Honey ISSN: 1949-1492 Released March 22, 2017, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Special Note Beginning with this publication, new tables have been added with estimates on expenditures, incomes, and other data related to beekeeping. Please contact the Livestock Branch at (202) 720-3570 or email at HQ_SD_LB@nass.usda.gov with any questions or concerns. United States Honey Production Up 3 Percent for Operations with Five or More Colonies in 2016 United States honey production in 2016 from producers with five or more colonies totaled 162 million pounds, up 3 percent from 2015. There were 2.78 million colonies from which honey was harvested in 2016, up 4 percent from 2015. Yield of honey harvested per colony averaged 58.3 pounds, down 1 percent from the 58.9 pounds in 2015. Colonies which produced honey in more than one State were counted in each State where the honey was produced. Therefore, at the United States level yield per colony may be understated, but total production would not be impacted. Colonies were not included if honey was not harvested. Producer honey stocks were 41.3 million pounds on December 15, 2016, down 2 percent from a year earlier. Stocks held by producers exclude those held under the commodity loan program. Operations with Less than Five Colonies Produced 766 Thousand Pounds of Honey in 2016 United States honey production in 2016 from producers with less than five colonies totaled 766 thousand pounds, up 6 percent from 2015. There were 24 thousand colonies from which honey was harvested in 2016, up 4 percent from 2015. The average yield was 31.9 pounds per colony in 2016, up 2 percent from the previous year. This yield is 26.4 pounds less than what was harvested per colony on operations with five or more colonies. Honey Prices Down Slightly for Operations with Five or More Colonies in 2016 United States honey prices decreased during 2016 to 207.5 cents per pound, down slightly from 208.3 cents per pound in 2015. United States and State level prices reflect the portions of honey sold through cooperatives, private, and retail channels. Prices for each color class are derived by weighting the quantities sold for each marketing channel. Prices for the 2015 crop reflect honey sold in 2015 and 2016. Some 2015 honey was sold in 2016, which caused some revisions to the 2015 honey prices. Price data was not collected for operations with less than five colonies. Price Paid per Queen was 19 Dollars for Operations with Five or More Colonies in 2016 For operations with five or more colonies, the average prices paid in 2016 for honey bee queens, packages, and nucs were $19, $89, and $117 respectively. The average prices paid in 2016 for operations with less than five colonies were $33 per queen, $109 per package, and $122 per nuc. Comparable data is not available for 2015. For operations with five more colonies, pollination income for 2016 was $338 million, down 1 percent from 2015. Other income from honey bees for operations with five or more colonies in 2016 was $149 million, down 10 percent from 2015. These estimates along with expenditure and apiary worker information can be found on pages 4 and 5 of this report. Number of Colonies, Yield, Production, Stocks, Price, and Value - States and United States: 2015 [Operations with 5 or more colonies that also qualify as a farm. Colonies which produced honey in more than one State were counted in each State] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Honey : Yield : : : Average : Value State : producing : per : Production : Stocks : price per : of : colonies 1/ : colony : :December 15 2/ : pound 3/ :production 4/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 pounds ---- 1,000 pounds ---- cents 1,000 dollars : Alabama ..............: 7 47 329 13 383 1,260 Arizona ..............: 26 49 1,274 306 203 2,586 Arkansas .............: 24 72 1,728 121 206 3,560 California ...........: 275 30 8,250 1,485 203 16,748 Colorado .............: 29 51 1,479 399 226 3,343 Florida ..............: 220 54 11,880 832 197 23,404 Georgia ..............: 69 40 2,760 221 243 6,707 Hawaii ...............: 14 102 1,428 71 191 2,727 Idaho ................: 89 32 2,848 1,082 193 5,497 Illinois .............: 8 51 408 155 466 1,901 : Indiana ..............: 6 53 318 165 323 1,027 Iowa .................: 36 50 1,800 990 220 3,960 Kansas ...............: 8 36 288 107 350 1,008 Kentucky .............: 5 46 230 55 404 929 Louisiana ............: 44 99 4,356 348 195 8,494 Maine ................: 10 47 470 47 543 2,552 Michigan .............: 90 58 5,220 1,984 244 12,737 Minnesota ............: 122 68 8,296 2,157 184 15,265 Mississippi ..........: 15 83 1,245 87 240 2,988 Missouri .............: 10 52 520 52 355 1,846 : Montana ..............: 146 83 12,118 3,757 194 23,509 Nebraska .............: 57 48 2,736 1,450 204 5,581 New Jersey ...........: 12 27 324 207 420 1,361 New York .............: 58 62 3,596 899 294 10,572 North Carolina .......: 12 45 540 103 451 2,435 North Dakota .........: 490 74 36,260 9,428 180 65,268 Ohio .................: 