Honey ISSN: 1949-1492 Released March 20, 2015, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). United States Honey Production Up 19 Percent Honey production in 2014 from producers with five or more colonies totaled 178 million pounds, up 19 percent from 2013. There were 2.74 million colonies producing honey in 2014, up 4 percent from 2013. Yield per colony averaged 65.1 pounds, up 15 percent from the 56.6 pounds in 2013. 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 41.2 million pounds on December 15, 2014, up 8 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 2014 to 216.1 cents per pound, up 1 percent from 214.1 cents per pound in 2013. 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 2013 crop reflect honey sold in 2013 and 2014. Some 2013 crop honey was sold in 2014, which caused some revisions to the 2013 crop prices. Honey Price by Color Class - United States: 2013 and 2014 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Price :----------------------------------------------------------------------- Color class : Co-op and private : Retail : All :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2013 : 2014 : 2013 : 2014 : 2013 : 2014 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : cents per pound : Water white, extra white, white ...: 210.9 204.0 340.9 327.1 212.9 205.6 : Extra light amber .................: 204.0 208.4 330.6 381.8 209.0 215.8 : Light amber, amber, dark amber ....: 197.3 207.7 405.1 423.4 219.2 232.3 : All other honey, area specialties .: 222.4 251.6 492.5 525.2 248.9 305.2 : All honey .........................: 205.8 206.4 382.4 406.6 214.1 216.1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of Colonies, Yield, Production, Stocks, Price, and Value - States and United States: 2013 [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 ..............: 7 52 364 55 285 1,037 Arizona ..............: 29 36 1,044 251 196 2,046 Arkansas .............: 22 60 1,320 66 202 2,666 California ...........: 330 33 10,890 2,505 211 22,978 Colorado .............: 26 43 1,118 324 210 2,348 Florida ..............: 220 61 13,420 1,074 203 27,243 Georgia ..............: 67 50 3,350 637 226 7,571 Hawaii ...............: 13 83 1,079 65 197 2,126 Idaho ................: 83 32 2,656 1,036 202 5,365 Illinois .............: 7 48 336 101 419 1,408 : Indiana ..............: 6 47 282 82 277 781 Iowa .................: 39 48 1,872 1,217 245 4,586 Kansas ...............: 6 46 276 39 250 690 Kentucky .............: 3 41 123 17 325 400 Louisiana ............: 50 98 4,900 490 189 9,261 Maine ................: 7 43 301 27 314 945 Michigan .............: 85 55 4,675 982 216 10,098 Minnesota ............: 130 58 7,540 1,282 199 15,005 Mississippi ..........: 17 116 1,972 39 186 3,668 Missouri .............: 10 47 470 85 262 1,231 : Montana ..............: 159 94 14,946 5,231 209 31,237 Nebraska .............: 46 60 2,760 1,628 207 5,713 New Jersey ...........: 11 44 484 34 419 2,028 New York .............: 55 48 2,640 1,030 212 5,597 North Carolina .......: 10 38 380 84 367 1,395 North Dakota .........: 480 69 33,120 6,955 204 67,565 Ohio .................: 17 45 765 390 329 2,517 Oregon ...............: 62 35 2,170 456 239 5,186 Pennsylvania .........: 13 45 585 257 303 1,773 South Dakota .........: 265 56 14,840 6,381 207 30,719 : Tennessee ............: 7 45 315 63 355 1,118 Texas ................: 106 59 6,254 1,689 210 13,133 Utah .................: 30 34 1,020 92 209 2,132 Vermont ..............: 3 51 153 46 389 595 Virginia .............: 5 35 175 42 450 788 Washington ...........: 69 39 2,691 1,023 230 6,189 West Virginia ........: 6 46 276 83 366 1,010 Wisconsin ............: 59 60 3,540 1,558 238 8,425 Wyoming ..............: 47 66 3,102 558 211 6,545 : Other States 5/ 6/ ...: 33 39 1,295 186 383 4,960 : United States 6/ 7/ ..: 2,640 56.6 149,499 38,160 214.1 320,077 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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, New Mexico, 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: 