Honey ISSN: 1949-1492 Released March 18, 2021, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). United States Honey Production Down 6 Percent in 2020 United States honey production in 2020 totaled 148 million pounds, down 6 percent from 2019. There were 2.71 million colonies producing honey in 2020, down 4 percent from 2019. Yield per colony averaged 54.5 pounds, down 2 percent from the 55.8 pounds in 2019. 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 39.7 million pounds on December 15, 2020, down 3 percent from a year earlier. Stocks held by producers exclude those held under the commodity loan program. Honey Prices Up 2 Percent in 2020 United States honey prices increased 2 percent during 2020 to $2.03 per pound, compared to $1.99 per pound in 2019. 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 2019 crop reflect honey sold in 2019 and 2020. Some 2019 crop honey was sold in 2020, which caused some revisions to the 2019 crop prices. Price Paid per Queen was 18 Dollars in 2020 The average prices paid in 2020 for honey bee queens, packages, and nucs were $18, $84, and $105 respectively. Pollination income for 2020 was $254 million, down 18 percent from 2019. Other income from honey bees in 2020 was $55.8 million, down 28 percent from 2019. 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: 2019 [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 ..............: 7 42 294 44 3.38 994 Arizona ..............: 23 46 1,058 201 2.04 2,158 Arkansas .............: 20 55 1,100 176 1.65 1,815 California ...........: 335 48 16,080 3,216 1.60 25,728 Colorado .............: 32 46 1,472 500 2.34 3,444 Florida ..............: 205 45 9,225 830 2.46 22,694 Georgia ..............: 102 33 3,366 370 2.67 8,987 Hawaii ...............: 16 80 1,280 51 1.30 1,664 Idaho ................: 92 32 2,944 677 1.62 4,769 Illinois .............: 11 39 429 116 4.12 1,767 : Indiana ..............: 9 55 495 188 3.78 1,871 Iowa .................: 38 55 2,090 1,170 2.35 4,912 Kansas ...............: 7 79 553 171 2.35 1,300 Kentucky .............: 6 41 246 44 4.66 1,146 Louisiana ............: 54 72 3,888 428 2.15 8,359 Maine ................: 15 35 525 110 3.28 1,722 Michigan .............: 94 50 4,700 1,363 2.56 12,032 Minnesota ............: 118 59 6,962 3,063 1.83 12,740 Mississippi ..........: 22 80 1,760 141 1.87 3,291 Missouri .............: 10 43 430 73 3.35 1,441 : Montana ..............: 173 86 14,878 5,802 1.49 22,168 Nebraska .............: 39 52 2,028 223 1.44 2,920 New Jersey ...........: 15 28 420 155 4.68 1,966 New York .............: 59 58 3,422 1,027 4.00 13,688 North Carolina .......: 14 42 588 118 4.11 2,417 North Dakota .........: 520 65 33,800 6,422 1.43 48,334 Ohio .................: 15 67 1,005 442 3.46 3,477 Oregon ...............: 87 32 2,784 1,141 2.50 6,960 Pennsylvania .........: 19 50 950 409 4.41 4,190 South Carolina .......: 16 47 752 45 5.03 3,783 : South Dakota .........: 270 72 19,440 7,582 1.56 30,326 Tennessee ............: 8 57 456 91 4.72 2,152 Texas ................: 126 60 7,560 1,663 2.32 17,539 Utah .................: 22 29 638 89 1.97 1,257 Vermont ..............: 6 48 288 84 4.48 1,290 Virginia .............: 5 39 195 49 7.19 1,402 Washington ...........: 81 35 2,835 1,191 2.18 6,180 West Virginia ........: 6 37 222 47 4.26 946 Wisconsin ............: 46 47 2,162 692 3.00 6,486 Wyoming ..............: 39 56 2,184 306 1.43 3,123 : Other States 5/ 6/ ...: 30 47 1,418 351 4.65 6,594 : United States 6/ 7/ ..: 2,812 55.8 156,922 40,861 1.99 312,275 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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: 2020 [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 ..............: 7 39 273 66 5.43 1,482 Arizona ..............: 25 36 900 360 2.18 1,962 Arkansas .............: 20 49 980 176 1.80 1,764 California ...........: 320 43 13,760 2,752 1.78 24,493 Colorado .............: 30 41 1,230 455 2.09 2,571 Florida ..............: 192 46 8,832 883 2.28 20,137 Georgia ..............: 101 34 3,434 412 2.36 8,104 Hawaii ...............: 15 105 1,575 79 1.61 2,536 Idaho ................: 107 35 3,745 637 1.75 6,554 Illinois .............: 10 52 520 156 5.56 2,891 : Indiana ..............: 9 55 495 149 4.14 2,049 Iowa .................: 35 58 2,030 1,259 2.59 5,258 Kansas ...............: 8 62 496 164 2.93 1,453 Kentucky .............: 7 33 231 58 6.25 1,444 Louisiana ............: 33 69 2,277 228 2.42 5,510 Maine ................: 10 30 300 78 3.26 978 Michigan .............: 95 47 4,465 1,384 2.70 12,056 Minnesota ............: 108 55 5,940 2,495 1.75 10,395 Mississippi ..........: 25 73 1,825 146 1.94 3,541 Missouri .............: 9 41 369 100 3.31 1,221 : Montana ..............: 110 81 8,910 3,208 1.57 13,989 Nebraska .............: 37 52 1,924 250 1.71 3,290 New Jersey ...........: 14 31 434 91 7.99 3,468 New York .............: 58 56 3,248 844 3.39 11,011 North Carolina .......: 12 38 456 123 5.13 2,339 North Dakota .........: 495 78 38,610 8,108 1.60 61,776 Ohio .................: 16 75 1,200 576 3.85 4,620 Oregon ...............: 95 29 2,755 1,102 2.47 6,805 Pennsylvania .........: 19 48 912 392 4.74 4,323 South Carolina .......: 16 46 736 66 3.28 2,414 : South Dakota .........: 245 61 14,945 8,668 1.60 23,912 Tennessee ............: 7 51 357 54 4.39 1,567 Texas ................: 157 57 8,949 1,253 1.90 17,003 Utah .................: 28 34 952 171 2.07 1,971 Vermont ..............: 6 47 282 96 3.76 1,060 Virginia .............: 5 40 200 54 5.44 1,088 Washington ...........: 98 37 3,626 798 2.54 9,210 West Virginia ........: 6 46 276 58 3.89 1,074 Wisconsin ............: 45 50 2,250 855 3.26 7,335 Wyoming ..............: 38 40 1,520 608 1.66 2,523 : Other States 5/ 6/ ...: 33 42 1,375 303 4.36 5,995 : United States 6/ 7/ ..: 2,706 54.5 147,594 39,715 2.03 299,616 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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: 2019 and 2020 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Co-op and private : Retail : All Color class :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2019 : 2020 : 2019 : 2020 : 2019 : 2020 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : dollars per pound : Water white, extra white, white ...: 1.63 1.69 4.70 4.94 1.70 1.77 : Extra light amber .................: 1.70 1.76 3.63 4.64 1.90 1.88 : Light amber, amber, dark amber ....: 1.95 1.87 5.30 5.26 2.57 2.35 : All other honey, area specialties .: 3.16 2.36 6.62 7.62 3.99 2.87 : All honey .........................: 1.73 1.78 4.82 5.22 1.99 2.03 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Income and Expenditures - United States: 2019 and 2020 [Represents income and expenditures on the total number of colonies, regardless of whether honey was harvested] ----------------------------------------------------------------- Item : 2019 : 2020 ----------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 dollars : Income : Pollination income ..............: 309,630 254,282 Other income 1/ .................: 77,677 55,773 : Expenditures : Varroa control and treatment ....: 16,366 11,706 Other colony issues 2/ ..........: 4,535 3,166 Feed 3/ .........................: 58,010 40,930 Foundation ......................: 7,887 6,567 Hives/woodenware ................: 11,939 11,153 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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: 2019 and 2020 [Represents prices paid on the total number of colonies, regardless of whether honey was harvested] ----------------------------------------------------------------- Item : 2019 : 2020 ----------------------------------------------------------------- : dollars : Queen ...........................: 18 18 Package .........................: 85 84 Nuc .............................: 100 105 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Apiary Workers - United States: 2019 and 2020 [Represents number of paid and unpaid workers that worked with colonies, regardless of whether honey was harvested] ----------------------------------------------------------------- Item : 2019 : 2020 ----------------------------------------------------------------- : workers : Apiary workers ..................: 25,000 24,000 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 2.71 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 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 .....: 1.1 2.0 12 - 85 2 1 : Honey production .............: 1.1 2.1 701 - 4,796 2 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 Vacant, 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, 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 Adam Peters - Honey, Honey Bee Colonies .................................. (202) 690-4870 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 agencies 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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