17 50 850 357 360 3,060 Oregon ...............: 71 38 2,698 809 243 6,556 Pennsylvania .........: 17 53 901 225 362 3,262 South Carolina .......: 14 67 938 38 410 3,846 : South Dakota .........: 290 66 19,140 9,379 179 34,261 Tennessee ............: 7 59 413 78 404 1,669 Texas ................: 126 66 8,316 1,164 210 17,464 Utah .................: 27 42 1,134 147 192 2,177 Vermont ..............: 5 52 260 62 423 1,100 Virginia .............: 6 38 228 50 553 1,261 Washington ...........: 73 44 3,212 1,221 180 5,782 West Virginia ........: 5 35 175 32 444 777 Wisconsin ............: 52 67 3,484 1,603 243 8,466 Wyoming ..............: 38 77 2,926 146 190 5,559 : Other States 5/ 6/ ...: 30 39 1,168 371 524 6,102 : United States 6/ 7/ ..: 2,660 58.9 156,544 42,203 208.3 326,081 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Honey producing colonies are the maximum number of colonies from which honey was harvested during the year. It is possible to harvest honey from colonies which did not survive the entire year. 2/ Stocks held by producers. 3/ Average price per pound based on expanded sales. 4/ Value of production is equal to production multiplied by average price per pound. 5/ Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island not published separately to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. 6/ Due to rounding, total colonies multiplied by total yield may not exactly equal production. 7/ United States value of production will not equal summation of States. Number of Colonies, Yield, Production, Stocks, Price, and Value - States and United States: 2016 [Operations with 5 or more colonies that also qualify as a farm. Colonies which produced honey in more than one State were counted in each State] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Honey : Yield : : : Average : Value State : producing : per : Production : Stocks : price per : of : colonies 1/ : colony : :December 15 2/ : pound 3/ :production 4/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 pounds ---- 1,000 pounds ---- cents 1,000 dollars : Alabama ..............: 7 52 364 33 337 1,227 Arizona ..............: 27 46 1,242 261 199 2,472 Arkansas .............: 24 69 1,656 99 184 3,047 California ...........: 310 36 11,160 2,009 200 22,320 Colorado .............: 32 40 1,280 282 217 2,778 Florida ..............: 215 50 10,750 538 244 26,230 Georgia ..............: 96 39 3,744 899 269 10,071 Hawaii ...............: 16 113 1,808 127 231 4,176 Idaho ................: 97 34 3,298 1,253 172 5,673 Illinois .............: 10 48 480 77 539 2,587 : Indiana ..............: 7 62 434 208 336 1,458 Iowa .................: 37 48 1,776 746 207 3,676 Kansas ...............: 7 48 336 54 297 998 Kentucky .............: 5 46 230 48 402 925 Louisiana ............: 50 86 4,300 301 193 8,299 Maine ................: 12 34 408 65 321 1,310 Michigan .............: 89 60 5,340 1,709 225 12,015 Minnesota ............: 124 59 7,316 1,390 164 11,998 Mississippi ..........: 19 85 1,615 113 174 2,810 Missouri .............: 8 62 496 30 218 1,081 : Montana ..............: 159 77 12,243 3,183 175 21,425 Nebraska .............: 48 46 2,208 640 188 4,151 New Jersey ...........: 12 27 324 198 669 2,168 New York .............: 64 57 3,648 1,167 320 11,674 North Carolina .......: 12 37 444 89 461 2,047 North Dakota .........: 485 78 37,830 6,809 173 65,446 Ohio .................: 15 79 1,185 664 384 4,550 Oregon ...............: 74 35 2,590 622 206 5,335 Pennsylvania .........: 19 50 950 266 315 2,993 South Carolina .......: 16 45 720 36 450 3,240 : South Dakota .........: 280 71 19,880 12,127 174 34,591 Tennessee ............: 6 55 330 69 478 1,577 Texas ................: 133 70 9,310 2,607 196 18,248 Utah .................: 31 32 992 169 191 1,895 Vermont ..............: 6 52 312 69 282 880 Virginia .............: 5 38 190 30 582 1,106 Washington ...........: 84 35 2,940 412 188 5,527 West Virginia ........: 5 32 160 43 373 597 Wisconsin ............: 54 62 3,348 1,205 244 8,169 Wyoming ..............: 40 68 2,720 190 176 4,787 : Other States 5/ 6/ ...: 35 44 1,525 416 426 6,497 : United States 6/ 7/ ..: 2,775 58.3 161,882 41,253 207.5 335,905 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Honey producing colonies are the maximum number of colonies from which honey was harvested during the year. It is possible to harvest honey from colonies which did not survive the entire year. 2/ Stocks held by producers. 3/ Average price per pound based on expanded sales. 4/ Value of production is equal to production multiplied by average price per pound. 5/ Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island not published separately to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. 6/ Due to rounding, total colonies multiplied by total yield may not exactly equal production. 