2014 [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 ..............: 7 53 371 26 340 1,261 Arizona ..............: 26 39 1,014 193 202 2,048 Arkansas .............: 21 65 1,365 137 200 2,730 California ...........: 320 39 12,480 2,995 203 25,334 Colorado .............: 27 37 999 200 200 1,998 Florida ..............: 245 60 14,700 1,029 208 30,576 Georgia ..............: 73 62 4,526 362 219 9,912 Hawaii ...............: 15 93 1,395 140 228 3,181 Idaho ................: 100 34 3,400 850 203 6,902 Illinois .............: 8 49 392 94 441 1,729 : Indiana ..............: 5 62 310 115 324 1,004 Iowa .................: 35 43 1,505 933 251 3,778 Kansas ...............: 7 75 525 84 233 1,223 Kentucky .............: 5 47 235 56 393 924 Louisiana ............: 48 84 4,032 524 226 9,112 Maine ................: 8 47 376 41 536 2,015 Michigan .............: 91 63 5,733 1,835 250 14,333 Minnesota ............: 132 60 7,920 1,426 206 16,315 Mississippi ..........: 20 112 2,240 45 201 4,502 Missouri .............: 12 47 564 96 357 2,013 : Montana ..............: 162 88 14,256 5,132 205 29,225 Nebraska .............: 50 75 3,750 1,688 210 7,875 New Jersey ...........: 12 30 360 119 298 1,073 New York .............: 60 55 3,300 1,518 272 8,976 North Carolina .......: 12 43 516 88 347 1,791 North Dakota .........: 490 86 42,140 9,271 200 84,280 Ohio .................: 15 61 915 256 352 3,221 Oregon ...............: 71 40 2,840 767 219 6,220 Pennsylvania .........: 17 46 782 203 275 2,151 South Carolina .......: 9 54 486 19 383 1,861 : South Dakota .........: 280 87 24,360 5,846 209 50,912 Tennessee ............: 7 63 441 88 323 1,424 Texas ................: 116 78 9,048 2,081 223 20,177 Utah .................: 29 28 812 130 213 1,730 Vermont ..............: 3 58 174 61 503 875 Virginia .............: 6 41 246 57 507 1,247 Washington ...........: 68 44 2,992 1,167 248 7,420 West Virginia ........: 6 31 186 33 404 751 Wisconsin ............: 53 54 2,862 1,030 232 6,640 Wyoming ..............: 38 61 2,318 255 206 4,775 : Other States 5/ 6/ ...: 31 45 1,404 202 358 5,026 : United States 6/ 7/ ..: 2,740 65.1 178,270 41,192 216.1 385,241 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island 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. NASS Regional 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 1.3 percent. This means that chances are 2 out of 3 that the final estimate will not be above or below the current estimate of 2.74 million colonies by more than 1.3 percent. Chances are 9 out of 10 that the difference will not exceed 2.4 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 .....: 1.3 2.4 18 - 85 5 3 : Honey production .............: 1.3 2.4 1,095 - 4,796 4 4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 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 Alissa Cowell-Mytar - Cold Storage ..................................... (202) 720-4751 Heidi Gleich - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery ...................... (202) 720-0585 Michael Klamm - Poultry Slaughter, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised ..... (202) 690-3237 Tom Kruchten - Census of Aquaculture ................................... (202) 690-4870 Kim Linonis - Layers, Eggs ............................................. (202) 690-8632 Sammy Neal - Catfish Production, Egg Products, Mink, Trout Production .. (202) 720-3244 Joshua O'Rear - Honey .................................................. (202) 690-3676 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: http://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 http://www.nass.usda.gov and in the "Follow NASS" box under "Receive reports by Email," click on "National" or "State" to select the reports you would like to receive. For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS Agricultural Statistics Hotline at (800) 727-9540, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, or e-mail: nass@nass.usda.gov. 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