Senior Product Manager

Context

Shoreline Honey Farm is a growing beekeeping operation based in Michigan, led by owner and operator Nick Groenhof. With around 2,500 hives, the outfit offers almond, apple, cherry, and blueberry pollination services, and it’s supported by a team of three: one full-time and two part-time employees. In 2023, Groenhof discovered Nectar through a recommendation from a fellow beekeeper. Seeking a solution for enhanced traceability and record-keeping, he was drawn to Nectar’s ability to track the movement and performance of bees, especially as they are transported between locations and different types of work. 

The traceability side of it was really the big thing. Being able to track where the bees are coming from and going is crucial, especially with our seasonal schedule.

Improving Queen Performance

One of the key challenges for Shoreline Honey Farm was managing queen performance and ensuring the effectiveness of fixes made during the season. Using Nectar, Nick could easily assess the performance of queens from different suppliers. 

We make all our splits in April and use four different queen suppliers. By entering data on each supplier, we get a good idea of their performance. For example, there was about a 7% difference in initial acceptance rates between suppliers. Nectar helps us identify which queens last longer and which ones might need reconsideration.

Nectar is also helping Groenhof optimize the timing of his hive fixes. While he does most of his fixes in the spring, he also continues to fix hives toward the end of the season. 

A lot of times we fix up these bees and you really have no idea how many of these late summer fix ups are actually making it. Usually, they look pretty good. But with Nectar, we'll be able to find that batch of late season fix ups, run a report, and find out: is it worth it? I think we made about 150 fix ups this year. Are we just wasting our money, or would we be way better off to just make spring splits at the beginning of the season?

Loss Measurement

Nectar has also provided Shoreline Honey Farm with deeper insights into hive losses and their causes. Nick noted that Nectar’s reports allowed him to analyze his hive losses in detail and challenge previous assumptions. 

We always blamed blueberries for high losses, but this year, we found that apples had higher losses. And interestingly, hives that stayed in honey yards had higher losses than those used for pollination. Nectar helped us uncover these patterns and provided data to discuss with farmers about potential issues.

Another insight came from comparing mortality rates across pollination contracts, on a farm-by-farm basis. Groenhof pollinates about 15 different farms for apples and blueberries, and after breaking down losses by farm, he discovered that one contract had 40% hive losses, as compared to a 10% loss they had at another farm with the same batch of bees. 

It was a big yard; like two truckloads of bees, so from that you can tell that there's something going on at that farm. If you get one insight like that every year, that'll pay for the whole subscription.

With another year of data, Groenhof hopes that mortality data can help guide the priorities of the outfit. 

We've always kind of had it in our heads that if you leave hives behind in the yards, they're gonna do better. This year, it doesn't look like that's the case. So, if that happens again, we'd be better off getting pollination contracts for those bees instead of just letting them sit in the yard. That would be a big boost to revenue.

ELAP Reporting

Nectar has simplified the process of generating ELAP (Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish) reports. Nick highlighted the ease of use and time savings provided by the platform. 

Nectar makes ELAP reporting straightforward. I used to find it too complicated, but now it’s as simple as printing a report and emailing it. It cuts down on administrative time and makes the whole process much easier. Without Nectar, we were not even doing it.

Owner at Shoreline Honey Farm

Growing with Nectar

Looking to the future, Nick envisions Nectar playing a crucial role in advancing traceability in honey production. He believes that as food industries increasingly implement detailed traceability measures, beekeeping must follow suit. 

In the next five to ten years, I see a future where honey bottles will have detailed traceability information, similar to other food products. Nectar is a great starting point for us to begin integrating these practices into beekeeping.