7/ United States value of production will not equal summation of States. Number of Colonies, Yield, and Production - United States: 2015 and 2016 [Operations with less than 5 colonies that also qualify as a farm] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Honey : Yield : : State : producing : per : Production : colonies 1/ : colony : : :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2015 : 2016 : 2015 : 2016 : 2015 : 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 1,000 pounds pounds 1,000 pounds 1,000 pounds : United States 2/ .....: 23 24 31.3 31.9 720 766 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Honey producing colonies are the maximum number of colonies from which honey was harvested during the year. It is possible to harvest honey from colonies which did not survive the entire year. 2/ Due to rounding, total colonies multiplied by total yield may not exactly equal production. Honey Price by Color Class - United States: 2015 and 2016 [Operations with 5 or more colonies that also qualify as a farm] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Price :----------------------------------------------------------------------- Color class : Co-op and private : Retail : All :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2015 : 2016 : 2015 : 2016 : 2015 : 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : cents per pound : Water white, extra white, white ...: 188.6 185.1 305.4 490.8 190.6 192.9 : Extra light amber .................: 202.5 187.7 411.8 377.5 213.2 195.1 : Light amber, amber, dark amber ....: 200.4 189.4 412.1 436.4 234.7 224.8 : All other honey, area specialties .: 284.9 244.0 656.6 792.8 351.5 385.6 : All honey .........................: 195.0 188.1 409.9 462.0 208.3 207.5 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Queen, Package, and Nuc Prices Paid - United States: 2016 [Operations that qualify as a farm. Represents prices paid by operations, regardless of whether honey produced. For more estimates on the total number of colonies, see the "Honey Bee Colonies" report] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- United States : Queen : Package : Nuc --------------------------------------------------------------------------- : dollars per dollars per dollars per : Operations with : 5 or more colonies ............: 19 89 117 Less than 5 colonies ..........: 33 109 122 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pollination and Other Income - United States: 2015 and 2016 [Operations that qualify as a farm. Represents incomes from the total number of colonies, regardless of whether honey was harvested. For more estimates on the total number of colonies, see the "Honey Bee Colonies" report] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- United States : Pollination income : Other income 1/ :--------------------------------------------------------------- : 2015 : 2016 : 2015 : 2016 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 dollars ---- ---- 1,000 dollars ---- : Operations with : 5 or more colonies ............: 340,275 337,834 165,732 148,523 Less than 5 colonies ..........: 70 180 103 62 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Includes sales of queens, queen cells, beeswax, propolis, etc. Expenditures for Honey Bee Operations - United States: 2015 and 2016 [Operations that qualify as a farm. Represents expenditures on the total number of colonies, regardless of whether honey was harvested. For more estimates on the total number of colonies, see the "Honey Bee Colonies" report] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 5 or more colonies : Less than 5 colonies Expenditures :----------------------------------------------------------- : 2015 : 2016 : 2015 : 2016 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ :1,000 dollars 1,000 dollars 1,000 dollars 1,000 dollars : Varroa control and treatment .: 16,128 16,042 264 262 Other colony issues 1/ .......: 6,371 6,647 100 82 Feed 2/ ......................: 50,283 50,307 559 482 Foundation ...................: 9,461 7,294 400 320 Hives/woodenware .............: 11,156 9,014 719 706 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Includes Nosema, tracheal mites, foulbrood, paralysis, Kashmir, cloudy wing, etc. 2/ Includes syrup, sugar water, honey, pollen patties, and other feeds. Apiary Workers - United States: 2015 and 2016 [Operations that qualify as a farm. Represents number of paid and unpaid workers that worked with colonies, regardless of whether honey was harvested. For more estimates on the total number of colonies, see the "Honey Bee Colonies" report] ----------------------------------------------------------------- United States : Apiary workers :------------------------------- : 2015 : 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- : workers : 5 or more colonies ............: 23,000 24,000 Less than 5 colonies ..........: 19,000 19,000 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Statistical Methodology Survey Procedures: Data for honey producing operations are collected from a stratified sample of all known operations that also meet USDA's definition of a farm. To qualify as a farm, an operation must be any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the year. NASS Regional Field Offices maintain a list of all known operations and use known