34 MONTANA EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 408 



In view of the war effort the U. S. Department of Agriculture 

 called for as large an increase as possible in the production of 

 honey and wax in 1942, and increased cooperation with other 

 agricultural producers who need the pollination services of bees. 

 With this recommendation came the warning that beekeeping is 

 a skilled profession; and, though now is as good a time as any to 

 learn it, amateurs without experience cannot expect to jump in 

 with borrowed capital and make a commercial success of it. This 

 recommendation together with higher prices and War Production 

 Board quotas and priority ratings has resulted in increasing com- 

 mercial operations by about 20 per cent in 1942, with a proportion- 

 ate increase in production. Due to irregularities of the weather 

 over the country as a whole, Montana is one of the few states that 

 showed an actual increase in production in 1942. This was achieved 

 by the expansion of existing outfits and also the movement 

 of approximately 2500 colonies into the State. The policy of per- 

 mitting movement of bee colonies from other states to unused bee- 

 keeping territory is increasing the pollination service to legume 

 crops in those areas. 



The repercussions of the war on the beekeeping industry have 

 been and will be increasingly felt. Existing machinery and equip- 

 ment in honey plants have been on the whole adequate. One 

 exception is that higher prices and increased demand make it prof- 

 itable to pay much more attention to wax production. Many out- 

 fits are inadequately equipped for wax handling and wax presses 

 are no longer available. Rubber truck tires will be increasingly 

 critical material. Modern commercial bee culture is based on 

 motor truck transportation from out-apiaries to warehouse and 

 back. Constant use during the season and the margin of profit 

 makes it very impractical to attempt to satisfy this need with com- 

 mercial vehicles and common carriers. The real shortage will be 

 felt in 1943 and 1944 as present rolling stock wears out. Tires will 

 be absolutely essential to maintain production. The labor shortage 

 has become critical to the point where labor is the controlling 

 factor in maintenance of production. Many outfits were expanded 

 this year without increasing the number of hired helpers. Some 

 of those workers were deferred from the Armed Forces only for 

 the current season. In several cases the owners have planned 

 killing their bees and liquidating their assets in preparation to in- 

 duction in the Armed Forces. Women and 'teen-age boys are being 

 used with considerable success in extracting plants and shops. But 

 the work in the apiary requires strong backs. Operators are in 

 a quandary over what proportion of their bees should be killed off 

 this fall. If more bees are wintered than they will have labor to 

 handle next year, those bees plus the honey they consume over 

 winter may represent considerable loss. The recent Selective 



