The profitability of commercial beekeeping in the US is under serious pressure right now. Between the catastrophic colony losses, rising input costs, and shifting pollination markets, many operations are struggling to stay in the black. And as Randy Oliver puts it, the losses from this last fall and this last winter have been a major disruption to our industry. Two decades ago, something similar happened and shifted the economics of our industry. Since then, our industry has been riding on the backs of four resulting economic opportunities. But those rides may now be losing steam, and it may be time to re-evaluate. Hey everyone, welcome back. Over the last 5 months, I have been keeping you in the loop on what's been going on in the beekeeping world, some of the setbacks that we have been hit with and what those changes might mean for the future of the industry. Now, if you've been paying attention to the history of beekeeping, there is a pattern that seems to keep popping up. We go through these big pullbacks, major losses or industry shifts. But then somehow for the ones that survive, those pullbacks lead to big wins. But then those wins often trigger another collapse. It's like a cycle of crash, regroup, rebuild, grow, then crash again. If you study history as a whole, then you will also start to see this pattern across multiple other industries that are keeping our world running. Recently, I read a fantastic article by Randy Oliver in the American Bee Journal. And if you know about Ry's work, then you know he doesn't just talk about problems, but he picks them apart. I had the chance to sit down and talk with Randy this last February when Casey and I went out to California to really get a boots on the ground perspective, seeing firsthand with what was going on with the massive colony losses this season. One thing that I really admire about Randy is the way that he's able to approach challenges. He's always asking why is this happening? And more importantly, what can we do about it? And it's that mindset, that willingness to just dive in and ask the hard questions and find a path forward is exactly what this industry needs right now. So, in this video, I want to walk you through where we've been, where we're heading, and what we can realistically expect in the next 5 to 10 years as beekeepers. Whether you're running a few hives or you're running a few thousand, this is the kind of information that could really help you make smarter decisions in your operation and in your business and hopefully weather whatever storm is coming our way. So, let's get into it. Starting with the stressors that are hitting professional beekeepers and the industry as a whole with the biggest issue facing us this year, colony losses. According to a survey put out by Aphus M, we lost about 62% of our managed honeybee colonies across the entire United States this year. That is a massive number. Now, in a normal year, whatever that really means anymore, it's expected that commercial beekeepers will lose around 10 to 20% of their colonies. But in the last few years, that number has been climbing fast. I mentioned this in a previous video where I talked about a virus that's been doing a lot of damage. While I called it new at the time, it's really not new. It's actually been around since the '9s, but it's just now starting to get the attention that it deserves, and we're beginning to see the bigger picture of how it's affecting colony health. The more you study honeybees, the more you realize they work almost like a single organism, like a super organism. And they aren't just like any organism. When one system starts to get stressed, the whole thing starts to break down. I heard a great analogy once by Bob Benny. He said that managing honeybee colonies is kind of like managing a boat. Over time, the boat develops holes and just one or two at first and you can patch them up, but eventually there are too many holes and the water just starts flooding in. That is when the boat sinks. And for us, that means colony collapse. I think of it like our own immune systems. We're exposed to viruses and bacteria every day, but usually we're able to fight them off unless we're run down or malnourished. That's really when we get sick. And the same thing goes for bees. A huge part of that stress comes from lack of nutrition and forage. The available forage in the United States has been decreasing quickly. At one time we had over 5 million managed honeybee colonies and now we're only down to 2.5 million. And a lot of people say that that's really the max that the United States is able to handle right now based on the forage that we do have left. Herbicides play a huge role in this, especially when it comes to fall forage, which bees rely on to build up the strength that they need before the winter arrives. I was literally driving down the road the other day and I saw this guy on a tractor with a big old sprayer literally just spraying down the ditches wiping out all of the plants that grow there. And here's the thing, in areas where we grow a lot of corn and soybeans, like here in the Midwest, those roadside ditches are sometimes the only places left for wild flowers and weeds to grow. And that is exactly what our bees rely on in order to survive. So when those forage resources get wiped out, our bees get weaker. And when they're weakened, they just can't fight off the viruses and the mites or anything else that comes their way. It's just like for us. If we're not healthy, one more stressor can push us over the edge. And that is exactly what is happening with our bees. They can normally patch up the holes in the boat, but at a certain point, there are just too many. And that last little hole, well, that's the one that sinks the whole thing. So, here's the deal. Even beekeepers that did absolutely everything right this year, they had healthy bees, clean operations, good management, they still lost 50% of their colonies. And that is devastating. It completely torpedoed the almond contracts that we do hold here. Randy Oliver even said that in his article that for the first time in 45 years, his operation didn't meet its almond obligations. And that