NZ-beekeeper, There are some crop pollination companies here in Imperial Valley California. I see alot of hives around where they grow lemons, naval oranges and grapefruit, but the main crop here is alfalfa, which they pollinate with some other type of bee in trailers. The trailers around the alfalfa are filled with trays in racks, each tray has hundreds of little holes in them. I was wondering how the business works. I know that the beekeepers rent their hives out for pollinating crops, but is they honey a side business? Is it harvested by the beekeepers and sold or does the honey not get harvested. I heard that some of the crops dont produce alot of honey and that the beekeepers have to supplement feed the hives.
Alfalfa is quite a unique crop, in that it is actually not pollinated by honeybees. They use a bee call the lucerne (or alfalfa) leafcutter bee, which is a solitary bee, and make their nests in holes in the ground, in trees, or in the holes provided by the crate you mentioned. Solitary bees (including bumblebees and leafcutters) make honey, but the quantity is so tiny you wouldn't even know. Only honeybees produce it in excess. I know a beekeeper where honey is only a sideline. He doesn't do pollination either, but makes a comfortable living selling the bees themselves. You are dead right about some crops not producing much nectar. Here in NZ where a lot of kiwifruit is grown (kiwis to some, but that word already means 2 different things here besides the fruit!), there is quite a problem. The kiwifruit flowers (both male and female) produce NO nectar, so in the big monocrop farms, ALL the hives are fed cane sugar syrup, or invert syrup. Those in the pollination business usually do it for 2 reasons...it brings in WAAAY more money than selling honey, and there is less faffing around with honey equipment, storage, council regulations, food safety, processing plants, marketing costs, etc. You just have your bees, your truck, and some knowhow. Perhaps some seasonal farm hands for the busy time.
In my opinion, and from the bees' perspective, multiflora, or 'wildflower' honey is the way to go. Your varietals will often be from monoculture farms, except in the case of wild 'monoculture' eg. fireweed, which by the way, bay well be able to be called "organic". I have been to Alaska and seen the fireweed first hand. That is remote stuff up there, no chemicals, but bears etc, and not many bees/keepers (probably too cold and dark over winter). For Manuka honey, for it to be called monofloral, it needs 70% manuka, for others I believe 60% purity is enough.
Multifloral honey is a bit of a gamble for flavour and quality, but can make great mead, and is generally cheaper. I find with mead, it is normally the smell of the beehive that comes through in the final product, rather than the smell of the actual honey. In fact, mead actually tastes like the smell of a healthy hive. For this reason, I am dying to try putting a big glob of propolis into secondary for a batch (may have to be in a disposable vessel...propolis is some sticky S!!!!T).
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