Heath index map of USA

[Finski]

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Guys here say  that odd beekeeping thing depends on heat ang drought.

I cannot link the map but it tells that heat variation is from 60 F to 100 F.
What it means, I do not know.

Finland is quite big country in Europe. However merely Texas is size of 3 Finland.

So a sentence "we here in USA..." makes no sense.  We are here 6 million people and you have 300 mil.

I hope that "international" does not mean homeyard to US folks.

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[duck]

ur engrish sucks   :-D

[G3farms]

post deleted by author

[buzzbee]

Please refrain from belittling people for language skills. Finsky (from Finland) handles the English better as a second language than a lot of people do as a first language.
I'm not sure if this a jab at Finsky or not,but for now I'll assume the latter and let it go at that.

Perhaps a refresher here:
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/board,97.0.html

[ranger774]

His English is a LOT better than my Finnish, and I lived amongst a lot of their kin in northern MN.

[David McLeod]

Yep, Finski, that's what I tried to get across in our recent discussion on feral stock. The American continent is huge with a broad range of climatic conditions. How did we ever get the idea that our bees should be a one size fits all breed.

[Jim134]

ur engrish sucks

duck.........
  
  How many languages can you speak or writer or read ???



     BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

[nietssemaj]

How did we ever get the idea that our bees should be a one size fits all breed.

Isn't that exactly what the current commercial queen/package market tries to do though? A one size fits all bee instead of a bee that has been tried and tested in the local climate?

[Jim134]

Isn't that exactly what the current commercial queen/package market tries to do though? A one size fits all bee instead of a bee that has been tried and tested in the local climate?

IMHO

  The current commercial queen/package are just tyring to stray open.


    BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

[rdy-b]

**What it means, I do not know.**

 it means there is a lot of area that cant suport good forage for bees

**We are here 6 million people and you have 300 mil.**

 yes but i only count the beehives- ;)  RDY-B

[Finski]

.
I toggle my mobile on soffa and I am not worried about my language. It is what it is.
Sometimes I am quite tired.
I have picked billberries in hot woods 100 litres and sold them. 3,5  euros a litre.
Next 100 litre orders are in.

in good place I pick 30 litres in 2 hours.

More I am worried about carbage which you write in this forum ecery day.
Beekeeping knowledge sucks somewhere!




Best berry places are in cutted areas where rotten twiggs give nutritions to plants

[Finski]

 yes but i only count the beehives- ;)  RDY-B

I have not counted even my hives. I really don't know.

I have bottoms and roofs for 30 and they has been  finish long time ago.
I have not counted my yeard sites  either.

[Nature Coast Beek]

Well, Finski, now you know why so may American beekeepers always fall back on the line..."All beekeeping is local"...

The US is pretty large with so many different growing zones. Heck, the country spans 4 time zones. You can easily see how it's even difficult for beeks in the same state to give advice to others in the same state. Just look at Florida, for example. Some places have no real winter (although after last couple of years that's debatable) while others do see some freezing temps. Also have many states that have HUGE swings in temps. Midwest, deep freezes with hot, hot temps possible in summer. Lots of variance and diversity in both climate and people as well as beekeeping methods.  ;)

[Finski]

Well, Finski, now you know why so may American beekeepers always fall back on the line..."All beekeeping is local"...

I have studied geography in university. I have red that you have quick weather changes because you do not have mountains or barricades against air movements in South - north direction. I know too about your sea streams.

What you have is short winter compared to Alaska and to Finland.
But the most bad thing is (I suppose) hard winds and hurricanes. We have not much storm here.
'
I live quite near seacost and it makes the weather mild as long as sea has no ice cover.


However, if we do not use here insulated boxes, bees cannot survive because they use too much food.

Our winter is harsh and it does not forgive anything.It is better to learn at once or you do not have hives in spring

It is funny to read how Californian beeks give advices to Canadian beeks that they need not insulation.


The most stupid idea what I have read in forums is that "cold does not kill but moisture kills".

We have a song " a spirit droplet does not kill and you cannot sink into bucket" but however alcohol kills men in work age than in another country in western Europe.
And now alcohol is killing more and more women.

Irwin Goodman - Ei tippa tapa

[rdy-b]

  I hope you dont spend all your belliberie money on spirit dropletes- :laugh:
 get back to your bees-they are the only thing to make you smile-leave the berries for the kids- 8-) RDY-B

[Finski]

 I hope you dont spend all your belliberie money on spirit dropletes- :laugh:
 get back to your bees-they are the only thing to make you smile-leave the berries for the kids- 8-) RDY-B

Billberry is our wild blueberry variety. It covers the forest surfaces.

The berry weight  is 0.5 g

I get 700 euros = 850 US$ when I sell the orders.
Kilo price is the same as with honey.

Picking berries is not children job.


Blooming billberry


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[stella]

I was talking to someone about billberries last weekend as we were picking blueberries up in northern Minnesota. The old timers used those pickers that you posted a pic of, but they strip the green, unripe berries too so they quickly fell out of fashion.

You are correct that picking is not for the weak. I have done it since I was a child. It is always hot, dry and buggy. The stumps and fallen logs make walking treacherous. But that is part of the draw for me! I like a hard picking day followed by a hot wood-fired sauna and a jump in the lake.

The blueberries were spread thin but I managed to pick a couple gallons. I could never sell those precious morsels. They sustain my blueberry muffin habit for a year. Nothing compares to a wild blueberry.

[Finski]

.
We have a sad episode going here.
Berry pickers come from Thailand with aroplane. They are thousands.
But we are jellows what they do.

Customer price  is about  5-7 euros per litre.
Stock byer pays 1,5 euros.
The picker gets perhaps 50 cents.

They do 16 hours days to earn their living and pay back the airplane ticket.

