Honey ISSN: 1949-1492 Released March 30, 2012, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). United States Honey Production Down 16 Percent Honey production in 2011 from producers with five or more colonies totaled 148 million pounds, down 16 percent from 2010. There were 2.49 million colonies producing honey in 2011, down 7 percent from 2010. Yield per colony averaged 59.6 pounds, down 9 percent from the 65.6 pounds in 2010. 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 36.8 million pounds on December 15, 2011, down 18 percent from a year earlier. Stocks held by producers exclude those held under the commodity loan program. Record High Honey Prices Honey prices increased to a record high during 2011 to 172.9 cents per pound, up 7 percent from 161.9 cents per pound in 2010. 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 2010 crop reflect honey sold in 2010 and 2011. Some 2010 crop honey was sold in 2011, which caused some revisions to the 2010 crop prices. Honey Price by Color Class - United States: 2010 and 2011 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Price :----------------------------------------------------------------------- Color class : Co-op and private : Retail : All :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2010 : 2011 : 2010 : 2011 : 2010 : 2011 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : cents per pound : Water white, extra white, white ...: 157.5 165.9 297.1 281.0 159.8 169.1 : Extra light amber .................: 151.1 161.3 266.3 307.6 157.6 168.3 : Light amber, amber, dark amber ....: 148.9 163.9 330.5 340.7 167.0 178.8 : All other honey, area specialties .: 172.1 180.5 471.4 511.9 208.1 217.1 : All honey .........................: 154.1 164.3 311.6 328.4 161.9 172.9 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of Colonies, Yield, Production, Stocks, Price, and Value - States and United States: 2010 [Producers with 5 or more colonies. 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 ..............: 9 54 486 73 240 1,166 Arizona ..............: 24 77 1,848 665 152 2,809 Arkansas .............: 25 60 1,500 360 147 2,205 California ...........: 410 67 27,470 6,318 155 42,579 Colorado .............: 34 56 1,904 533 152 2,894 Florida ..............: 200 69 13,800 1,794 156 21,528 Georgia ..............: 55 46 2,530 152 167 4,225 Hawaii ...............: 10 77 770 239 275 2,118 Idaho ................: 97 27 2,619 1,179 161 4,217 Illinois .............: 9 41 369 92 278 1,026 : Indiana ..............: 10 43 430 151 223 959 Iowa .................: 27 49 1,323 463 192 2,540 Kansas ...............: 9 52 468 103 202 945 Kentucky .............: 5 67 335 67 272 911 Louisiana ............: 36 80 2,880 288 150 4,320 Maine ................: 5 41 205 33 205 420 Michigan .............: 71 58 4,118 1,524 167 6,877 Minnesota ............: 128 66 8,448 1,774 155 13,094 Mississippi ..........: 16 98 1,568 78 144 2,258 Missouri .............: 11 52 572 92 180 1,030 : Montana ..............: 157 74 11,618 2,905 158 18,356 Nebraska .............: 41 55 2,255 902 151 3,405 New Jersey ...........: 13 35 455 73 190 865 New Mexico ...........: 7 66 462 157 158 730 New York .............: 45 64 2,880 1,123 196 5,645 North Carolina .......: 13 46 598 144 266 1,591 North Dakota .........: 510 91 46,410 12,995 150 69,615 Ohio .................: 18 62 1,116 346 228 2,544 Oregon ...............: 59 39 2,301 874 163 3,751 Pennsylvania .........: 30 37 1,110 377 213 2,364 : South Dakota .........: 265 58 15,370 4,765 151 23,209 Tennessee ............: 8 63 504 106 250 1,260 Texas ................: 100 72 7,200 792 151 10,872 Utah .................: 26 30 780 195 153 1,193 Vermont ..............: 4 65 260 73 310 806 Virginia .............: 5 37 185 37 332 614 Washington ...........: 71 37 2,627 1,077 157 4,124 West Virginia ........: 5 40 200 40 239 478 Wisconsin ............: 64 64 4,096 1,556 168 6,881 Wyoming ..............: 34 36 1,224 282 159 1,946 : Other States 5/ 6/ ...: 26 45 1,168 221 281 3,282 : United States 6/ 7/ ..: 2,692 65.6 176,462 45,018 161.9 285,692 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and South Carolina 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: 2011 [Producers with 5 or more colonies. 