Commercial Beekeeping

‘Considering that the history of agriculture is thousands of years old, commercial beekeeping and its importance to agriculture is a relatively new development. Over the past 100 years, and particularly in the past 40 years, the rise of commercial beekeeping as a traveling endeavor to assist with the pollination of more than 100 crops has coincided with the rise of pollinated-dependent, commercial agriculture. No matter your position on the topic of commercial agricultural production, commercial beekeepers are necessary to support agriculture and provide nutritious food for the masses’, writes Nick Weber.  Unpacking the players and roles in pollination with regards to key crops previously not so demanding of commercial pollination makes for an interesting read; as in South Africa we are experiencing the commercial increase in both blueberry and almond crops, which some beekeepers anticipate will place higher demands on our honey bees than is being anticipated.Read more…