We await the official inspection report which is imminent but in the meantime I reaffirm my memory of the process and the method that Ron Feist uses to grade the bees. Shown here is a snippet from a previous report for demonstration purposes. The table of numbers appears a bit arcane but it is actually fairly straightforward as I explain. Each white square with the large number in bold is the frame count from an individual hive. The shaded square just to its right has a small number positioned in the lower right corner of that square e.g. bold 12 and a small 6.

Ron says he starts the inspection at the SW corner of our orchard and works his way through all of the hive drops in a clockwise pattern. At the first drop he uses that first small number on his sheet to count the hives, this time counterclockwise, until he gets to the 6th hive. The inspection begins and he counted 12 frames within, that meet criteria. Moving to the next drop, he counted 11 frames in the ninth hive and so on and so forth.

The small numbers in the shaded square randomize which hives he looks at. He believes that this method keeps the beekeeper from gaming the system and he will get an honest evaluation.  (Just make sure that the beekeeper never sees the randomizer pattern or he’ll learn the secret)

With the completed tabular frame count I use a spreadsheet to calculate summations and averages to double check those of the official report. It is also used to calculate payment due the beekeeper. Key is understanding the financial agreement between the grower and the beekeeper. Let’s save the contract drill down for a later date.

The business of pollination is now up to the hard working bees. We visit the process briefly every year and then we move our thinking on to the next thing. For the time being we should monitor the weather and wish for their success.