Pollination Services: How to Rent Your Hives for Extra Income

Most beekeepers think of honey as the primary product. But for commercial operations, pollination services often bring in more revenue than honey sales. And you don't need thousands of hives to get in on this income stream—even a sideline beekeeper with 10-20 strong colonies can earn meaningful pollination income.

How Pollination Services Work

The concept is simple: farmers need bees to pollinate their crops. Many crops—especially tree fruits, berries, and cucurbits (squash, cucumbers, melons)—require or strongly benefit from bee pollination to set fruit. Wild bee populations often aren't reliable or abundant enough, so farmers rent managed honey bee hives.

Here's the basic transaction:

1. Farmer contacts you before bloom season (sometimes months in advance)
2. You agree on terms: number of hives, placement, timing, and price
3. You deliver hives just before bloom starts (evening/night to keep bees in)
4. Hives stay on-site for the bloom period (1-4 weeks typically)
5. You retrieve hives after bloom ends
6. Farmer pays per hive (sometimes upfront, sometimes after service)

During this time, your bees are foraging heavily on the crop—which can also produce a honey crop for you. In some arrangements, you keep any honey produced; in others (especially almonds), there's no surplus because the timing is early and the bees need every calorie for buildup.

What You Can Charge: 2025 Pollination Rates

Pollination rates vary dramatically based on the crop, your location, and the scale of the operation. Here's a breakdown:

Commercial Crops (Large-Scale)

Small-Scale / Local Farms

Crops That Need Bees (And Why)

Not all crops require pollination. Understanding which do—and how critically—helps you target the right farmers.

High-Value Pollination Crops

Almonds — The holy grail of pollination. California's 1.3 million acres of almonds need 2+ hives per acre, creating demand for about 2 million colonies every February. This is why almond pollination drives the entire commercial beekeeping industry. Without bees, almonds produce almost nothing.

Blueberries — Buzz pollination (the vibration of bee wings) significantly improves fruit set and berry size. Honey bees aren't as efficient as bumblebees for this, but growers use them anyway due to availability.

Apples, Pears, Cherries — Tree fruits require cross-pollination between varieties. An apple orchard without bees will have poor fruit set even if it has multiple varieties planted.

Cucurbits (Squash, Cucumber, Melon, Pumpkin) — These plants have separate male and female flowers. Without bees physically moving pollen, you get misshapen or absent fruit.

Crops That Benefit But Don't Require Bees

• Strawberries — Can self-pollinate but produce larger, more uniform berries with bee help
• Tomatoes — Self-pollinating, but bumblebees improve yields (honey bees less effective)
• Peppers — Similar to tomatoes; benefit from pollination but don't require it
• Sunflowers (for seed) — Need bees for full seed set; ornamental-only don't need pollination

Crops That Don't Need Bees

• Corn — Wind-pollinated
• Wheat, Rice, Oats — Self-pollinating grains
• Lettuce, Spinach, Root Vegetables — Harvested before flowering
• Grapes — Self-pollinating; bees not needed

Finding Farmers Who Need Bees

The hardest part of pollination services is often finding your first clients. Here's where to look:

1. Your Local Beekeeping Association

Many clubs maintain a "pollination list" connecting beekeepers with farmers. Some associations even coordinate group contracts where multiple beekeepers pool hives for larger jobs. This is your best starting point.

2. Farmers Markets

If you're already selling honey at farmers markets, you're standing next to potential clients every week. The pumpkin farmer two stalls down, the apple orchard vendor, the berry grower—they all need bees. Strike up conversations.

3. Agricultural Extension Offices

Your county extension office often fields calls from farmers looking for pollination services. Introduce yourself to the agriculture agent and let them know you're available. They may refer farmers directly to you.

4. U-Pick Operations & Agritourism Farms

U-pick strawberry farms, pumpkin patches, and apple orchards have a vested interest in good pollination—their customers are picking the fruit directly. They're often willing to pay premium rates for reliable service.

