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Author Topic: What's flowering: Queensland  (Read 144181 times)

Offline eltalia

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #280 on: June 04, 2019, 06:20:40 am »
Reads to me Mark even newer players are hanging on to an old
tradition, PMS. Poor man's syndrome has had many a c'mrcl go
down the gurgler simply through owning the guilts around making
a profit, a good solid profit.
At $117 and diesel being burnt at 16lt/100k I cannot see too
many eager to throw a swag in the truck and head down the track.

Hey, were you the tall dude in the black-n-white striped beanie-n-cardie
ensemble..? Heh

Bill

Offline Bamboo

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #281 on: June 04, 2019, 07:58:42 am »
Nah Bill never been that sartorially elegant, were you there?
Max the 100,000 was just for Almonds.
What is more scary, if I were a grower is the demand from other crops.
So the figures for current plantings and proposed (almost certain to be planted) are as follows.
Blueberry 11,000 Ha @ 8 per Ha 88,000
Avocado 3,800 Ha @ 4 per Ha 15,200
Macadamia 2,200 Ha @ 4 per Ha 8,800
Almonds 50,000 Ha @ 6 per Ha 300,000
These are figures just for QLD, NSW and VIC.
SA has another 15,000 Ha of Almonds going in but that was excluded because they can't cross the border.
So in summary they need 412,000 hives just to pollinate the crops in the ground or going in and a total hive population of 416,000. The problem being that most of that hive population is apiaries of 50 or less.
What is interesting is the total number of hives and the % that have 50 or more
QLD 104,000 20%
NSW 214,000 41%
VIC 98,000 19%

Those are total numbers of hives registered and as can be seen there is a large number of smaller beeks with less than 50 hives and they are not going to cart their hives anywhere.

And when Varroa arrives ,as it will, you can cut that population in half.
It is going to take a lot of people from both sides of the fence especially the growers to realise that their livelihoods depend on bees and that research money and a decent return needs to be paid to the pollinator.
What I found strange or maybe not given they are Govt figures, the latest figures for hive count was from 2014 and they "think" the numbers are about the same!
Anyway I have probably bored you to sleep with the numbers.

Today got to a balmy 16 felt like 9 with 20kts blowing, got the fire going tonight to warm up so nice and cosy.

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #282 on: June 04, 2019, 08:14:41 am »
Bamboo,
Nice info. Thanks.
Sounds like the growers are going to have to pay a lot more to get the beekeepers to really increase their hive numbers to match their demand.
Almond growers in California are paying about $200 a hive for 7 weeks of pollination. This prints almost every commercial hive in the country to the almond area every year.
Jim Altmiller
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline Bee North

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #283 on: June 04, 2019, 10:19:55 am »
Far from boring! Thanks gentlemen.

Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #284 on: June 04, 2019, 05:33:10 pm »
Thanks Mark and all.
I have written to the new Minister for ag ( as I had done to Barnaby and David)
To allow imports of honey with the risks this adds is just crazy.
Bees get little attention in ag and yet all the hope for exports ( and we need to include pollination for seed production for legumes as well) is gone if we can't deliver pollinators.
Scary!

Offline Bamboo

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #285 on: June 04, 2019, 06:06:10 pm »
Totally agree Max.

All importing honey does apart from the biosecurity risk is drive down honey prices for Australian beekeepers.

Capilano have now delisted so they don't have to publicly disclose their operations. They now have a large Chinese influence and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out what their game plan is.

Keep honey prices low here while promoting Australian honey as a premium product in China, import fake honey from China and sell it on the Australian market and watch the profits roll in.

Australia needs to market their honey under one umbrella someone like AHBIC as a premium product much the way NZ has with Manuka. Now the Oz beeks are screaming coz the Kiwis were smart and got a run on them by trademaking "Manuka". But that is another story.

There is an opportunity for the govt and a bee body to really push the pure, quality product and build a sustainable industry......will they?.. I doubt it.

In fairness AHBIC are pushing BQual so that could be a starting point.

My tuppence worth.
Cheers
Mark

Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #286 on: June 04, 2019, 06:21:45 pm »
I'm off today to Cambodia ( again - it is not a holiday, I'm voluteering) and then will de-tour to Vietnam for a trip. I will be meeting with the president of the Vietnamese Beekeepers Association and visit some apiaries. Vietnamese honey is the cheapest on the worldmarket and I would not be surprised if some of the " 70%" is of this origin.
Not sure how much I will find out. Shall see. I'm taking some honey:)

Offline Bamboo

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #287 on: June 04, 2019, 06:37:54 pm »
Have a safe trip.
We will expect a full report on your return.
Safe Travels
Mark

Offline eltalia

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #288 on: June 04, 2019, 06:49:02 pm »
Pretty much sums it up Mark, to the best of our knowledge.
As to following the Kiwi line?
What we lack here is cohesion. I am not seeing any change
in that other than a "one band man" in Simon Mulvany, and
even that movement has aspects which are questionable.
And even over in the NSB 'marketplace' we are seeing the
same refraction of goals in this latest puff balloon of the
Australian Native Bee Association, newly birthed in Brisbane.

