Slack supply and high demand in Californian almond groves

As Californian almond pollination prices rise inexorably (latest: $100 to $150 per hive) as the season starts, some worry about the quality of the colonies being shipped in:

“A lot of ‘junk’ hives are coming out here from the East Coast. Some of these hives have low populations of bees or no bees,” said beekeeper Shannon Wooten of Palo Cedro in Shasta County. “Some of these bees have been sitting here for 90 days. Bees are flying around but they are not producing because they are not being managed.”