Thank You!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Is there a market for pollinating services?
The market for honey bee pollination is strong, mainly because of the almond industry in Northern California. There are 740,000 bearing acres of almond groves and 100,000 young acres have been planted and will need pollination in the next year or two. Currently, bee keepers from around the country and even Australia come to Northern California each year to pollinate the almond groves. We want to keep the income in California.
How do I know you are going to use the money for this business and not your vacation?
We have a separate business account so that all funds donated will be reserved solely for the business. We are not interested in going on vacation with your money; we are determined to make this endeavor successful.
How do bees help the economy?
In California over 90 different crops are pollinated by bees. Honey bees pollinate about 15 billion dollars worth of crops in US every year.
Why are bees important for the environment and mankind?
Bees, along with birds, bats, and insects, pollinate 75% of all flowering plants. Without them the plants would die off. Honey is one of the few foods that has all the nutrients, enzymes, proteins, and water necessary to sustain human life. Processed sugars only sweeten, but honey also nourishes. Also, bees pollinate the plants that constitute over one third of our daily diet. Every third bite is thanks to the bees.
Is Almond pollinating the only thing Sunny Honey will do?
No. We will sell honey and pollinate as many other crops as we can. In the future we’d also like to make products from wax and honey such as soap, candles, etc.
Are you sure you will be able to double your number of hives each year?
Only a small amount of wax and bees are needed from an established hive to start a new hive. The bees that are separated from the old hive are given a few new egg cells and they immediately turn a number of those eggs into queen cells. The first queen to hatch is their queen and the new hive begins. Potentially, we could even triple our number of hives each year, but the colonies will have a larger numbers of bees and be stronger if we only double them.
Where are you going to put all your bee hives?
Like other commercial bee keepers, we will off season our bees on farmland or orange groves and pay the land owners about a dollar per hive, plus some honey annually.
What about colony collapse disorder?
The cause of colony collapse disorder is unknown. Since 2007 the USDA has reported an overall loss of 30% of hives per year, either through CCD or other causes. A certain number of hives might die each winter due to disease or other hive weaknesses. We plan for this by having more hives than necessary to fill our pollination contracts and putting extra money aside for lean times.
What about honey sales?
As soon as our business is firmly established, we will sell raw local honey online and in the area. Please help us get started so that we can make nutritious and delicious honey available for you! Unpastureized honey has many vitamins and minerals. Sugar has none and is harder for your body to process which actually depleats yourself of nutrients.