is huge. Now, I know that there is a lot of chatter online about almonds being bad for bees, and I get it. Honestly, I used to believe that, too. But after doing this for a while and really learning the ins and outs of the industry, I've realized that it's not just that black and white. So, I wanted to break that down for you. Almonds are the biggest pollination event on the planet. It requires 2.5 million be honeybee colonies in order to successfully pollinate the crop. and they bloom in midFebruary when there's basically no natural forage available anywhere else in the country. Now, yes, people worry about bees spreading diseases and mites during almond pollination because you've got so many colonies in one place, but I think of it kind of like sending your children to school. Sure, they're going to get exposed to germs, but we don't keep them home forever. We know that it builds their immune system over time. It's really the same thing with bees. Healthy colonies can handle it. They get exposed, they deal with it, and then they come out stronger as long as they're properly managed and have good nutrition before and after. That is the key. But when you send bees that are already weak or just barely hanging on, that's when things really start to fall apart. It's not the almonds, it's the stress on already struggling colonies that tips them over the edge. And here is the other thing that a lot of people don't realize, and that is that the almonds jumpst start the entire beekeeping season. Bees coming out of almond pollination are usually bursting with strength and boiling over with bees. They're a few brood cycles ahead of colonies that spent the winter in sheds or in cold storage. But it's that early boost that lets commercial operations split their colonies and make up for any of the winter losses that they did experience. It also allows beekeepers to keep part of their operation on honey production and part of it on pollination because you can't just send your bees to every single pollination event that you have throughout the year. Otherwise, you're going to end up burning them out. So in short, if we lose almonds if we were to lose almonds, we don't just lose almond pollination, we lose the strength and numbers that is actually required to pollinate the apples, the blueberries, the watermelons, the pumpkins, you name it. But here's the problem. Things are changing. Growers are scaling back. They're planting fewer almond trees and they're even pulling out old orchards. Why, you may ask? Because almond prices have tanked. The market's oversaturated and profit margins are extremely thin. Add in rising farm costs and limited irrigation water, and it's no longer worth it for some growers. And on top of that, self-fertile almond varieties are becoming popular. These trees need only one or fewer beehives per acre to pollinate. And that's a massive blow to the demand based off of the two two hives per acre that we're currently working off of. I had the opportunity to talk to Mel Machado, the head of Blue Diamond Almonds while I was out in California. Um, he had some amazing insights talking about where the almond industry is going and how that's going to affect beekeepers. So, if you didn't catch that video, I'll put it up here for you guys to watch. According to USDA data, 42% of recent almond tree sales are now self-fertile varieties. That number is expected to keep growing. And as Randy Oliver points out, that means that growers are going to be in the driver's seat again when it comes to negotiating hive prices. For the last 20 years, the almond boom has basically carried the entire beekeeping industry. We've shifted our focus from honey production to building up as many strong and rinsable hives as possible. That's led to overcrowded apiaries, stressed landscapes, and a business model that may not be sustainable for much longer. Back in the day, almond growers didn't even pay for almond pollination. Beekeepers would just move their hives there so that they could take advantage of the early season forage. But as almonds got more profitable, the demand for bees exploded. Prices climbed from $12 per hive in the8s to over $150 per hive by 2005. That gold rush brought beekeepers from all over the country to California. But it also brought diseases, mites, viruses, and eventually colony collapse disorder, which first made headlines after a beekeeper named Dave Hackenberg found his yards mysteriously emptied in 2006. That was really a turning point for the entire beekeeping industry. From then on, pollination made more money than really honey sales did. But now, it looks like that era may be ending. If almond acorage keeps shrinking and the demand for hives keeps dropping, we're really going to have to rethink how we structure everything. How we manage our hives, how we structure our businesses, and what sustainability really looks like in our industry. All right, so let's talk about the third major stressor that is really hitting the beekeeping industry hard right now, and that is mic control. and more specifically the decline in effectiveness of synthetic mitoides like Amitraz. This one is a really really big deal. So Amatraz has been the goto treatment for many years. Why you may ask? Because it works fast and it doesn't seem to hit the colony as hard as some of the other treatments that we do have available. When you're a commercial beekeeper juggling a really tight schedule, you're trying to have hives ready for pollination contracts, strong enough for honey production, and the ability to be able to make splits. You don't really have time to recover from treatments that knock your bees way down. But here's the problem. Mites are starting to resist it. That means that amatraz isn't working like it used to. And for a lot of operations, that is a huge blow because it's really been the backbone for all of their might management plan. And it's really not just about effectiveness. It's also about access. For a long time, many commercial beekeepers have been mixing their own amateur formulas because the registered products on the market either aren't strong enough or they're just way too expensive. Margins