Pollination Contract Calculator

Each crop carries a different typical per-hive rental rate, reflecting differences in bloom value, timing, and regional hive demand -- almond is modeled at roughly $200 per hive, more than double blueberry's or cherry's roughly $75-80 per hive. Since Gross Revenue is the rental rate multiplied directly by Hives Available, switching crops can move the revenue estimate more than a comparable change in hive count would, especially at moderate fleet sizes.

Three per-hive cost components: a distance-based transport charge using each crop's typical hauling distance, a flat $15 labor charge for loading, unloading, and inspecting hives, and a colony-mortality risk allowance -- 5% of a fixed $200 colony replacement value, not 5% of your rental rate, so negotiating a lower Rental Rate per Hive doesn't understate the real cost of losing a colony in transit. All three scale with Hives Available, so Net Revenue grows more slowly than Gross Revenue as the hive count increases, not in exact proportion.

Each additional hive adds one crop's rental rate to Gross Revenue while also adding that same crop's per-hive transport, labor, and mortality-risk costs to total costs -- and the modeled rental rate is set higher than the modeled per-hive cost for every crop, so net revenue per additional hive stays positive. Adding hives always increases the total, though the increase per hive is smaller than the headline rental rate once costs are netted out.

Acres Serviceable converts your hive count into how much crop acreage that fleet can realistically pollinate, using each crop's typical stocking density -- for example, almond growers typically want about 2 hives per acre, while lower-reward crops like blueberry are typically stocked closer to 3 hives per acre. It's useful for matching your available hive count to a grower's acreage before agreeing to a contract, separately from the revenue math.