The trend seems to be continuing as more and more beekeepers are considering providing this service. Uniform advice taken from panels at meetings I have attended is that a quality pollination service takes commitment. The beekeeper must always be ready to get bees in and move them out of fields with very short notice, and some kind of a backup plan should be in place in the very real case that things go wrong. One must also develop a long-term personal relationship based on trust with the customer. A key to this is communication.
Successful pollinators are regularly in contact with customers, even during the off season.
They send out reminders and make phone calls in advance of the coming season to try to assess their capabilities and the growers' needs. One outfit writes a newsletter that includes information on a wide variety of topics. For those thinking of entering the pollination game, it is of utmost importance to solicit advice from colleagues actively doing this for a living. You need to note that word alternative, because, in order to do pollination, you will have to manage the bees differently, and you are going to give up some or all of your honey production. Considering the shape of our markets for honey, and the almost desperate need of our farmers for more bees, I consider this good decision.