INDUSTRY NEWS
Blossom season
A busy time for bees and pollination brokers
BLOSSOM season is a critical time for the almond industry , with bees being trucked into orchards to help with pollination . Trevor Monson has been providing pollination services to almond growers since 1979 . But things have evolved significantly in those 45 years . “ We used to stay in a motel at Robinvale and use their landline phone to call beekeepers to arrange meeting locations and times ,” Mr Monson said . “ Once we left the motel we had to rely on UHF radios for communication .”
This year his business , Monson ’ s Honey and Pollination coordinated the delivery of more than 100,000 hives . A fifth of the hives contained BeeHero sensors , which is a significant increase on the 2023 trial . The sensors enable the hives to be remotely monitored and Mr Monson estimates the system is about 95 per cent accurate . “ Our auditors looked at the bees and a third-party auditor also agreed with the health of the hives ,” he said .
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6 In A Nutshell - Spring 2025 Vol 25 Issue 3