Yesterday, we discussed the challenges Phil Ebert, of Ebert Honey, faces as an apiarist.
Ebert spoke to keeping his company stable, from a financial standpoint. He mentioned one of his ?supports? – packaged bees – had started to give way.
Each spring, Phil Ebert orders several packaged bees from C.F. Koehnen and Sons, out of the Northern Sacramento Valley. However, ?packaged bees have turned into a nightmare.?
On Friday, March 22, Koehnens called to inform Ebert they were cutting 1,000 packages from his order. Ebert says it is not unusual to come up 100 or 200 packages short. However, poor conditions wreaked havoc.
?The winter in northern California was tough. Usually, in January, they are getting good temps. The bees build up (and) almond pollination starts around February 4 or 5. This year, it was a month late. They (also) had that big fire. The guy who brought the bees was telling me they had this fine dust fall over everything. Bees were picking that (up) and hauling it home with them. Whether that was the big issues or poor mite control coupled with bad weather, I don?t know,” Ebert said.
Some years are better than others. “It’s the way it is,” says Ebert.
To be in beekeeping, you must be “somewhat risk tolerant.”
?There?s a lot of good beekeepers that run into problems,? Ebert said. ?It?s a constant series of adjustments, and you just hope you?re adjusting the right way. That?s kind of where it?s at. It?s a scary way make a living.?
