£20k

[Black Comb]

Nice if you can get it.

From the Scottish Government's website

Scottish Honey Bees Severe Weather Aid Scheme 2014

"Funding of £200,000 has now been paid out to 10 beekeepers across the country"

[Rosie]

Which severe winter was this for?

[brecks]

To be spent on imported Italian bees only.

[mbc]

200k even nicer if you can get it

[Jon]

Which severe winter was this for?

Last winter was the most benign in many years. Noone I know had significant losses.
The beefarmers must be able to spin a good yarn to someone alien to fact checking.

[Rosie]

I would have thought that anyone who lost £20k's worth of stocks last winter ought to be seriously considering his career choice. It must have been for some other time, surely???

[Jon]

Maybe the compensation for the 2012-2013 winter - which was very bad, was spread over 2 years.
The beefarmers seemed to suffer far higher percentage losses than most other beekeepers though.
I lost almost all the nucs I was overwintering in 2012/2013 and had to take it on the chin.
Time for a rant about how best to spend taxpayers money.

[Black Comb]

here is a link, more detailed than the page I initially viewed.

http://scottishgovernment.presscentre.com/News/Funding-for-bees-b13.aspx