[log in to unmask] (Kelley Rosenlund):
 
>   Well I got the bug;).
 
>         As many of you know I got my first hive last month & I now want to
see about doing it on the side. I have arranged to spend time with a beekeeper
 to learn the trade secrets. He has agreed to sell me as many hives as I want
(he has 650). I am mainly interested in renting my hives for pollination as I
do not have the equipment yet for
extracting/processing etc. I am trying to get some commitments from farmers
for hives for next season. I have a lot of questions, bear with me.
> Remember I live in north Florida when you ponder my questions.
 
   I commend you on your enthusiasm and excitement.  I also advise caution.
 Don't jump in too fast.  You are going to have to pay tuition in one of the
most expensive schools of all - The University of the Seat of the Pants.  I
have been doing full time pollination service for long enough that I should
pretty well know what I'm doing - but I still make some very educational and
costly mistakes.
 
   I'd try working 10 - 20 hives for a year or two.  That way you'll keep
expensive mistakes at bearable levels.
 
   What crops are needing pollination in your area?  I'm not too familiar
with your area.  In south Florida,  there is a lot of watermelon, squash,
cukes, mostly grown as winter crops.  There is also citrus, which ususally
gets pollinated free, but, as farmers become more aware and bees get in
shorter supply, is occasionally paid, and probably will be more in the
future.
 
   I assume you have summer melons,  what else?  Strawberries?
 
>1.How many hives can one manage evenings & Saturdays?
 
Probably a hundred, or so, if you're going to do a good job.  I've known some
to keep 300 - 350, but they let some things slip.
 
>2.What problems have you encountered renting hives that I need to know
about?
>3.My bee mentor says he never has signed a contract with farmers. I think
that is asking for trouble. Do you? If so what contract do you have?
 
  You want me to cry on your shoulder for a while?  Most any problem you can
think of, can occur, and has.  A good contract will solve or prevent some of
those. I'll send a copy of mine for SASE if you want.
 
>4. Have you had a lot of bee kills from pesticides or vandalism?
 
   Yes.  Your grower is not usually the problem with pesticides, as he knows
he needs the bees, and you have a contract with him that makes him liable for
application in violation of directions. It's his neighbor, who doesn't think
he needs the bees.  We have a lot of problems in this area with cotton sprayin
g, especially aerial applicators who want to do the maximum possible acreage
and are prone to make applications on blooming cotton, while bees are
working.  This is a label violation, and I am working to get enforcement.  I
also lost several hundred to our environmental "protectors" who sprayed in
violation for mosquitoes after Hurricane Hugo.
 
    Every year I lose hives to vandals.  When you take bees out of protected
locations and put them in more public, exposed areas, they are more
vulnerable.  In the last five years, I've lost:  theft - 24 hives (eleven
were recovered when the thief sold them - for some crack money - to a melon
grower, whose bees I help manage.) crushing by vehicles - 11,  burned (arson)
- 21, burned accidently -
7 (paid for), thrown in canal - 5, shot up - (destroyed, not counting the
occasional slug) 4.
 
>5. How about liability if someone gets stung in the field?
 
  In my contract, the farmer assumes liability.  This has never been tested,
however. You have to keep gentle bees. In a hidden bee yard, you can get away
with a nasty hive.  Don't put it in the field.  Mexican field hands will
tolerate an occasional sting, but will not tolerate a bad hive.  They are apt
to burn it and the gentle ones also, as they aren't selective.  They also are
constantly stealing honey.  I put pesticide warnings in English and Spanish
on the hives, saying the honey is not safe to eat; they are only for
pollination.  This helps quite a bit, as most of the workers can read.  I
also frequently give them honey, and explain the same thing; that the bees
are treated for parasitas and the honey is poisonous.  That the honey is made
from blackberries and there are no chemicals in the honey I bottle. (Helps if
you speak Spanish - and you'd better learn, if you don't)
 
>I understand most farmers need well over 50 for their fields. Should I take
the plunge & buy over 50 or try to find someone that could use 30?
 
   In this situation, with your inexperience, this would qualify as a
speculative investment.  The standard question with speculative investment
is:  how much can you afford to lose?
 
>7. When do you get payed, before the crop, after or 50/50?
 
   As a newbie, don't ever place the bees without payment up front.
I was approached by one apple grower who wanted 100 hives (payable at
harvest).  I had been warned by the previous year's beekeeper, and refused.
 He got the bees from a young beekeeper, who was needing customers (I warned
him of the warning I got, but he was hungry). He didn't get paid either.  The
grower found another sucker the third year.  The fourth year, no one would
bring bees.  He lost his crop and went belly up.
   Pollination gets less important after it is accomplished.  Then you have
to wait in line for your money.
 
>8. How do you handle the...IRS?
 
   You have to make money first.  You won't have this problem for a while.  A
couple good pesticide hits, and you may never have it.
 
   I hope this isn't too disheartening, because we badly need guys like you.
 This is a tough time to start, but, as you know, things go up and down.  If
you can get your foot in the door, learn the ropes, you'll be in good shape
(buy low, sell high - that sort of thing).
 
   It took me the first five years before I had a clue, in pollination
beekeeping. I may be a slow learner, but I still don't have my PhD in the
Univesity of the Seat of the Pants.  What little beekeeping education we have
is oriented toward honey production.
 
   If I can be a resource for you, I'd be glad to try. I have no "trade
secrets."  I have had a couple good mentors, but I wish I had more.
 
Good luck.
 
[log in to unmask]
Dave Green  PO Box 1215, Hemingway, SC  29554
Eastern Pollinator Newsletter,  Dave's Pollination Service