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 ..............: 9 50 450 63 250 1,125 Arizona ..............: 23 53 1,219 427 150 1,829 Arkansas .............: 22 64 1,408 239 161 2,267 California ...........: 370 48 17,760 3,730 161 28,594 Colorado .............: 31 55 1,705 443 168 2,864 Florida ..............: 180 61 10,980 988 165 18,117 Georgia ..............: 65 43 2,795 196 161 4,500 Hawaii ...............: 9 74 666 246 471 3,137 Idaho ................: 87 36 3,132 1,879 178 5,575 Illinois .............: 7 50 350 98 398 1,393 : Indiana ..............: 8 51 408 147 206 840 Iowa .................: 25 62 1,550 961 195 3,023 Kansas ...............: 7 44 308 117 215 662 Kentucky .............: 4 39 156 12 280 437 Louisiana ............: 36 77 2,772 471 167 4,629 Maine ................: 4 30 120 17 191 229 Michigan .............: 74 64 4,736 2,084 176 8,335 Minnesota ............: 120 53 6,360 2,099 159 10,112 Mississippi ..........: 18 115 2,070 104 153 3,167 Missouri .............: 8 43 344 76 209 719 : Montana ..............: 145 92 13,340 3,202 164 21,878 Nebraska .............: 41 59 2,419 653 173 4,185 New Jersey ...........: 11 41 451 135 376 1,696 New Mexico ...........: 7 56 392 153 166 651 New York .............: 49 56 2,744 1,235 193 5,296 North Carolina .......: 14 62 868 95 282 2,448 North Dakota .........: 460 71 32,660 7,512 166 54,216 Ohio .................: 15 66 990 228 226 2,237 Oregon ...............: 60 34 2,040 755 174 3,550 Pennsylvania .........: 24 44 1,056 306 242 2,556 : South Dakota .........: 250 66 16,500 4,290 165 27,225 Tennessee ............: 7 44 308 68 298 918 Texas ................: 78 58 4,524 633 177 8,007 Utah .................: 23 39 897 170 175 1,570 Vermont ..............: 4 43 172 43 230 396 Virginia .............: 4 40 160 21 400 640 Washington ...........: 71 38 2,698 836 176 4,748 West Virginia ........: 4 53 212 45 242 513 Wisconsin ............: 57 63 3,591 1,508 180 6,464 Wyoming ..............: 35 54 1,890 265 176 3,326 : Other States 5/ 6/ ...: 25 46 1,156 211 286 3,306 : United States 6/ 7/ ..: 2,491 59.6 148,357 36,761 172.9 256,509 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and South Carolina 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. Statistical Methodology Survey Procedures: Data for honey producing operations are collected from a stratified sample of all known producers with five or more colonies. Individual NASS Field Offices maintain a list of all known honey producers and use known sources of producers to update their lists. All sampled honey producers with five or more colonies 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. 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 1.1 percent. This means that chances are 2 out of 3 that the final estimate will not be above or below the current estimate of 2.49 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 19 1 50 8 2 : Honey production .............: 0.8 1.5 784 64 2,928 7 3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Cody Brokmeyer - Poultry Slaughter, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised .. (202) 690-3237 David Colwell - Cold Storage ......................................... (202) 720-8784 LaKeya Jones - Catfish Processing, Catfish Production, Trout Production, Census of Aquaculture, Honey, Egg Products, Mink ............ (202) 720-0585 Kim Linonis - Layers, Eggs ........................................... (202) 690-8632 Miste Salmon - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery .................... 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