are razor thin right now. So spending more per hive on termite treatments isn't really doable. But now the EPA is cracking down on off label use. They're no longer turning a blind eye with products like Apavar and Amoflex now officially registered for Veroa might control Control in the United States. The agency is stepping in, shutting down homemade formulations and even busting smugglers trying to bring in illegal amatra products from places like Mexico. There has even been a case recently where a man in California plead guilty to conspiracy for smuggling pesticides. So, here we are dealing with three major issues when it comes to mic control. You have loss of efficacy, limited affordable options, and the pressure to change strategies fast. For decades, synthetic mitotes have really been our silver bullets. They wiped out veroa like it was magic. But Dr. Frank Rankovc said, I'm sorry if I pronounced your name wrong. They're great until they're not. And now mites are evolving. They're adapting to the chemicals they've been using, especially the neurotoxic ones. In some parts of Canada, mites are fully resistant to amitra. And in a growing number of US operations, they're starting to see the same thing. So unless there's a miracle treatment waiting in the wings that we haven't really heard of, we are going to have to shift our approach and we're going to have to do it fast. That means embracing integrated pest management like rotating your treatments, integrating non-chemical methods, and doing more hands-on monitoring. And you know, as easy it is to say that, it really is not that easy. It's definitely more work, but it might really be the only way forward. Randy Oliver actually talked about this in a recent video that I just posted. When I went out to California, I had the pleasure of cracking open some boxes, um, some of Ry's hives and hearing about some of the things that he's doing in his operation to help manage veroa. So, meanwhile, commercial beekeepers are really already starting to feel the squeeze. Operating costs are up, honey prices are down, brood and bees are getting harder to manage, and the old tools really just are not cutting it anymore. Some folks are even considering getting out of the game. Not too long ago, a company called Geocure showed up with this kind of like too good to be true offer offering to buy out entire beekeeping operations and almond contracts for huge amounts of money. And for beekeepers that were already thinking about retirement, that was a tempting way to cash out. So, all of this raises a tough but important question, and that is, is beekeeping still profitable, or are we watching a slow collapse of a system that's overdue for a serious reset? Look, beekeeping has never been the easiest way to make money. Randy Oliver says it himself. Most of us are not in it for the dollars, but for the lifestyle, the connection to the bees, and just the overall enjoyment for the work. But with all of the new challenges, especially Veroa, it's fair to ask, has beekeeping as a business, actually gotten worse, or are we just feeling the pressure more because the margins are tighter and the stress is higher? So, I got curious, and so did Randy. He actually found this gold mine of a paper from 1994 by Hoth and Willlet. It's based on a big national survey done in 1988 and it includes all kinds of detailed financial data from commercial beekeepers across the United States covering income, expenses, operation sizes, you name it. What Randy did was take that 1988 data and adjust it for inflation, then compare it to what we are seeing today. So, let's break it down. Back in 1988, honey was selling for about 40 cents a pound. Pollination fees ranged from $9.50 to $35 per colony. Depending really on the crop, labor was pretty cheap. Full-time workers made about $5.83 per hour and part-time workers got $459 per hour. Now, fast forward to today. Sure, we're getting way more money for almond pollination with around $160 to $225 per hive in some cases. It just depends on if you're renting it out per unit or renting it out per frame. But our expenses have skyrocketed. Labor, feed, queens, trucking, pretty much everything has gone up much faster than inflation. So, what's the bottom line then? According to Ry's analysis, beekeeping today is about as profitable as it was in the late8s if you keep your colony losses under control. But that's the big if. Back in the day, beekeepers plan to lose about onethird of their hives between June and the almond pollination season. That was just normal. Between queen failures, summer die-offs, and winter prep, some of the hives just really didn't make the cut. But today, with 40% of colony losses becoming the new normal, it's way harder to stay ahead. And it's not just because of ROA. It's also about management. If you're not staying on top of your mic control, especially now that Amatraz is losing effectiveness, you're going to start feeling it in your numbers. Now, let's talk about the big picture. With declining honey crops, tightening margins, and an uncertain look for the outlook of the almond pollination demand, a lot of commercial beekeepers are going to need to tighten the belt, especially those who are hauling their hives long distances to California. And since we're talking about hard realities, let's bring up the G-word government support. There's a lot of buzz in the news right now. people talking about massive federal cuts and programs being axed or chainsawed. Whether you're a fan of government support or not, the truth is that a lot of beekeepers rely on disaster aid, emergency feed support, and something called ELAP. So, let's talk about subsidies, fake honey, labor issues, and why beekeeping is getting tougher, and also what some of the opportunities might be. Farmers and ranchers in the United States gets a lot of taxpayer support. And yeah, beekeepers get a piece of that pie, too. Back in 1988, government payments made up about 25 to 50% of the reported beekeeper income in one national survey. Today, we've got several programs available, but as a big one being the emergency assistance for livestock, honeybees, and farmra fish program, also