Each year, roughly two million beehives are trucked in to California for almond pollination. Do you ever wonder where all those bees are actually coming from? Well, you may be surprised to learn that not only do they head down from the summer honey haven of the Dakotas, many hives begin the trek from as far away as Florida! Now, Florida’s a hefty 2,900-mile road trip away from California. That’s a long way to go!
Most of the bees get loaded up for shipment in the fall, just before the weather gets too cold and the bees shut down for the winter. Beekeepers will do some last minute "quality assurance" checks to make sure only the best bees make the journey out west. Those who don't reach the Golden State before Christmas will take part in a mad rush to get them dropped in the orchards in time for the almond pollination.
BEE TRUCKING MATH
One semi-truck can hold about 400-450 hives, totaling nearly 50,000 lbs. Any more weight and you risk exceeding the legal carrying capacity. So what's the cost to move such a heavy cargo across so many states? From perusing the beesource.com forums, I found a post from 2013 that says the trucking rate for a load of bees was between $2.75 and $3.00 a mile. Some recent posts in the Honeybee Haulers of America Facebook group seem to confirm that $3 per mile is still a reasonably common rate.
For the top ten states that ship bees to California for almond pollination, it can cost anywhere from $1,360--if you're coming from nearby Oregon--to over $8,000! Floridian beekeepers enjoy one of the country's best climates for keeping bees, but they dish out the big bucks to truck their bees for pollination. And that’s just a one-way ticket. Not only do beekeepers in Florida have to pay extra for their bee transport, but they also need to carefully navigate strict state laws governing interstate bee travel. Bee Culture recounts a tale of how one Florida beekeeper got himself in trouble over all the red tape involved.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Despite the high cost, bees are still being sent from Florida out to California each year because the high pollination prices are still worth the trucking expense. But as the supply of agriculture truckers continues to dwindle, that may not be the case any longer. Uncertainty over new regulations like the Electronic Logging Device Mandate (ELD) left some beekeepers wondering whether the cost of trucking would spike. For now, agriculture truckers are exempt from the ELD mandate and Hours of Service limitations, but who knows if or when that may change.
It's just one more thing to keep an eye on as the almond industry continues to grow and the logistical challenges become increasingly strained.