Honey ISSN: 1949-1492 Released May 16, 2019, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Special Note Data for Operations with Less than Five Colonies has been suspended. Before deciding to suspend this data, we reviewed our estimating programs against mission- and user-based criteria as well as the amount of time remaining in the fiscal year to meet our budget and program requirements while maintaining the strongest data in service to U.S. agriculture. Information about all NASS surveys and reports is available online at www.nass.usda.gov. United States Honey Production Up 2 Percent for Operations with Five or More Colonies in 2018 United States honey production in 2018 from producers with five or more colonies totaled 152 million pounds, up 2 percent from 2017. There were 2.80 million colonies producing honey in 2018, up 4 percent from 2017. Yield per colony averaged 54.4 pounds, down 2 percent from the 55.5 pounds in 2017. 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 29.1 million pounds on December 15, 2018, down 5 percent from a year earlier. Stocks held by producers exclude those held under the commodity loan program. Honey Prices Down 2 Percent for Operations with Five or More Colonies in 2018 United States honey prices decreased 2 percent during 2018 to 216.6 cents per pound, compared to 219.9 cents per pound in 2017. 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 2017 crop reflect honey sold in 2017 and 2018. Some 2017 crop honey was sold in 2018, which caused some revisions to the 2017 crop prices. Price Paid per Queen was 18 Dollars for Operations with Five or More Colonies in 2018 For operations with five or more colonies, the average prices paid in 2018 for honey bee queens, packages, and nucs were $18, $86, and $110 respectively. For operations with five or more colonies, pollination income for 2018 was $302 million, up 8 percent from 2017. Other income from honey bees for operations with five or more colonies in 2018 was $94.6 million, up 17 percent from 2017. 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: 2017 [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 45 315 22 288 907 Arizona ..............: 22 40 880 97 199 1,751 Arkansas .............: 29 68 1,972 197 197 3,885 California ...........: 335 41 13,735 2,198 216 29,668 Colorado .............: 33 43 1,419 284 209 2,966 Florida ..............: 205 43 8,815 529 237 20,892 Georgia ..............: 99 32 3,168 190 300 9,504 Hawaii ...............: 19 131 2,489 25 153 3,808 Idaho ................: 95 44 4,180 1,045 179 7,482 Illinois .............: 11 46 506 167 509 2,576 : Indiana ..............: 8 52 416 158 361 1,502 Iowa .................: 35 58 2,030 1,035 226 4,588 Kansas ...............: 7 79 553 260 403 2,229 Kentucky .............: 5 38 190 42 413 785 Louisiana ............: 43 81 3,483 279 193 6,722 Maine ................: 12 33 396 51 500 1,980 Michigan .............: 87 45 3,915 822 242 9,474 Minnesota ............: 126 62 7,812 1,016 193 15,077 Mississippi ..........: 18 86 1,548 124 182 2,817 Missouri .............: 8 65 520 57 370 1,924 : Montana ..............: 145 72 10,440 2,506 221 23,072 Nebraska .............: 42 63 2,646 423 191 5,054 New Jersey ...........: 13 28 364 167 874 3,181 New York .............: 57 56 3,192 766 303 9,672 North Carolina .......: 11 41 451 99 458 2,066 North Dakota .........: 455 74 33,670 4,377 191 64,310 Ohio .................: 15 73 1,095 657 324 3,548 Oregon ...............: 78 40 3,120 998 210 6,552 Pennsylvania .........: 16 46 736 177 351 2,583 South Carolina .......: 16 34 544 27 270 1,469 : South Dakota .........: 255 57 14,535 6,541 207 30,087 Tennessee ............: 7 41 287 75 457 1,312 Texas ................: 120 66 7,920 2,297 217 17,186 Utah .................: 27 31 837 67 208 1,741 Vermont ..............: 7 54 378 144 402 1,520 Virginia .............: 6 35 210 46 577 1,212 Washington ...........: 77 45 3,465 1,594 244 8,455 West Virginia ........: 6 40 240 50 393 943 Wisconsin ............: 53 56 2,968 683 282 8,370 Wyoming ..............: 39 53 2,067 186 161 3,328 : Other States 5/ 6/ ...: 34 43 1,473 184 443 7,968 : United States 6/ 7/ ..: 2,683 55.5 148,980 30,662 219.9 334,166 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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: 2018 [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 ..............: 6 45 270 14 357 964 Arizona ..............: 24 38 912 109 282 2,572 Arkansas .............: 28 50 1,400 84 187 2,618 California ...........: 335 41 13,735 3,022 206 28,294 Colorado .............: 31 48 1,488 283 202 3,006 Florida ..............: 215 49 10,535 737 240 25,284 Georgia ..............: 98 34 3,332 200 279 9,296 Hawaii ...............: 17 103 1,751 18 183 3,204 Idaho ................: 96 31 2,976 655 196 5,833 Illinois .............: 11 41 451 108 501 2,260 : Indiana ..............: 7 46 322 106 375 1,208 Iowa .................: 38 49 1,862 1,005 235 4,376 Kansas ...............: 5 73 365 95 300 1,095 Kentucky .............: 4 41 164 34 542 889 Louisiana ............: 45 83 3,735 261 190 7,097 Maine ................: 12 32 384 92 268 1,029 Michigan .............: 92 44 4,048 729 237 9,594 Minnesota ............: 119 61 7,259 1,161 188 13,647 Mississippi ..........: 20 87 1,740 70 205 3,567 Missouri .............: 9 45 405 36 258 1,045 : Montana ..............: 160 92 14,720 3,680 192 28,262 Nebraska .............: 40 59 2,360 850 199 4,696 New Jersey ...........: 13 31 403 165 