Honey ISSN: 1949-1492 Released March 18, 2013, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). United States Honey Production Down 1 Percent Honey production in 2012 from producers with five or more colonies totaled 147 million pounds, down 1 percent from 2011. There were 2.62 million colonies producing honey in 2012, up 5 percent from 2011. Yield per colony averaged 56.1 pounds, down 6 percent from the 59.6 pounds in 2011. 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 32.9 million pounds on December 15, 2012, down 10 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 2012 to 195.1 cents per pound, up 11 percent from 176.5 cents per pound in 2011. 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 2011 crop reflect honey sold in 2011 and 2012. Some 2011 crop honey was sold in 2012, which caused some revisions to the 2011 crop prices. Honey Price by Color Class - United States: 2011 and 2012 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Price :----------------------------------------------------------------------- Color class : Co-op and private : Retail : All :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2011 : 2012 : 2011 : 2012 : 2011 : 2012 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : cents per pound : Water white, extra white, white ...: 170.1 189.9 274.1 296.9 172.9 191.4 : Extra light amber .................: 164.4 189.6 307.1 293.5 171.1 194.3 : Light amber, amber, dark amber ....: 165.7 179.4 315.4 350.1 183.4 200.2 : All other honey, area specialties .: 182.6 210.2 461.0 522.7 225.2 286.5 : All honey .........................: 167.7 187.8 314.7 340.5 176.5 195.1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 63 251 1,130 Arizona ..............: 23 53 1,219 427 155 1,889 Arkansas .............: 22 64 1,408 239 162 2,281 California ...........: 370 48 17,760 3,730 165 29,304 Colorado .............: 31 55 1,705 443 200 3,410 Florida ..............: 180 61 10,980 988 168 18,446 Georgia ..............: 65 43 2,795 196 165 4,612 Hawaii ...............: 9 74 666 246 365 2,431 Idaho ................: 87 36 3,132 1,879 178 5,575 Illinois .............: 7 50 350 98 390 1,365 : Indiana ..............: 8 51 408 147 214 873 Iowa .................: 25 62 1,550 961 196 3,038 Kansas ...............: 7 44 308 117 215 662 Kentucky .............: 4 39 156 12 317 495 Louisiana ............: 36 77 2,772 471 167 4,629 Maine ................: 4 30 120 17 198 238 Michigan .............: 74 64 4,736 2,084 181 8,572 Minnesota ............: 120 53 6,360 2,099 163 10,367 Mississippi ..........: 18 115 2,070 104 153 3,167 Missouri .............: 8 43 344 76 214 736 : Montana ..............: 145 92 13,340 3,202 170 22,678 Nebraska .............: 41 59 2,419 653 175 4,233 New Jersey ...........: 11 41 451 135 370 1,669 New Mexico ...........: 7 56 392 153 169 662 New York .............: 49 56 2,744 1,235 196 5,378 North Carolina .......: 14 62 868 95 283 2,456 North Dakota .........: 460 71 32,660 7,512 167 54,542 Ohio .................: 15 66 990 228 234 2,317 Oregon ...............: 60 34 2,040 755 168 3,427 Pennsylvania .........: 24 44 1,056 306 255 2,693 : South Dakota .........: 250 66 16,500 4,290 170 28,050 Tennessee ............: 7 44 308 68 293 902 Texas ................: 78 58 4,524 633 178 8,053 Utah .................: 23 39 897 170 175 1,570 Vermont ..............: 4 43 172 43 231 397 Virginia .............: 4 40 160 21 407 651 Washington ...........: 71 38 2,698 836 193 5,207 West Virginia ........: 4 53 212 45 257 545 Wisconsin ............: 57 63 3,591 1,508 189 6,787 Wyoming ..............: 35 54 1,890 265 172 3,251 : Other States 5/ 6/ ...: 25 46 1,156 211 299 3,456 : United States 6/ 7/ ..: 2,491 59.6 148,357 36,761 176.5 261,850 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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: 2012 [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 ..............: 8 54 432 65 243 1,050 Arizona ..............: 22 46 1,012 253 170 1,720 Arkansas .............: 26 63 1,638 197 184 3,014 California ...........: 340 35 11,900 3,213 193 22,967 Colorado .............: 26 48 1,248 487 212 2,646 Florida ..............: 199 64 12,736 1,274 181 23,052 Georgia ..............: 62 51 3,162 190 189 5,976 Hawaii ...............: 10 75 750 263 319 2,393 Idaho ................: 96 32 3,072 553 161 4,946 Illinois .............: 7 61 427 145 340 1,452 : Indiana ..............: 9 59 531 228 244 1,296 Iowa .................: 38 61 2,318 1,229 211 4,891 Kansas ...............: 7 55 385 146 235 905 Kentucky .............: 5 51 255 41 318 811 Louisiana ............: 41 86 3,526 141 177 6,241 Maine ................: 4 34 136 24 225 306 Michigan .............: 76 57 4,332 1,386 203 8,794 Minnesota ............: 130 67 8,710 1,655 188 16,375 Mississippi ..........: 19 118 2,242 67 163 3,654 Missouri .............: 7 53 371 108 256 950 : Montana ..............: 149 52 7,748 2,479 191 14,799 Nebraska .............: 44 65 2,860 1,173 191 5,463 New Jersey ...........: 14 33 462 51 188 869 New Mexico ...........: 5 52 260 99 313 814 New York .............: 52 51 2,652 1,008 228 6,047 North Carolina .......: 13 39 507 106 369 1,871 North Dakota .........: 495 69 34,155 6,148 189 64,553 Ohio .................: 19 60 1,140 433 242 2,759 Oregon ...............: 62 32 1,984 873 211 4,186 Pennsylvania .........: 17 60 1,020 286 262 2,672 : South Dakota .........: 270 63 17,010 3,742 194 32,999 Tennessee ............: 7 61 427 68 285 1,217 Texas ................: 95 52 4,940 741 200 9,880 Utah .................: 26 38 988 217 185 1,828 Vermont ..............: 4 60 240 53 234 562 Virginia .............: 4 41 164 23 385 631 Washington ...........: 64 41 2,624 1,050 235 6,166 West Virginia ........: 7 48 336 111 280 941 Wisconsin ............: 63 69 4,347 1,956 204 8,868 Wyoming ..............: 51 51 2,601 468 182 4,734 : Other States 5/ 6/ ...: 31 47 1,444 172 304 4,390 : United States 6/ 7/ ..: 2,624 56.1 147,092 32,922 195.1 286,976 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 1.0 percent. This means that chances are 2 out of 3 that the final estimate will not be above or below the current estimate of 2.62 million colonies by more than 1.0 percent. Chances are 9 out of 10 that the difference will not exceed 1.8 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 .....: 1.0 1.8 16 - 50 7 2 : Honey production .............: 0.8 1.4 771 - 2,928 6 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 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, Mink .......................... (202) 720-0585 Dawn Keen - Egg Products ............................................. (202) 720-4448 Kim Linonis - Layers, Eggs ........................................... (202) 690-8632 Miste Salmon - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery .................... 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