Honey ISSN: 1949-1492 Released March 15, 2024, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). United States Honey Production Up 11 Percent in 2023 United States honey production in 2023 totaled 139 million pounds, up 11 percent from 2022. There were 2.51 million colonies producing honey in 2023, down 6 percent from 2022. Yield per colony averaged 55.2 pounds, up 17 percent from 2022. 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 44.0 million pounds on December 15, 2023, up 90 percent from a year earlier. Stocks held by producers exclude those held under the commodity loan program. Honey Prices Down 16 Percent in 2023 United States honey prices decreased 16 percent during 2023 to $2.52 per pound, compared to $3.01 per pound in 2022. 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 2022 crop reflect honey sold in 2022 and 2023. Some 2022 crop honey was sold in 2023, which caused some revisions to the 2022 crop prices. Price Paid per Queen was 19 Dollars in 2023 The average prices paid in 2023 for honey bee queens, packages, and nucs were $19, $91, and $120, respectively. Pollination income for 2023 was $255 million, up 6 percent from 2022. Other income from honey bees in 2023 was $57.7 million, up 5 percent from 2022. 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: 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 4.80 1,920 Arizona ..............: 23 45 1,035 476 2.70 2,795 Arkansas .............: 20 56 1,120 426 2.70 3,024 California ...........: 305 38 11,590 811 2.69 31,177 Colorado .............: 31 42 1,302 339 3.35 4,362 Florida ..............: 210 35 7,350 368 3.27 24,035 Georgia ..............: 103 32 3,296 99 3.08 10,152 Idaho ................: 94 29 2,726 627 2.73 7,442 Illinois .............: 10 47 470 141 6.27 2,947 : Indiana ..............: 9 63 567 261 4.74 2,688 Iowa .................: 48 51 2,448 710 3.06 7,491 Kansas ...............: 6 62 372 167 4.34 1,614 Kentucky .............: 7 36 252 68 6.12 1,542 Louisiana ............: 42 61 2,562 359 2.96 7,584 Maine ................: 10 23 230 64 6.40 1,472 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 3.20 6,384 Missouri .............: 8 41 328 151 5.23 1,715 : Montana ..............: 123 61 7,503 2,176 2.64 19,808 Nebraska .............: 34 44 1,496 598 2.89 4,323 New Jersey ...........: 16 39 624 62 4.26 2,658 New York .............: 54 53 2,862 916 3.82 10,933 North Carolina .......: 13 39 507 198 6.93 3,514 North Dakota .........: 520 60 31,200 4,680 2.60 81,120 Ohio .................: 19 66 1,254 464 3.52 4,414 Oregon ...............: 92 37 3,404 1,191 3.27 11,131 Pennsylvania .........: 23 46 1,058 487 5.59 5,914 South Carolina .......: 13 39 507 91 5.00 2,535 : South Dakota .........: 185 39 7,215 2,814 2.57 18,543 Tennessee ............: 9 47 423 102 5.65 2,390 Texas ................: 157 53 8,321 166 3.27 27,210 Utah .................: 26 46 1,196 120 3.00 3,588 Vermont ..............: 6 47 282 121 6.75 1,904 Virginia .............: 7 38 266 45 7.94 2,112 Washington ...........: 86 32 2,752 660 3.18 8,751 West Virginia ........: 7 39 273 98 5.91 1,613 Wisconsin ............: 53 55 2,915 816 3.22 9,386 Wyoming ..............: 30 45 1,350 230 2.65 3,578 : Other States 5/ 6/ ...: 53 63 3,316 501 4.03 13,363 : United States 6/ 7/ ..: 2,667 47.0 125,331 23,181 3.01 377,246 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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: 2023 [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 40 400 120 5.45 2,180 Arizona ..............: 34 42 1,428 600 2.23 3,184 Arkansas .............: 19 46 874 131 3.20 2,797 California ...........: 324 42 13,608 5,035 2.27 30,890 Colorado .............: 25 41 1,025 195 3.69 3,782 Florida ..............: 147 32 4,704 706 2.95 13,877 Georgia ..............: 77 33 2,541 152 3.43 8,716 Idaho ................: 92 32 2,944 442 1.63 4,799 Illinois .............: 9 49 441 146 7.05 3,109 : Indiana ..............: 9 53 477 329 4.34 2,070 Iowa .................: 40 66 2,640 739 2.99 7,894 Kansas ...............: 5 52 260 86 5.41 1,407 Kentucky .............: 10 30 300 84 6.21 1,863 Louisiana ............: 32 45 1,440 101 3.90 5,616 Maine ................: 12 18 216 41 4.46 963 Michigan .............: 70 55 3,850 924 2.84 10,934 