I always talk with the apprentices-while they still know everything--
There is a difference between talking to apprentices and asking teachers to share their knowledge with you. (They become a teacher because you ask them for knowledge.) Show your teachers due respect, or they may decide you are an ill-mannered student who can suffer the consequences of their insolence.
thats not a truck load-thats figure 600-800 colinies-rent from $140-$155 per hive-if you dont profit$100
after expenses of shiping then something went very wrong--
So how many colonies do YOU send to almonds, shipped in from out of state, and how much profit do you have?
$40K in feed, $20K in transport down south for the winter, to almonds, and then back to Ohio, 20% broker fee - right there you are under your $100 profit at $155 for 800 hives...
That's assuming you can get paid. I talked to a guy a couple weeks ago who sent hives to almonds - he was supposed to get paid half when they went in, and the last half when they got pulled. He was getting ready to go out and pull his bees because he hasn't seen the first check yet.
give or take 500 to a load
396 doubles to a semi.
give or take $7000 each way-thats $14000 to ship the bees
But you were talking about the beekeeper from Ohio who runs his colonies as singles for honey production. If you want to go to almonds, you have to ship down south to feed them out for the winter, then another shipping fee to haul them to almonds, and then a 3rd shipping fee to get them back home. That's $20K+ shipping.
rent at $140 per hive -thats $70000-for the rental -subtract $14000 for shiping--gives you $56000
puts you at $112 per hive
Even using your theoretical numbers, you forgot the 20% broker fees - that's another $28 a hive on $140 pollination, dropping you down to $84 a hive. And you still haven't bought any feed, patties, fumagillan, etc...
How many hives do you send to almond pollination again?
if it didnt pay it wouldnt get done
If it paid as good as you think it does, beekeepers from east of the Mississippi would have been sending bees for a long time. As it is, they only began sending bees recently because the price finally got high enough for them to be able to make a reasonable profit.
Even if you subtract a 20% brokers fee they are still pocketing a good amount of cash for a minimum amount of effort.
So where do they get all their drawn comb to replace what is sold? That's a hidden cost.