My personal faciltation days are done, travel being limited by
mobility issues, and sadly I have no faith in the industry being
tooled up to meet new challenges - VD as you mentioned earlier
being the significant cloud on the horizion it is.

Back to me shed and way rosier outlooks.
Enjoy Cambodia Max... you pick the best of times.
/smiles/

Bill

Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #289 on: June 04, 2019, 06:58:43 pm »
Thanks Mark and Bill. I will report back.
About " the best of times" - it is about 35C in Cambodia right now. No beany!

Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #290 on: June 26, 2019, 11:03:37 pm »
Just back from Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand.
We had good rain here while I was away and no frots. It is still green. Very unusual for June.
I will check on the bees and would like to post a short report on the meetings I had with beekeepers in Vietnam but I'm bot sure how many words are the max for these posts?
And I have still not learned to down-load photos...probably never will:)

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #291 on: June 27, 2019, 06:42:55 pm »
Max,
Here is the link to resize a photo.

https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=51631.0

Once you have it sized, while in the new topic box, click on the Attachments and Other Options just below the text box. Then another line opens up, under Attach, click on the Select File, then it should show a list (on the iPhone is has photos) click on the file and find your photos, click on it and the photo should show up in the Select File box. The right of it click on the Insert Attachment.
Your photo will show up in your thread after you click on post.
I usually try to put a blank line before and after the Insert Attachment.
If you are posting more than one photo, click on the More Attachments and another line will come up allowing you to add another photo.
Good luck.
Jim Altmiller
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #292 on: June 28, 2019, 07:13:18 am »
Thanks, Jim.
I need my grand-daughter to help me with stuff like this:)

Offline Bamboo

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #293 on: June 28, 2019, 09:15:00 am »
Welcome back Max.

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #294 on: June 28, 2019, 12:38:45 pm »
Thanks, Jim.
I need my grand-daughter to help me with stuff like this:)
Yea, my son helps me post the videos.
Jim Altmiller
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #295 on: June 30, 2019, 01:51:04 am »
Thanks, Mark.
Good to be back - how are the bees going?

Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #296 on: June 30, 2019, 01:53:47 am »
Yes, Jim - this is the way the world is going.
My background it in Mechanical Engineering Design. Computers are a different kettle of fish.
How long can a post be? Do I watch to keep to a number of words? Not that I plan to post " War and Peace" .

Offline max2

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #297 on: June 30, 2019, 02:17:33 am »
I opened my hives today.
As always you find the good, the bad and the ugly.

Actually nothing " ugly" to report but a " bad" one. One hive looks like it lost the queen. There is a little drone brood in the brood box and a few bees but it is a goner.

I have cut some brood out to send in to have a check. Just to be totally sure. I would like to use the gear again after a bit of a clean-up.

I did notice in some of the hives quite a lot of condensation. Some had none and I'm not sure what the difference is. We have had a lot of showery weather of late and this may well be the reason.
Some of my hives are not getting full sun in the winter and I will have to do some pruning.
I will also have to replace some supers and lids. Pine rots fast in our climate and there is not much worse than having equipment falling apart when you are busy.

Now to the " good"

About 1/2 a dozen hives have lids full of honey. A messy surprise and I will leave it until close to Spring - just in case the bees need the honey.
The hives I checked have lovely brood at various stages..
A couple of hives are a little low on honey but most have plenty. I could shift some frames around but don't like to do this if I don't have to. A bit of a wait and see how the weather works out.
There are SHB around in most hives. Some have quite healthy populations but most only have a small number of them.
Summary:
I will make up a lot of bee gear as I want to be ready for Spring .
With some hives full of honey I will need to take this crop off before we get any sort of flow. Considering the weather, I'm surprised that some hives have newly capped honey. What is flowering? When did the bees bring it in?
Suggestion: If you are located in SE Qld get you gear ready while you can ?.and keep an eye on your bees.

Offline eltalia

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #298 on: June 30, 2019, 06:19:42 am »
" Considering the weather, I'm surprised that some hives have newly capped honey.
What is flowering?
When did the bees bring it in?"

After what is coming up to near on 7months of poor doings we too are finally seeing
some action with numbers building (brood only) and cappings appearing above
brood in some colonys. The outer frames are still rattling dry where we have left them
in.
Where is it coming from?
There are some bees working calleandras (sp?) and a few hanging about the grevilla
with our Tets working the flowering Happy Plants - we have dozens of these - but most
bees are flying up from the direction of the creek so it is in the Bush where the action
is.
Great trip Max... happy to read no frostbite endured so looking forward to all fingers
working on your Tolstoy, heh heh

Bill


Offline Bee North

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Re: What's flowering: Queensland
« Reply #299 on: June 30, 2019, 06:45:32 am »
Hi Guys

Just got back yesterday and checked on the girls today.

Im happy to say that my 3 hives are still going!!
Out of my 3, 2 have no stores at all....however they are all bringing in nectar!

I did notice a big Cadagi has just started flowering and is covered in buds. Is that usual this time of year? I havent had a good look around yet as i only got home.

Cheers
Adam