Growing grapes and making wine in Bellevue
Posted in colony collapse disorder on Mar 8th, 2010
The number of producing honeybee colonies in the United States has been stable for four years. Combine that with reports that Colony Collapse disorder is becoming rarer and less severe, and you have good reason to be optimistic about CCD.
Posted in colony collapse disorder on Mar 9th, 2009
CCD was first identified in 2006, and by the end of that year the number of producing colonies had fallen barely 1%. In 2007, beekeepers had increased their colonies by more than 2%, ending the year with more than in 2005 – the [...]
Posted in colony collapse disorder on Mar 5th, 2008
My “unprediction” lands close to the mark
Last May, I was trying to make sense of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and the effect it might have on honey prices. I started with the annual honey report for 2006 published by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistical Service. I combined that with what I knew about CCD, like [...]
Posted in colony collapse disorder, mead on Sep 13th, 2007
I last wrote about Colony Collapse Disorder back in May. That’s when I made the case that CCD would not squeeze honey supplies too much and cause a large price run up. With honey prices up about 10% since then, I think my analysis was about right. I’m still anxious to learn about the impact [...]
Posted in colony collapse disorder, mead on Aug 8th, 2007
Prices up 10%
Last month, and since the beginning of May, my local Costco sold 6 lb (about 2.7 kg) jugs of honey for $7.99. Those 6 lb jugs are now fetching $8.79, a 10% increase. I think Costco’s price for clover honey is a good indicator of honey prices in the US for three reasons: [...]
Posted in colony collapse disorder, mead on Jul 2nd, 2007
My cherry wine is fermenting nicely. I plan to press it soon, and use the pomace to make a cherry mead. The good price on the cherries worked out really well, but it did leave me with a dilemma about the honey. Use the wildflower that I have? It would be much better in the [...]
Posted in colony collapse disorder, mead on May 14th, 2007
When I buy honey for mead, I do it in 5 gallon (60 lb) buckets. With last year’s dip in US honey production and Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) wiping out honeybee colonies, I’m keeping a wary eye on prices. Predicting 2007 production and prices is as dicey as guessing the cause of CCD, so I’ll [...]