Honey ISSN: 1949-1492 Released March 22, 2016, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Special Note Beginning with this publication, a new table has been added with estimates for operations with less than five colonies. Estimates published for these operations are: number of honey producing colonies, yield per colony, and production. This is new data, and does not alter any of the Honey report's existing data series. 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 Down 12 Percent for Operations with Five or More Colonies United States honey production in 2015 from producers with five or more colonies totaled 157 million pounds, down 12 percent from 2014. There were 2.66 million colonies from which honey was harvested in 2015, down 3 percent from 2014. Yield of honey harvested per colony averaged 58.9 pounds, down 10 percent from the 65.1 pounds in 2014. 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 42.2 million pounds on December 15, 2015, up 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 720 Thousand Pounds of Honey in 2015 United States honey production in 2015 from producers with less than five colonies totaled 720 thousand pounds. There were 23 thousand colonies from which honey was harvested in 2015, with an average yield of 31.3 pounds harvested per colony. This yield is 27.6 pounds less than what was pulled per colony on operations with five or more colonies. Comparisons to 2014 are unavailable because no data prior to 2015 was collected for operations with less than five colonies. Honey Prices Down 4 Percent for Operations with Five or More Colonies United States honey prices decreased during 2015 to 209.0 cents per pound, down 4 percent from a record high of 217.3 cents per pound in 2014. 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 2014 crop reflect honey sold in 2014 and 2015. Some 2014 honey was sold in 2015, which caused some revisions to the 2014 honey prices. Price data was not collected for operations with less than five colonies. Number of Colonies, Yield, Production, Stocks, Price, and Value - States and United States: 2014 [Producers 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 53 371 26 353 1,310 Arizona ..............: 26 39 1,014 193 192 1,947 Arkansas .............: 21 65 1,365 137 204 2,785 California ...........: 320 39 12,480 2,995 206 25,709 Colorado .............: 27 37 999 200 211 2,108 Florida ..............: 245 60 14,700 1,029 208 30,576 Georgia ..............: 73 62 4,526 362 219 9,912 Hawaii ...............: 15 93 1,395 140 229 3,195 Idaho ................: 100 34 3,400 850 203 6,902 Illinois .............: 8 49 392 94 411 1,611 : Indiana ..............: 5 62 310 115 319 989 Iowa .................: 35 43 1,505 933 241 3,627 Kansas ...............: 7 75 525 84 238 1,250 Kentucky .............: 5 47 235 56 396 931 Louisiana ............: 48 84 4,032 524 218 8,790 Maine ................: 8 47 376 41 499 1,876 Michigan .............: 91 63 5,733 1,835 249 14,275 Minnesota ............: 132 60 7,920 1,426 206 16,315 Mississippi ..........: 20 112 2,240 45 201 4,502 Missouri .............: 12 47 564 96 363 2,047 : Montana ..............: 162 88 14,256 5,132 209 29,795 Nebraska .............: 50 75 3,750 1,688 204 7,650 New Jersey ...........: 12 30 360 119 313 1,127 New York .............: 60 55 3,300 1,518 283 9,339 North Carolina .......: 12 43 516 88 349 1,801 North Dakota .........: 490 86 42,140 9,271 199 83,859 Ohio .................: 15 61 915 256 358 3,276 Oregon ...............: 71 40 2,840 767 220 6,248 Pennsylvania .........: 17 46 782 203 291 2,276 South Carolina .......: 9 54 486 19 397 1,929 : South Dakota .........: 280 87 24,360 5,846 208 50,669 Tennessee ............: 7 63 441 88 376 1,658 Texas ................: 116 78 9,048 2,081 224 20,268 Utah .................: 29 28 812 130 213 1,730 Vermont ..............: 3 58 174 61 489 851 Virginia .............: 6 41 246 57 468 1,151 Washington ...........: 68 44 2,992 1,167 261 7,809 West Virginia ........: 6 31 186 33 407 757 Wisconsin ............: 53 54 2,862 1,030 238 6,812 Wyoming ..............: 38 61 2,318 255 208 4,821 : Other States 5/ 6/ ...: 31 45 1,404 202 367 5,153 : United States 6/ 7/ ..: 2,740 65.1 178,270 41,192 217.3 387,381 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Honey producing colonies are the maximum number of colonies from which honey was taken during the year. It is possible to take 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: 2015 [Producers 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 1,274 306 217 2,765 Arkansas .............: 24 72 1,728 121 202 3,491 California ...........: 275 30 8,250 1,485 204 16,830 Colorado .............: 29 51 1,479 399 218 3,224 Florida ..............: 220 54 11,880 832 197 23,404 Georgia ..............: 69 40 2,760 221 242 6,679 Hawaii ...............: 14 102 1,428 71 195 2,785 