Hello Andrew and All,
 Question: I normally pollinate with a double deep hive. I see that some
 poeple pollinate with Nucs. How is the ratio different as far as crops ?

Over wintered hives strong in two deeps & bees returning from California &
Texas polinate much better in the Midwest than nucs.  However many times
nucs made up strong will get the job done. Some growers will not accept nucs
while some will. Nucs are cheaper to rent in the midwest.

 Meaning how many 5 frame nucs in comparrison to a full double deep hive ?
I had  hives ready to split last week sitting on 9 frames of brood. If the
average nuc is made up with three frames of emerging brood then at least
two.
I cut a few swarm cells last week.
The number of foragers is the key. Overwintered strong hives do better than
a nuc made up mostly with nurse bees from the brood nest and emerging brood.
Also is it possible to over winter a 5 frame nuc with out feeding it ?

Why wouldn't you want to feed the nuc if its low on stores?

Does   not seem possible. Here in the Northeast a lot of beekeepers lost
many  colonies. Including me. The hives that remain are generally weak. All
were  medicated and strong going into fall. They all seem off to a slow
start.

You need to test and find the root of the problem! Most beekeepers in our
area which used Apistan & Apicure are seeing huge losses. If you used one of
those I would test for Varroa. Go through your deadouts and search for the
cause. Good luck  with the bees!
Bob
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