Minnesota ............: 106 58 6,148 861 1.99 12,235 Mississippi ..........: 19 42 798 367 3.02 2,410 Missouri .............: 9 43 387 101 4.81 1,861 : Montana ..............: 114 85 9,690 3,392 2.00 19,380 Nebraska .............: 33 48 1,584 554 2.26 3,580 New Jersey ...........: 15 36 540 54 7.16 3,866 New York .............: 41 58 2,378 761 4.59 10,915 North Carolina .......: 11 44 484 179 6.02 2,914 North Dakota .........: 511 75 38,325 9,198 1.77 67,835 Ohio .................: 20 65 1,300 546 5.23 6,799 Oregon ...............: 90 37 3,330 1,099 2.71 9,024 Pennsylvania .........: 20 55 1,100 638 4.96 5,456 South Carolina .......: 11 52 572 114 4.53 2,591 : South Dakota .........: 212 87 18,444 12,542 2.02 37,257 Tennessee ............: 12 40 480 77 6.00 2,880 Texas ................: 111 35 3,885 505 3.01 11,694 Utah .................: 24 42 1,008 202 1.92 1,935 Vermont ..............: 6 49 294 76 5.09 1,496 Virginia .............: 5 39 195 82 8.58 1,673 Washington ...........: 83 27 2,241 740 2.71 6,073 West Virginia ........: 6 51 306 177 6.35 1,943 Wisconsin ............: 62 45 2,790 1,004 3.02 8,426 Wyoming ..............: 27 78 2,106 400 1.64 3,454 : Other States 5/ 6/ ...: 46 66 3,038 516 4.68 14,218 : United States 6/ 7/ ..: 2,509 55.2 138,571 44,016 2.52 349,199 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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: 2022 and 2023 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Co-op and private : Retail : All Color class :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2022 : 2023 : 2022 : 2023 : 2022 : 2023 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : dollars per pound : Water white, extra white, white ...: 2.70 1.99 5.57 5.87 2.81 2.09 : Extra light amber .................: 2.66 2.17 5.62 5.78 2.78 2.33 : Light amber, amber, dark amber ....: 2.87 2.63 6.09 6.78 3.23 3.20 : All other honey, area specialties .: 3.41 3.08 7.91 8.51 4.16 4.30 : All honey .........................: 2.77 2.23 6.02 6.55 3.01 2.52 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Income and Expenditures - United States: 2022 and 2023 [Represents income and expenditures on the total number of colonies, regardless of whether honey was harvested] ----------------------------------------------------------------- Item : 2022 : 2023 ----------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 dollars : Income : Pollination income ..............: 241,042 254,945 Other income 1/ .................: 55,188 57,720 : Expenditures : Varroa control and treatment ....: 13,724 15,112 Other colony issues 2/ ..........: 5,096 4,967 Feed 3/ .........................: 44,517 46,868 Foundation ......................: 6,934 5,753 Hives/woodenware ................: 10,835 10,496 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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: 2022 and 2023 [Represents prices paid on the total number of colonies, regardless of whether honey was harvested] ----------------------------------------------------------------- Item : 2022 : 2023 ----------------------------------------------------------------- : dollars : Queen ...........................: 22 19 Package .........................: 98 91 Nuc .............................: 129 120 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Apiary Workers - United States: 2022 and 2023 [Represents number of paid and unpaid workers that worked with colonies, regardless of whether honey was harvested] ----------------------------------------------------------------- Item : 2022 : 2023 ----------------------------------------------------------------- : workers : Apiary workers ..................: 25,000 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 0.3 percent. This means that chances are 1 out of 3 that the final estimate will not be above or below the current estimate of 2.51 million colonies by more than 0.3 percent. Chances are 9 out of 10 that the difference will not exceed 0.6 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 .....: 0.3 0.6 5 - 25 7 - : Honey production .............: 0.5 0.8 394 - 1,660 7 - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 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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