west for production, kill them off and ship empty boxes back to CA in winter.  Far less transportation costs than shipping live units both ways.  Residing in CA will most likely be the ultimate answer to the  industry providing enough bees to meet the expanding and growing orchards of almonds and other species as well.  When we talked last spring, I asked you "Do you want another half a million hives in your back yard ?"  They are coming and a half a million will be the short term.    I would imagine that your shrinking foragable area will further deteriorate and create other problems locals and small operators will have to deal with.  I sure hope you don't live within the "circle of foragable area" of a 5,000 lot "feedlot of bees".  The competetive, world wide market that we are in requires larger and larger operations with the capitol to survive and adapt responsibly and!
  intelligently.  Suppliers that don't respond die and the market finds
 cheaper models to fit.
It may take another 3 to five years to work out the excesses in the market at the present but it will resolve itself in time and when it does the current high prices for pollination will balance out and restore normalcy.  When market equilibrium returns it will be in  the hands of the agri-business style, most effecient and competetive operators.   Hope some of the small beekeepers can grab a piece of the pie in the meantime.  I'm staying home with hopes of raising a honey crop in 2007.
Enjoyed the ABJ article.  I can appreciate the time you spent working on it.
Headed to Wal-Mart for some groceries.
Tim Tucker

-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and  other info ---