5. Cold Calling (Door-to-Door)

Drive around your area and note farms growing pollinator-dependent crops. Stop in, introduce yourself, and leave a business card. Many small farmers have never thought about renting bees but become enthusiastic once they understand the yield benefits.

Contract Essentials: Protect Yourself

A handshake agreement might feel neighborly, but a written contract protects both you and the farmer. Here's what to include:

Essential Contract Terms

🚨 The Pesticide Clause (Critical)

This is the most important protection in your contract. Pesticide exposure is the leading cause of pollination-related colony losses. Your contract should include:

That $300 figure is a minimum—it costs more than that to replace a strong colony by the time you buy a nuc and build it up. But having any compensation clause makes farmers take pesticide timing seriously.

Liability and Insurance

Consider what happens if someone gets stung on the farmer's property. Most homeowner's or farm insurance policies don't cover bees. Options include:

• Add-on to your homeowner's policy — Some insurers will add a rider for beekeeping liability ($100-300/year)
• Farm bureau or ag organization insurance — Many state beekeeping associations offer group policies
• Contractual hold-harmless clause — The farmer assumes liability for incidents on their property

Moving Hives Safely

Transporting bee hives requires planning. Do it wrong, and you have 20,000 angry bees in your truck cab. Here's how to do it right:

Timing

• Move at night or early morning — Wait until foragers have returned (after dark)
• Cool temperatures help — Bees cluster and stay calm; avoid moving in heat of day
• Allow 30 minutes after sealing the entrance before moving

Securing Hives

• Entrance screens — Block the entrance but allow ventilation (hardware cloth works)
• Ratchet straps — Strap hive bodies together AND secure to truck bed
• Bottom board locks — Staples or straps to prevent bottom board separation
• Screen inner cover — Replace solid inner cover with screen for ventilation during transport

Equipment Checklist

Risks of Pollination Services

Pollination work isn't without downsides. Go in with open eyes:

Pesticide Exposure

The #1 risk. Even with contractual protections, neighboring farms may spray, drift happens, and some farmers don't follow through on notification commitments. Commercial pollination (especially almonds) has documented colony loss rates of 10-30% due to chemical exposure.

Transportation Stress

Moving hives stresses colonies. You may see increased queen failure, reduced brood production, and defensive behavior for days after relocation. Multiple moves per season (chasing blooms) compounds this.

Disease Transfer

Placing your hives near other managed colonies increases exposure to diseases and pests. Large pollination operations (almonds especially) concentrate bees from hundreds of operations—creating disease transmission opportunities.

Poor Forage Conditions

Some crops provide nectar; others don't. Almond bloom is notoriously poor forage—the bees work hard but bring in little food. You may need to feed colonies before, during, or after pollination placements.

Weather Dependency

A cold, rainy bloom means poor pollination results and unhappy farmers. You delivered the bees; nature didn't cooperate. Clear expectations and good communication help manage these situations.

Scaling Up: From Sideline to Semi-Commercial

If pollination income appeals to you, here's the typical growth path:

Most beekeepers who pursue pollination seriously aim for the "sideliner" or "semi-commercial" level—enough hives to generate meaningful income, but not so many that it becomes a full-time trucking operation.

Getting Started: Action Steps

Ready to offer pollination services? Here's your roadmap:

1. 1 Build up to 10+ strong colonies. You need reliable hives before you can make commitments to farmers.
2. 2 Join your state beekeeping association and ask about pollination coordinator contacts or farmer referrals.
3. 3 Draft a basic pollination contract (templates available from state associations or extension offices).
4. 4 Research local crops and bloom timing. Know who grows what in your area.
5. 5 Start small. Take one or two jobs your first year to learn the logistics before scaling up.
6. 6 Invest in proper transport equipment—ratchet straps, entrance screens, and ventilation screens at minimum.

Pollination services won't make you rich overnight, but they represent a genuine income diversification beyond honey. Many successful beekeepers find that the combination of honey sales, pollination fees, and perhaps nuc sales creates a sustainable small-farm income—all from the same colonies.