sources of operations to update their lists. All sampled operations are mailed a questionnaire and given adequate time to respond by mail or electronic data reporting (EDR). Those that do not respond by mail or EDR are telephoned or possibly enumerated in person. Prices are collected by color class and marketing channel from operations with five or more colonies. Estimation Procedures: Sound statistical methodology is employed to derive the estimates from reported data. All data are analyzed for unusual values. Data from each operation are compared to their own past operating profile and to trends from similar operations. Data for missing operations were estimated based on similar operations or historical data. State offices prepare these estimates by using a combination of survey indications and historic trends. Prices for each color class are derived by weighting the quantities sold for each marketing channel. Individual State estimates are reviewed by the Agricultural Statistics Board for reasonableness. Revision Policy: The previous year's estimates are subject to revision when current year's estimates are made. Revisions are the result of late reports or corrected data. Price revisions can be the result of additional sales reported the following year. Estimates will also be reviewed after data from the 5-year Census of Agriculture are available. No revisions will be made after that date. Reliability: Since all operations are not included in the sample, survey estimates are subject to sampling variability. Survey results are also subject to non-sampling errors such as omissions, duplication, and mistakes in reporting, recording, and processing the data. While these errors cannot be measured directly, they are minimized through strict quality controls in the data collection process and a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness. To assist in evaluating the reliability of the estimates in this report, the "Root Mean Square Error" is shown for selected items in the following table. The "Root Mean Square Error" is a statistical measure based on past performance and is computed using the differences between first and final estimates. The "Root Mean Square Error" for honey producing colonies over the past 10 years is 1.3 percent. This means that chances are 2 out of 3 that the final estimate will not be above or below the current estimate of 2.78 million colonies by more than 1.3 percent. Chances are 9 out of 10 that the difference will not exceed 2.4 percent. Reliability of Honey Estimates [Based on data for the past 10 years] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Root mean : 90 percent : Difference between first and latest estimate : square error : confidence : : : : : : : level :------------------------------------------------------------- Item : : : : : : Years : : : : : :------------------------------- : : : Average :Smallest : Largest : Below latest : Above latest -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent percent 1,000 1,000 1,000 ----- number ---- : Honey producing colonies .....: 1.3 2.4 17 - 85 5 1 : Honey production .............: 1.3 2.4 1,080 - 4,796 4 2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Represents zero. Information Contacts Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. E-mail inquiries may be sent to nass@nass.usda.gov Dan Kerestes, Chief, Livestock Branch ....................................................... (202) 720-3570 Bruce Boess, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section ................................ (202) 720-4447 Aaron Cosgrove - Catfish Production, Egg Products, Poultry Slaughter, Trout Production, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised...................................................... (202) 690-3237 Alissa Cowell-Mytar - Cold Storage ....................................................... (202) 720-4751 Tom Kruchten - Census of Aquaculture ..................................................... (202) 690-4870 Kim Linonis - Layers, Eggs ............................................................... (202) 690-8632 Joshua O'Rear - Cost of Pollination, Honey, Honey Bee Colonies............................ (202) 690-3676 Miste Salmon - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery, Mink .................................. (202) 720-3244 Access to NASS Reports For your convenience, you may access NASS reports and products the following ways: All reports are available electronically, at no cost, on the NASS web site: www.nass.usda.gov Both national and state specific reports are available via a free e- mail subscription. To set-up this free subscription, visit www.nass.usda.gov and click on "National" or "State" in upper right corner above "search" box to create an account and select the reports you would like to receive. For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS Agricultural Statistics Hotline at (800) 727-9540, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, or e-mail: nass@nass.usda.gov. 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