Nice folks, nice video!

[Perry]

I found this video this morning and thought I would post it. I have met Daniel (he spoke at one of our AGM's a few years ago. They live on PEI in a beautiful location called Canoe Cove. He has a farm gate stand that brings in an astonishing $$ amount, all done on the honour system. He has been very kind to me with his time and advice and I have even managed to pick up a few pieces of equipment from him at very fair prices.
His honey house is something to be seen. I would eat honey off the floor of it it, is so spotlessly clean. His is a model anyone considering going larger should follow.
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Video/34603/Honeydew-Apiaries

[LazyBkpr]

Good video!  Good to see nice folks making a go of life with their bees!  Gives me some hope!

   Wife is STILL trying to convince me that we need a place on the Maine Canadian border to make a go of beekeeping and pollination....   I'm trying to convince her that we should try it somewhere further south!

[Perry]

Your wife is right on this one buddy!
Blueberry pollination makes for some good paydays if you go that route.

[LazyBkpr]

Yeah,, and we already have an "in" with friends needing about 75K per year pollination services..  I am just having a little difficulty wrapping my head around caring for that many bees..   What do you do with 1000 hives? Do you have to have 100 outyards? Or do you pump them full of HFCS and feed them barrels of pollen sub all in one yard?  Probably a good topic for a different thread...

[Ray4852]

What kind of growing season do they get up in Main. Is it like what I get here 90 days frost free.

[Perry]

I'm going to think it's about the same as here in Nova Scotia. Rule of thumb is last frost date and safe to plant is May 20th, frost can start towards the end of October.

1,000 hives? Here the biggest keep has between 50 and 80 per yard, the next biggest tries to keep his numbers down more at around 30, (tops 40 maybe) per yard which I believe is more sustainable. Math will dictate how many out-yards you would need.
I don't know if you would need to run the full 1,000 Scott, just run what you would be comfortable with and throw them into the pollination game if you choose.