Importance of Hiving

Bees play an important role in the berry growing process. As high as 85% of the world’s plants are dependant upon the pollination of bees, and for us berry growers, our dependance on the busy little insects is no different.

Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the anther of a flower, to the stigma. The transfer of pollen results in fertilisation and the formation of seeds, stimulating growth of the flower and consequently the fruit. As such, flowers that have been improperly pollinated will fail to grow to potential, often remaining underdeveloped. This is why each September Y.V.Fresh farmers begin the very important task of ‘Hiving’.

Hiving is what we call the ‘release the bees’ who go on to pollinate our farms. This takes extensive planning and preparation, and requires understanding the optimal level of hives that should be brought into the fields, in order to integrate with other bee colonies and minimise the risk of poor crop pollination.

We strongly believe that ‘hiving’ is one of the most important growing process for our berries. Well-pollinated fields have larger berries, higher yields and greater ripening rates than fields with below-optimal crop pollination. Hiving is one of the many reasons why Y.V.Fresh berries are so plump and full of flavour, and we owe it all to the wonderful bees.