When a beekeeper contracts hives out for pollination, the grower and beekeeper both need confidence that enough colonies are close enough to every part of the crop while it is in flower. This model represents a rented field site: hive stands are scattered across the block, and each stand's foragers can only reliably work flowers within their flight range — especially in the cool, changeable weather typical of a UK spring.
The field coverage statistic is a live sample of the crop block, testing how much of it lies within flight range of at least one hive stand — the same logic a pollination contract's hive-density clause is trying to guarantee.
UK orchard pollination contracts commonly specify 2.5–5 hives per hectare, while polytunnel soft fruit can need denser placement because forager range inside tunnels is much shorter than in the open — coverage, not just headline hive count, is what growers are really paying for.
A 3D contract-pollination site where hive stands are scattered across an orchard, soft-fruit or oilseed-rape block, and forage-range rings show how much of the crop lies within reliable flight distance of a colony.
Field coverage depends on both hive density and effective forager flight range, not headline hive count alone — and pollination only counts while the crop is actually in bloom.
Set hive density, pick a crop, adjust forager flight range and bloom stage, then watch coverage, active foragers and estimated contract value update. Reshuffle hive stands to see placement variability.
UK orchard contracts commonly specify 2.5–5 hives per hectare, while polytunnel soft fruit often needs denser placement because forager range indoors is much shorter than in open orchards.