Honey ISSN: 1949-1492 Released March 17, 2023, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). United States Honey Production Down 1 Percent in 2022 United States honey production in 2022 totaled 125 million pounds, down 1 percent from 2021. There were 2.67 million colonies producing honey in 2022, down 1 percent from 2021. Yield per colony averaged 47.0 pounds, unchanged from 2021. 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 23.3 million pounds on December 15, 2022, down 1 percent from a year earlier. Stocks held by producers exclude those held under the commodity loan program. Honey Prices Up 12 Percent in 2022 United States honey prices increased 12 percent during 2022 to $2.96 per pound, compared to $2.65 per pound in 2021. 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 2021 crop reflect honey sold in 2021 and 2022. Some 2021 crop honey was sold in 2022, which caused some revisions to the 2021 crop prices. Price Paid per Queen was 22 Dollars in 2022 The average prices paid in 2022 for honey bee queens, packages, and nucs were $22, $98, and $129, respectively. Pollination income for 2022 was $241 million, down 11 percent from 2021. Other income from honey bees in 2022 was $55.2 million, down 31 percent from 2021. These estimates, along with expenditure and apiary worker information, can be found on page 4 of this report. Colonies, Yield, Production, Stocks, Price, and Value - States and United States: 2021 [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 ---- dollars 1,000 dollars : Alabama ..............: 8 40 320 112 5.22 1,670 Arizona ..............: 26 40 1,040 364 2.58 2,683 Arkansas .............: 17 50 850 255 2.12 1,802 California ...........: 290 33 9,570 1,627 2.42 23,159 Colorado .............: 29 40 1,160 232 3.01 3,492 Florida ..............: 193 44 8,492 849 2.58 21,909 Georgia ..............: 96 34 3,264 261 2.72 8,878 Hawaii ...............: 20 93 1,860 74 2.22 4,129 Idaho ................: 100 30 3,000 270 2.32 6,960 Illinois .............: 10 46 460 115 5.49 2,525 : Indiana ..............: 10 52 520 177 4.09 2,127 Iowa .................: 38 55 2,090 502 2.45 5,121 Kansas ...............: 7 42 294 144 3.07 903 Kentucky .............: 7 37 259 73 4.92 1,274 Louisiana ............: 37 58 2,146 172 2.49 5,344 Maine ................: 11 34 374 60 3.43 1,283 Michigan .............: 100 51 5,100 1,938 3.00 15,300 Minnesota ............: 125 57 7,125 285 2.99 21,304 Mississippi ..........: 25 71 1,775 71 2.85 5,059 Missouri .............: 8 35 280 92 4.49 1,257 : Montana ..............: 117 57 6,669 1,934 2.19 14,605 Nebraska .............: 38 47 1,786 536 2.48 4,429 New Jersey ...........: 15 35 525 158 3.44 1,806 New York .............: 57 53 3,021 665 3.98 12,024 North Carolina .......: 13 39 507 96 6.69 3,392 North Dakota .........: 515 55 28,325 2,266 2.23 63,165 Ohio .................: 16 64 1,024 389 3.64 3,727 Oregon ...............: 86 31 2,666 693 2.27 6,052 Pennsylvania .........: 20 42 840 336 3.86 3,242 South Carolina .......: 15 42 630 63 5.93 3,736 : South Dakota .........: 250 49 12,250 5,268 2.40 29,400 Tennessee ............: 8 56 448 81 4.84 2,168 Texas ................: 137 56 7,672 384 2.32 17,799 Utah .................: 31 33 1,023 92 2.36 2,414 Vermont ..............: 6 47 282 65 4.02 1,134 Virginia .............: 6 40 240 79 8.17 1,961 Washington ...........: 96 32 3,072 1,290 2.51 7,711 West Virginia ........: 6 43 258 132 5.14 1,326 Wisconsin ............: 42 47 1,974 750 3.09 6,100 Wyoming ..............: 38 58 2,204 242 2.09 4,606 : Other States 5/ 6/ ...: 28 48 1,349 340 5.37 7,244 : United States 6/ 7/ ..: 2,697 47.0 126,744 23,532 2.65 335,872 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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/ Includes data for States not published in this table. 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. Colonies, Yield, Production, Stocks, Price, and Value - States and United States: 2022 [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 ---- dollars 1,000 dollars : Alabama ..............: 10 40 400 84 4.85 1,940 Arizona ..............: 23 45 1,035 476 2.69 2,784 Arkansas .............: 20 56 1,120 426 2.68 3,002 California ...........: 305 38 11,590 811 2.66 30,829 Colorado .............: 31 42 1,302 339 3.26 4,245 Florida ..............: 210 35 7,350 368 3.25 23,888 Georgia ..............: 103 32 3,296 99 3.07 10,119 Idaho ................: 94 29 2,726 627 2.66 7,251 Illinois .............: 10 47 470 141 6.19 2,909 : Indiana ..............: 9 63 567 261 5.11 2,897 Iowa .................: 48 51 2,448 710 2.81 6,879 Kansas ...............: 6 62 372 167 3.65 1,358 Kentucky .............: 7 36 252 68 5.70 1,436 Louisiana ............: 42 61 2,562 487 2.47 6,328 Maine ................: 10 23 230 64 6.49 1,493 Michigan .............: 82 41 3,362 706 3.04 10,220 Minnesota ............: 102 51 5,202 728 2.79 14,514 Mississippi ..........: 21 95 1,995 60 3.13 6,244 Missouri .............: 8 41 328 151 5.13 1,683 : Montana ..............: 123 61 7,503 2,176 2.64 19,808 Nebraska .............: 34 44 1,496 598 2.82 4,219 New Jersey ...........: 16 39 624 62 4.00 2,496 New York .............: 54 53 2,862 916 3.61 10,332 North Carolina .......: 13 39 507 198 6.79 3,443 North Dakota .........: 520 60 31,200 4,680 2.63 82,056 Ohio .................: 19 66 1,254 464 3.48 4,364 Oregon ...............: 92 37 3,404 1,191 3.15 