Idaho ................: 89 32 2,848 1,082 192 5,468 Illinois .............: 8 51 408 155 432 1,763 : Indiana ..............: 6 53 318 165 338 1,075 Iowa .................: 36 50 1,800 990 233 4,194 Kansas ...............: 8 36 288 107 352 1,014 Kentucky .............: 5 46 230 55 386 888 Louisiana ............: 44 99 4,356 348 193 8,407 Maine ................: 10 47 470 47 551 2,590 Michigan .............: 90 58 5,220 1,984 243 12,685 Minnesota ............: 122 68 8,296 2,157 183 15,182 Mississippi ..........: 15 83 1,245 87 264 3,287 Missouri .............: 10 52 520 52 350 1,820 : Montana ..............: 146 83 12,118 3,757 194 23,509 Nebraska .............: 57 48 2,736 1,450 202 5,527 New Jersey ...........: 12 27 324 207 420 1,361 New York .............: 58 62 3,596 899 294 10,572 North Carolina .......: 12 45 540 103 452 2,441 North Dakota .........: 490 74 36,260 9,428 180 65,268 Ohio .................: 17 50 850 357 408 3,468 Oregon ...............: 71 38 2,698 809 252 6,799 Pennsylvania .........: 17 53 901 225 363 3,271 South Carolina .......: 14 67 938 38 409 3,836 : South Dakota .........: 290 66 19,140 9,379 179 34,261 Tennessee ............: 7 59 413 78 407 1,681 Texas ................: 126 66 8,316 1,164 209 17,380 Utah .................: 27 42 1,134 147 193 2,189 Vermont ..............: 5 52 260 62 423 1,100 Virginia .............: 6 38 228 50 567 1,293 Washington ...........: 73 44 3,212 1,221 164 5,268 West Virginia ........: 5 35 175 32 444 777 Wisconsin ............: 52 67 3,484 1,603 241 8,396 Wyoming ..............: 38 77 2,926 146 190 5,559 : Other States 5/ 6/ ...: 30 39 1,168 371 503 5,875 : United States 6/ 7/ ..: 2,660 58.9 156,544 42,203 209.0 327,177 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Honey producing colonies are the maximum number of colonies from which honey was taken during the year. It is possible to take 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 [Producers with less than 5 colonies that also qualify as a farm] ----------------------------------------------------------------- : Honey : Yield : State : producing : per : Production : colonies 1/ : colony : ----------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 pounds 1,000 pounds : United States 2/ .....: 23 31.3 720 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Honey producing colonies are the maximum number of colonies from which honey was taken during the year. It is possible to take 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: 2014 and 2015 [Producers with 5 or more colonies that also qualify as a farm] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Price :----------------------------------------------------------------------- Color class : Co-op and private : Retail : All :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2014 : 2015 : 2014 : 2015 : 2014 : 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : cents per pound : Water white, extra white, white ...: 204.6 189.0 328.5 354.2 206.2 191.0 : Extra light amber .................: 209.6 204.0 392.2 411.8 218.3 215.4 : Light amber, amber, dark amber ....: 208.8 198.8 417.1 398.4 234.2 230.5 : All other honey, area specialties .: 255.4 238.3 535.2 647.0 317.2 330.3 : All honey .........................: 207.1 195.5 405.4 409.6 217.3 209.0 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Statistical Methodology Survey Procedures: Data for honey producing operations are collected from a stratified sample of all known producers 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 honey producers and use known sources of producers to update their lists. All sampled honey producers 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 honey producing 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 2.66 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 18 - 85 5 2 : Honey production .............: 1.3 2.4 1,086 - 4,796 4 3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 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 - Egg Products, Poultry Slaughter, Trout Production ...... (202) 690-3237 Alissa Cowell-Mytar - Cold Storage ...................................... (202) 720-4751 Heidi Gleich - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery ....................... (202) 720-0585 Tom Kruchten - Census of Aquaculture .................................... (202) 690-4870 Kim Linonis - Layers, Eggs .............................................. (202) 690-8632 Sammy Neal - Catfish Production, Mink, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised .. (202) 720-3244 Joshua O'Rear - Honey ................................................... (202) 690-3676 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: http://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 http://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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