This is sad. The price of berries rises 10 fold compared picker price to customer price.
Somebody takes the real money from chain.
Unemployed guys here do not go to woods but they are ready stop that berry picking.

Some  Vietnamies and so have organized the whole berry picking-customer selling system but I do not know honest the group working is.  berry picking is taxfree.
Mostly the hardest workers get smallest payment.
.

[BlueBee]

Sounds like Finland is copying the good ole USA!  Importing cheap labor to pick our food.

I haven't ever seen a billberry  :(

[rdy-b]

**Some  Vietnamies and so have organized the whole berry picking-customer selling system but I do not know honest the group working is.  berry picking is taxfree.
Mostly the hardest workers get smallest payment.**

 who owns the land the berries grow on -is it open space for anyone to rome about and pick berries- :? RDY-B
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[duck]

get a sasquatch/yeti suit and roam the woods.. you might scare and run off the unwanted labor.  there is alot of superstition built into their culture.  also about my previous comment, I think the humor was lost in translation and to age?

[Finski]

get a sasquatch/yeti suit and roam the woods.. you might scare and run off the unwanted labor.  there is alot of superstition built into their culture.  also about my previous comment, I think the humor was lost in translation and to age?

at least it is not your fault...

Three most vein on earth: nun's tits, pope's balls and American sense of humour...

.

[Kathyp]

Unemployed guys here do not go to woods but they are ready stop that berry picking.

same here. 

Three most vein on earth: nun's tits, pope's balls and American sense of humour...

aw, come on.  i know you laugh at us....we must be funny!   :-D

[Finski]

aw, come on.  i know you laugh at us....we must be funny!   :-D

ok Kathyp!. You saved the reputation of America!

[rdy-b]

http://www.berryjob.com/?q=node/10
 I want to pick berries also- :laugh:  there are lots of berrie picking -maybe take whole crew
 berrie picking pays cost-- 8-)  RDY-B

[hardwood]

Lets all go...we could stay at Finski's place!

Scott

[JP]

Lets all go...we could stay at Finski's place!

Scott

Great idea Scott! That way we can argue about bee keeping with Finski in person!  :-D


...JP

[Finski]

.
I searched new picking sites today. I burned gasoline quite much. Professional pickers had cleaned the woods along  main roads.

But lucky me before dark 22 i found splended place. It took about 15 min to pick 10 itres bill berries. Tomorrow i will fulfill my order 200 litres. It takes 2-3 hours to pick missing 50 litres.

We have seldom this kind of yield years. Mostly frost destroyes the yield.

To where  money goes? New tyres 400 euros. New absorbers  600 euros. And so on...gasoline 1.7 euros a litre. Tank full 70 euros.

[rdy-b]

 they said berrie pick would be availible augst 4 th-intil end of august
 they said easy to pick 51 kg a day--they said must have 4 pepole per 1 auto to make cost small--
then season in wales starts on sept 1 til end-there is a circut for berrie pickers --RDY-B

[Finski]

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51 kg a day easy ( that 1 kg?)

which berry?

100 litres billberries is 60 kg.

To Thailand pickers 50 kg is easy because they work 16 hours a day. As long as it is light.

I use to pick 2 hours. It is painfull to back.

My brother has  picked 280 liters= 160 kg cow berries in on day (11 hours) in Swedish sea isle, to where Tai pickers ca nnot come. They have not a boat.

The most diffficult is to find a good place. There is competition among pickers who harvests  best places first.

Picking berries is never easy. There are years when pickers do not get money enough to flying ticket to return to Thailand. Then  Swedish or Finnish Governemet is obliged to handle the cases.

.
 

[rdy-b]

they said they will pay 2.20 euro per kg--you said 3.5 euro a littre--how many litre in kg--RDY-B

[rdy-b]

are they cheating me for half the profit --whats the real deal-- :?  RDY-B

[duck]

maybe you could approach the thailand pickers and offer them cold hard euros for their berries.  Tell them youll give them twice what their picker masters are giving them.  Then they will bring you all the berries.  Of course you will need to learn some thai to talk to them.  One of your countrymen is getting rich raping your countries resources outsourcing labor..  maybe you and the boys could pay him a visit.

[Finski]

are they cheating me for half the profit --whats the real deal-- :?  RDY-B

it depends how long is the delivery chain

i pick berries, clean then, i put into packages and freeze them. When I go to my city home to Helsinki, I transport berries to customers home door.

I get  7 euros /kg  . In supermarket freezened berry is 10 euros/kg

lets look my neighbour who has actually strawberry farm. Woods are full of billberries more or less,  and  farmes family sells all berries on market place . Market place price varries as fresh .
It may be  10-14 euros/kg.

When folks do not need any more berries, they sell the rest to  wholesale.
Wholesale price is 3 euros/kg  in cleaned berries.
Berries with rubbish may be 220 E/kg.

Like here it is 1,5 car driving to  wholesale. He has there packing systems, freezehouses and delivering to supermarkets.

.so I handle the whole chain and I get the end price.customers are happy when they know what they get.

On market place sellers mix old and new berries. Quality is a secret question. Then berries may stand in picker's  store too.

When billberry stands 4 days, you cannot eate it  any more. It gets an unpleasant flavour.
Cowberry may stand 7 days and it is ok.
Strawberry may stand some hours and then it is spoiled.

[rdy-b]

  at 2.20 euro per kg--if i pick 50 kg a day thats 110 euro a day
 they will charge me 30 euros a day for 3 meals and sauna--profit 80 euros a day
thats just under $100 dollars a day--I think they keeping more than what i get--if there are
 15 people on the trip i think they are clearing for there effort 811 euros a day x30 days =2400 euros for the organizer
I would have to pick berries for ten days to make plane ticket--RDY-B