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Yes! The cost of pollination (the service that most commercial beekeepers in the US make the vast majority of their income from) has risen something like 200% o

Yes! The cost of pollination (the service that most commercial beekeepers in the US make the vast majority of their income from) has risen something like 200% over the last 30 years. https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/37059/49131_special-article-september_-pollinator-service-market-4-.pdf?v=0 https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/37059/49131_sp...

tptacek 7y ago
I'm looking at your document and it shows no such increase over the last 10 years. I'm less interested in the 30 year timespan, because other huge changes have occurred in that timespan, from shifts in agriculture to the collapse of honey bee populations due to the Varroa mite.
- cycomanic 7y ago
  I'm not sure what your point is, but you're a bit disingenuous. The OP said a 200% increase over the last 30 years (he never talked about the last ten). The data in the document stops in 2011, but it is well over 200% (in particular there is quite a jump around 2004). If we assume that prices did not go down in the last 10 years (likely) his statement is still true.
  - tptacek 7y ago
    Reread the thread. I asked about the last 10 years; their response gave data over the last 30, but in the last 10 it's hovered between 100 and 125 (with lots of volatility). 2004 is, of course, more than 10 years ago. By way of context: in the 30 year timespan covered by their document, almond acreage in California has more than tripled.
- sarewscx 7y ago
  Well, given no other piece of information, assume the annual rate is constant and calculate it like that. Or rate the cube root of 200% (30 year period = 3 * 10 year periods) = 26% increase in cost
  - tptacek 7y ago
    Look at the document. It contains the information we're discussing. There's no need to extrapolate.
- grailed 7y ago
  Here is some more recent data: https://www.beeculture.com/2018-almond-pollination-market-outlook-demand-supply-contracts/ https://www.beeculture.com/2018-almond-pollination-market-ou... In 2017, the average price of pollination was $184.43/hive. That is up from $125/hive in 2011.
  - tptacek 7y ago
    This is a great source, because it goes into detail about supply and demand factors that are influencing those numbers, including a historic drought, hurricanes, and changes in California regulations about importing bee colonies.
- mistrial9 7y ago
  pollination "services" by literally trucking bees to new fields is a business that was popularized by one man in recent history.. the actual results of this are repeatedly disastrous, it seems .. The quick-draw response to "show me the prices" is badly insensitive to the way nature has worked for millennia.. this subject is fundamental to society across continents, yet off-the-handle remarks make it sound like a choice of bubble-gum flavors.. basically offensive and superficial
perl4ever 7y ago
I noticed that: - The CPI has doubled in the last 30 years; your link doesn't mention constant dollars that I noticed. - The line chart ends in 2011. - The sources of fees according to the chart in your link are very concentrated in almonds, which suggests they would be heavily impacted by the ups and downs of that industry. So, I'm not saying your assertion is false, but the most I can say about the link is that it doesn't contradict you.

tptacek 7y ago

I'm looking at your document and it shows no such increase over the last 10 years. I'm less interested in the 30 year timespan, because other huge changes have occurred in that timespan, from shifts in agriculture to the collapse of honey bee populations due to the Varroa mite.

cycomanic 7y ago
I'm not sure what your point is, but you're a bit disingenuous. The OP said a 200% increase over the last 30 years (he never talked about the last ten). The data in the document stops in 2011, but it is well over 200% (in particular there is quite a jump around 2004). If we assume that prices did not go down in the last 10 years (likely) his statement is still true.
- tptacek 7y ago
  Reread the thread. I asked about the last 10 years; their response gave data over the last 30, but in the last 10 it's hovered between 100 and 125 (with lots of volatility). 2004 is, of course, more than 10 years ago. By way of context: in the 30 year timespan covered by their document, almond acreage in California has more than tripled.
sarewscx 7y ago
Well, given no other piece of information, assume the annual rate is constant and calculate it like that. Or rate the cube root of 200% (30 year period = 3 * 10 year periods) = 26% increase in cost
- tptacek 7y ago
  Look at the document. It contains the information we're discussing. There's no need to extrapolate.
grailed 7y ago
Here is some more recent data: https://www.beeculture.com/2018-almond-pollination-market-outlook-demand-supply-contracts/ https://www.beeculture.com/2018-almond-pollination-market-ou... In 2017, the average price of pollination was $184.43/hive. That is up from $125/hive in 2011.
- tptacek 7y ago
  This is a great source, because it goes into detail about supply and demand factors that are influencing those numbers, including a historic drought, hurricanes, and changes in California regulations about importing bee colonies.
mistrial9 7y ago
pollination "services" by literally trucking bees to new fields is a business that was popularized by one man in recent history.. the actual results of this are repeatedly disastrous, it seems .. The quick-draw response to "show me the prices" is badly insensitive to the way nature has worked for millennia.. this subject is fundamental to society across continents, yet off-the-handle remarks make it sound like a choice of bubble-gum flavors.. basically offensive and superficial

perl4ever 7y ago

I noticed that: - The CPI has doubled in the last 30 years; your link doesn't mention constant dollars that I noticed. - The line chart ends in 2011. - The sources of fees according to the chart in your link are very concentrated in almonds, which suggests they would be heavily impacted by the ups and downs of that industry. So, I'm not saying your assertion is false, but the most I can say about the link is that it doesn't contradict you.