known as ELAP. You probably heard a lot about it this year. um through social media if you're a part of the beekeeping community. This program helps out beekeepers who have suffered losses due to things like bad weather, disease, or natural disasters. In 2019, around half of all US colonies were insured and total subsidies hit about 25 million. So that sounds big, but really that's only 4% of our total industry income from 2017. Now, here's where things get controversial. Some beekeepers have figured out a way to really work the system, getting hundreds of thousands of dollars year after year through repeated emergency claims. Randy Oliver, for example, wasn't a big fan of taking government money, but when his son Eric took some major losses, Randy encouraged him to apply. Not because they wanted a handout, but because everyone else was getting help, and you know, if they didn't, then they wouldn't be able to compete with operations that were getting tens of thousands in subsidies and then undercutting them on their prices. But now with the current administration calling on the USDA to slash 10% of their spending, there's pressure to crack down on any fraud and waste in these programs. Groups like the Cattle Institute and Taxpayers for Common Sense are already pointing fingers. A 2017 USDA audit found that beekeepers were receiving nearly 80% of all commodity payments and flagged some major overpayment concerns. So yeah, it looks like the government safety net for beekeepers may be under the microscope moving forward. So just keep that in mind. Now, let's shift to labor. Here's some good news. When adjusted for inflation, the cost of farm labor hasn't really gone up much since 1988. But here's the catch. If the current immigration crackdown continues and undocumented workers are deported, that's going to tighten the labor pool and drive costs way up for all of agriculture, including beekeeping. Now, that is just for people who might be using undocumented workers. If you're using a documented worker than like an H2A program, you're probably not going to have as many problems. But what do I know? It's not like the old days when you could just find a high schooler or a college student to help out in the summer because these days there are fewer Americans that really want to do hot and hard outdoor labor. So really all of agriculture depends on that immigrant pool in order to get everything done. Now let's talk about fake honey. This is one major thorn in our side. Yes, US consumers really love real honey, but the market price is being crushed by cheap counterfeit honey. Mainly coming out of China, India, Argentina, and actually, yes, Israel, too, where synthetic honey just got approved for sale in the United States. These fake honeys are sold for less, and that's putting an enormous pressure on domestic producers trying to make an honest living. And while agencies like Homeland Security are catching some fraudulent imports at the border, the FDA still hasn't created a proper standard of identity for honey. That means that it is way too easy for fake product to slip through the cracks. And in the EU, there's more movement on this. They really are starting to realize that lowcost fake honey is a food security issue because if beekeepers can't stay in business anymore, crops are just not going to be able to get pollinated. But here in the United States, enforcement and testing are still lagging way behind what is really needed in order to crack down. And to add to this conversation, herbicide use and land conversion have taken away a lot of our good forage. Add in weird weather, more droughts, stronger stronger storms, and it's no surprise that honey yields per hive are going down. Meanwhile, the demand for almond pollination is softening. So, if honey prices stay low and pollination income dips, too, it's going to be really hard to keep operations afloat without serious changes. But, I don't want to sound all doom and gloom. There is some good news. The American Honey Producers Association did announce the Honey Integrity Act, a bipartisan effort to protect US producers from fraud. If passed, it could help bring fairness back to the honey market. And yeah, things are changing fast. Look at what's happening in New Zealand with the Manuka honey bubble bubble bursting or in Australia with the arrival of verouomites. Beekeeping industries all over the world are being forced to reset. But as Randy Oliver says, keep your eye on the rainbow because when industries go through big hard resets, yes, some do fold, but others adapt and come out stronger than ever before. Beekeeping is always going to be hard work. It's slim margins, constant problem solving, and it's totally dependent on the health of your hives and the whims of nature. But let me end with a couple quotes for you. What is a disaster for most is an opportunity for few by Richard Nay. Opportunity is missed by most people because it's dressed in overalls and looks like hard work. Thomas Edison. Ry's sons were heartbroken watching their hives collapse this past fall. And instead of profiting from almond pollination, they were hauling in truckloads of deadouts. But even as the weather swung from sunny to snowy, they got back to work and they started splitting what hives they had pushing forward. That is beekeeping. It's tough. It's gritty. It's exhausting. But for those who really love it and can adapt, it's still worth it. So, here's my takeaway from this entire video for you. Beekeeping is still doable as a business. It is still possible to make a living, but it is not easy. It never was, and it's not going to get any easier. So, that being said, we have to be smart and we have to stay ahead of the curve and adapt to a changing landscape, whether it's pests, pollination, prices, or politics really. So, let me know in the comments, is your operation more or less profitable than it was 5 or 10 years ago? and what changes are you making to stay in the game today? As always, thanks for watching. Stay curious and make sure to subscribe if you want to keep up on all of the changes that are happening in the beekeeping industry. And see you guys in the next one.