The Mr Hillary referred to in this reporting of the 1928 NBA Conference was Percy Hillary, father of Sir Ed, who was a beekeeper and journalist.
Historic: Apiary siting - 1928
- Thread starter NickWallingford
- Start date
Do you think we may have an answer for Mr Hillary by the 100th yr anniversary of this letter?
Can well imagine what Hillary would think of todays migratory beek's dump sites right next to local stationary small operator's apiaries.
I don't think that two or three hobby hives in the beek's own backyard will ever be the problem, as it is more like the situation in 1928, when many people had a hive or two in the backyard.
And let's put this into context... Figures for the late 1920s and early 1930s are hard to come by, but as near as I can tell, there would have been about 100,000 hives in the country in 1928. Maybe not 10 times as many hives now, but not very far off.
A point I wanted to make was that the call for restrictions on the number of hives, the fear that other hives in the district will take away the possibility of producing a good crop, has been with the industry from the beginning.
At *some* point, over-crowding will cause problems, but it seems that beekeepers have felt that we were at that point throughout the industry's history.
A point I wanted to make was that the call for restrictions on the number of hives, the fear that other hives in the district will take away the possibility of producing a good crop, has been with the industry from the beginning.
At *some* point, over-crowding will cause problems, but it seems that beekeepers have felt that we were at that point throughout the industry's history.
Airborne honey on their website have/had rough stats of honey production/hive numbers going back to early 80s, In all that time through all the different hive number fluctuations, the honey per hive has stayed around 25-33kg per hive.
Those hive numbers were down to 230,000 and up to about 870,000
Year
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2018 | Hive Nos
318,203 293,080 320,113 292,928 376,672 575,872 879,758 | Honey Production 7,489 31kg/h 10,314 30kg/h 8,752 36kg/h 8,047 36kg/h 9,609 33kg/h 9,689 30kg/h 12,553 30kg/h 19,710 29kg/h 20,000 44kg/h |
|---|
When this posts there is supposed to be a gap between xxkg/h figure and the 4 or 5 number production figure before it.
All depends on how much honey is left on the hives. If hives are managed single brood box. And the number of locations bees go when following a flow.
As well as net return based on input/output.
As well as net return based on input/output.
Hobbyist hives/honey only make up 1-2% of any crop and hive numbers so not relevant, this is a general rough guide as I mention in my first post. It will be based on honey sales local and international.
I have to question some of the numbers in the summary table provided by @Dennis Crowley - the production/hive numbers didn't look right. Try this one:
It does indicate that the kg/hive has dropped somewhat over that time, but not nearly as much as I thought it might be, given the introduction of varroa into the equation in 2000.
| Year | Hives | Crop | Kg/hive |
| 1980 | 233,810 | 7,489 | 32 |
| 1985 | 309,613 | 10,314 | 33 |
| 1990 | 318,203 | 8,752 | 28 |
| 1995 | 293,080 | 8,047 | 27 |
| 2000 | 320,113 | 9,609 | 30 |
| 2005 | 292,928 | 9,689 | 33 |
| 2010 | 376,672 | 12,553 | 33 |
| 2015 | 575,872 | 19,710 | 34 |
| 2018 | 879,758 | 20,000 | 23 |
It does indicate that the kg/hive has dropped somewhat over that time, but not nearly as much as I thought it might be, given the introduction of varroa into the equation in 2000.
Thanks, the kg/h table was me on my calculator not from Airborne table.
I didn't sit School Cert Math's as Megan Brown(not her name) was going to show some of us boys her boobs at Marks swimming pool, as a 15yrs old boy they seemed more important than a math's exam.
It's actually quite easy to overstock an area with hobbyists hives especially in urban environments as so much of these are non-productive. Urban honey production around Hastings has dropped dramatically. Because of natural variability and honey production it's really hard to give accurate figures but my gut feeling is that hives are producing well below 50% of what they were 10 years ago in these areas.
Varoa caused a significant increase in my honey production because of less competition from feral hives, unfortunately this has now been offset by a massive increase in managed hives (or mismanaged)..
There must be an awful lot of bad beekeepers in New Zealand because even in a bad year I normally get well above the national average and in a normal year would get close to double. I wasn't flash at maths but if I'm getting double someone is getting not very much.
Varoa caused a significant increase in my honey production because of less competition from feral hives, unfortunately this has now been offset by a massive increase in managed hives (or mismanaged)..
There must be an awful lot of bad beekeepers in New Zealand because even in a bad year I normally get well above the national average and in a normal year would get close to double. I wasn't flash at maths but if I'm getting double someone is getting not very much.