Boy I envy you! I have been trying to get there for a few years now.
Well, there are many factors involved - climate perhaps being the most obvious one - and we don't have SHB either (long may that continue ... ).
I'm very conscious that somebody saying they have more than enough bees must sound like bragging to anybody who's struggling - and I apologise in advance if my posts should sound like that to anyone - but believe me, once a beekeeper gets up to a dozen or more colonies then numbers can really start to take off, with an apiary's numbers getting completely out of control unless some kind of regulation is self-imposed. (Also, bear in mind that I'm not a honey-farmer - so multiplication of colonies has been the main focus here)
Now selling-off (or even giving away) excess stock is the most obvious answer - but until the last few years I haven't had a genetic line I was truly happy about supplying to beginners, which is the main market for nucs - and so colony numbers have been increasing whilst I worked to establish one. Ever the perfectionist, I'm still not 100% happy (probably never will be), but I reckon there are now two which are 'acceptable' for now - but I still want to keep improving on those.
I fully accept that AI/II would be the way to proceed, and I do have the necessary background for such work - but I just can't generate any enthusiasm for this technique. I have no problem about using this for scientific research, but as an ongoing solution for beekeeping ... well, I just keep thinking that there must be a better way, and one which avoids human selection of drones and thus embraces epigenetics.
It seems like whenever I feel like I?m about to take the leap I get a big setback. This is the year though!
That's the spirit !
LJ