735 2,962 New York .............: 56 48 2,688 833 334 8,978 North Carolina .......: 10 33 330 63 555 1,832 North Dakota .........: 530 72 38,160 4,579 188 71,741 Ohio .................: 14 73 1,022 491 361 3,689 Oregon ...............: 93 35 3,255 1,009 222 7,226 Pennsylvania .........: 19 44 836 309 373 3,118 South Carolina .......: 16 48 768 15 304 2,335 : South Dakota .........: 255 47 11,985 5,154 198 23,730 Tennessee ............: 7 46 322 84 399 1,285 Texas ................: 132 56 7,392 1,035 206 15,228 Utah .................: 26 41 1,066 75 209 2,228 Vermont ..............: 7 48 336 94 366 1,230 Virginia .............: 4 40 160 35 683 1,093 Washington ...........: 77 43 3,311 563 211 6,986 West Virginia ........: 6 37 222 38 416 924 Wisconsin ............: 51 45 2,295 711 276 6,334 Wyoming ..............: 39 56 2,184 175 189 4,128 : Other States 5/ 6/ ...: 36 39 1,399 314 593 8,599 : United States 6/ 7/ ..: 2,803 54.4 152,348 29,091 216.6 333,482 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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. Honey Price by Color Class - United States: 2017 and 2018 [Operations with 5 or more colonies that also qualify as a farm] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Price :----------------------------------------------------------------------- Color class : Co-op and private : Retail : All :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2017 : 2018 : 2017 : 2018 : 2017 : 2018 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : cents per pound : Water white, extra white, white ...: 204.7 197.3 314.3 379.8 206.3 200.4 : Extra light amber .................: 206.0 200.1 487.3 425.2 217.3 209.2 : Light amber, amber, dark amber ....: 202.8 205.7 497.0 473.3 241.1 240.1 : All other honey, area specialties .: 287.2 259.6 627.9 690.0 383.4 347.9 : All honey .........................: 205.1 201.1 445.0 421.0 219.9 216.6 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Queen, Package, and Nuc Prices Paid - United States: 2017 and 2018 [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 :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2017 : 2018 : 2017 : 2018 : 2017 : 2018 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : dollars per dollars per dollars per dollars per dollars per dollars per : Operations with .............. : 5 or more colonies ............: 14 18 76 86 107 110 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pollination and Other Income - United States: 2016, 2017 and 2018 [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/ :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2016 : 2017 : 2018 : 2016 : 2017 : 2018 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------ 1,000 dollars ------------ ------------ 1,000 dollars ----------- : 5 or more colonies ............: 252,108 280,779 301,853 83,767 80,566 94,643 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Includes sales of queens, queen cells, beeswax, propolis, etc. Expenditures for Honey Bee Operations - United States: 2017 and 2018 [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 Expenditures :----------------------------- : 2017 : 2018 ------------------------------------------------------------ :1,000 dollars 1,000 dollars : Varroa control and treatment .: 17,240 17,788 Other colony issues 1/ .......: 5,919 4,825 Feed 2/ ......................: 53,075 65,220 Foundation ...................: 9,775 9,534 Hives/woodenware .............: 9,989 13,646 ------------------------------------------------------------ 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: 2017 and 2018 [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 :------------------------------- : 2017 : 2018 ----------------------------------------------------------------- : workers : 5 or more colonies ............: 22,000 23,000 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 1 out of 3 that the final estimate will not be above or below the current estimate of 2.80 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 3 1 : Honey production .............: 1.3 2.4 1,059 - 4,796 3 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 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 Travis Averill, Chief, Livestock Branch .......................................... (202) 720-3570 Tony Dorn, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section ....................... (202) 690-3223 Holly Brenize - Poultry Slaughter.............................................. (202) 720-0585 Alissa Cowell-Mytar - Cold Storage, Capacity of Refrigerated Warehouses ....... (202) 720-4751 Liana Cuffman - Catfish and Trout, Egg Products, Mink, Census of Aquaculture .. (202) 720-8784 Adam Peters - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery .............................. (202) 690-3237 Kim Linonis - Layers, Eggs .................................................... (202) 690-3676 Fatema Haque - Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised ................................ (202) 720-3244 Vacant - Cost of Pollination, Honey, Honey Bee Colonies ....................... (202) 720-6147 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. Cornell's Mann Library has launched a new website housing NASS's and other agency's archived reports. The new website, https://usda.library.cornell.edu. All email subscriptions containing reports will be sent from the new website, https://usda.library.cornell.edu. 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