Man, that's a crazy good idea. First, it's 85% effective in solving the elephant problem; second, free honey which makes the fence a profitable venture in its own right; and third, the bees will pollinate the crops they're protecting, potentially maximizing crop yield.
Free honey? Beekeeping is actually a lot of work (especially when the hives are spread out like this). Also they say it's up to 85% effective, so that's the maximum not the average.
I'm not sure about the rest of the world but honey prices in New Zealand are skyrocketing - this may be due in part to Manuka honey being a particularly valuable honey. It might be hard work, but the returns would appear to be at levels so high that give theft is in the papers regularly now.
> this may be due in part to Manuka honey being a particularly valuable honey.
That's more than likely, and there's probably an international manuka craze on top of it: my (euro) grocery has a bunch of the usual blended "flower honey" and manuka, and that's it. Manuka is the first monofloral honey I've found outside of specialized or semi-specialized shops[0] (which is a shame).
[0] well not exactly, (false) Acacia is a fairly common one as well due to its physical characteristics: it's very clear and stays liquid for a very long time so it's an easy sell. But it's even blander and nondescript than blended
Manuka has good characteristics and is a reasonable antibacterial. It seems to be possible to fake Manuka content with Eucalyptus, which is a shame however.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mānuka_honey
Oh I'm not saying manuka isn't as exceptional as it's supposed to be, I'm just saying it does get special import treatment which likely drives prices up in NZ since more of the production goes out to non-NZ consumers.
Ah, got it. Yes. This happens a lot here, dairy products being a prime example. New Zealand produced stuff is often cheaper outside the country. It grates a little.
Yes, I imagine widespread adoption of this idea will lower honey prices and therefore increase the effective cost of the fences.
Still, it's neat to have a fence that's a potential source of profit if managed efficiently and depending on local prices. Elephant related cost savings will subsidize the cost of bee-keeping.