10,723 Pennsylvania .........: 23 46 1,058 487 5.81 6,147 South Carolina .......: 13 39 507 91 5.78 2,930 : South Dakota .........: 185 39 7,215 2,814 2.58 18,615 Tennessee ............: 9 47 423 102 5.73 2,424 Texas ................: 157 53 8,321 166 3.29 27,376 Utah .................: 26 46 1,196 120 3.00 3,588 Vermont ..............: 6 47 282 121 7.04 1,985 Virginia .............: 7 38 266 45 7.77 2,067 Washington ...........: 86 32 2,752 660 3.11 8,559 West Virginia ........: 7 39 273 98 5.25 1,433 Wisconsin ............: 53 55 2,915 816 3.04 8,862 Wyoming ..............: 30 45 1,350 230 2.64 3,564 : Other States 5/ 6/ ...: 53 63 3,316 501 3.67 12,170 : United States 6/ 7/ ..: 2,667 47.0 125,331 23,309 2.96 370,980 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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/ Includes data for States not published in this table. 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: 2021 and 2022 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Co-op and private : Retail : All Color class :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2021 : 2022 : 2021 : 2022 : 2021 : 2022 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : dollars per pound : Water white, extra white, white ...: 2.33 2.69 5.36 5.62 2.43 2.81 : Extra light amber .................: 2.34 2.65 4.15 5.62 2.47 2.75 : Light amber, amber, dark amber ....: 2.52 2.81 5.55 6.14 2.98 3.15 : All other honey, area specialties .: 2.64 3.41 6.48 7.86 3.76 4.02 : All honey .........................: 2.40 2.74 5.27 6.04 2.65 2.96 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Income and Expenditures - United States: 2021 and 2022 [Represents income and expenditures on the total number of colonies, regardless of whether honey was harvested] ----------------------------------------------------------------- Item : 2021 : 2022 ----------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 dollars : Income : Pollination income ..............: 270,690 241,042 Other income 1/ .................: 80,174 55,188 : Expenditures : Varroa control and treatment ....: 11,565 13,724 Other colony issues 2/ ..........: 3,066 5,096 Feed 3/ .........................: 42,582 44,517 Foundation ......................: 7,064 6,934 Hives/woodenware ................: 9,863 10,835 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Includes sales of queens, queen cells, beeswax, propolis, etc. 2/ Includes Nosema, tracheal mites, foulbrood, paralysis, Kashmir, cloudy wing, etc. 3/ Includes syrup, sugar water, honey, pollen patties, and other feeds. Queen, Package, and Nuc Prices Paid - United States: 2021 and 2022 [Represents prices paid on the total number of colonies, regardless of whether honey was harvested] ----------------------------------------------------------------- Item : 2021 : 2022 ----------------------------------------------------------------- : dollars : Queen ...........................: 20 22 Package .........................: 91 98 Nuc .............................: 125 129 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Apiary Workers - United States: 2021 and 2022 [Represents number of paid and unpaid workers that worked with colonies, regardless of whether honey was harvested] ----------------------------------------------------------------- Item : 2021 : 2022 ----------------------------------------------------------------- : workers : Apiary workers ..................: 24,000 25,000 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Statistical Methodology Survey Procedures: Data for honey producing operations are collected from a stratified sample of all known operations with at least 5 honey bee colonies 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 1.1 percent. This means that chances are 1 out of 3 that the final estimate will not be above or below the current estimate of 2.67 million colonies by more than 1.1 percent. Chances are 9 out of 10 that the difference will not exceed 2.0 percent. Reliability of Honey Estimates [Based on data for the previous ten 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 -------- ----- number ---- : Honey producing colonies .....: 1.1 2.0 13 - 85 7 1 : Honey production .............: 1.2 2.1 874 - 4,796 7 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@usda.gov Travis Averill, Chief, Livestock Branch ............................... (202) 692-0069 Jean Porter, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section .......... (202) 690-3223 Holly Brenize - Poultry Slaughter................................... (202) 720-0585 Liana Cuffman - Catfish and Trout, Mink, Census of Aquaculture ..... (202) 720-8784 Fatema Haque - Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised ..................... (202) 720-3244 Derron Martin - Chicken Hatchery, Egg Products...................... (202) 690-3237 Seth Riggins - Honey, Honey Bee Colonies ........................... (202) 690-4870 Shulonda Shaw - Cold Storage, Capacity of Refrigerated Warehouses .. (202) 720-3240 Autumn Stone - Layers, Eggs ........................................ (202) 690-3676 Takiyah Walker - Broiler Hatchery................................... (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. To continue receiving the reports via e-mail, you will have to go to the new website, create a new account and re-subscribe to the reports. 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