Hi All,

I believe that the term "feedlot beekeeping" was coined by Bob Koehnen in
California.  He produced (and his family still produces) huge numbers of
queens and packages.  He found that package-producing colonies could be
maintained without moving to forage if one fed them enough syrup and pollen
supplement.

This was after almond pollination.

His methods have been widely adopted, with considerable success.

Re almonds.  If weather is good, 1 strong colony per acre will pollinate the
crop, and that colony will gain substantial weight.  In my experience, and
confirmed here in Australia this week, at a stocking rate of 2 colonies per
acre, with good weather, colonies generally grow and gain weight.  Weight
gain during bloom drops off at about 3 colonies per acre, and colonies may
lose weight at 4 colonies per acre.

As others noted, almond pollination is not feedlot beekeeping.  It is merely
moving bees to a strong and nutritious nectar and pollen flow, especially if
other forage is around.

Randy Oliver

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