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Agricultural Marketing Resource Center

Bees


Overview
 

According to USDA reports, 2.5 million honey-producing colonies in 2011 generated 148 million pounds of raw honey, down 16 percent from 2010. The states producing the most honey in 2011 were (in order): North Dakota, California, South Dakota, Florida and Montana. The average price for domestically produced honey was a record high $1.73 per pound, up 7 percent from 2010. For the most part, honey prices during 2011 were up in all color classes and in all markets.  April 2012 ... Bees


Marketing

Production

Businesses/Case Studies

  • Honey Gardens Apiaries, Hinesburg, Vermont, PCC Natural Markets, Seattle, Washington, 2005.
  • Mountain Top Honey, Mountainaire, Arizona - Dennis Arp manages an enterprise of 1,200 beehives that on average produce 100,000 pounds of honey a year. He also sells beeswax to candle and salve makers, pollen at health food stores and the resin-like propolis, which the bees use to make repairs and which has antibacterial qualities, to makers of herbal medical products.
  • Small Town Hives Make Big Buzz, Market to Market, Iowa Public Television, 2003.


Links checked February 2013.

Related Links

Report on the National Stakeholders Conference on Honey Bee Health, USDA and U.S. EPA, May 2013 - These federal agencies released a comprehensive scientific report on honey bee health. The report states that multiple factors are playing a role in honey bee colony declines, including parasites and disease, genetics, poor nutrition and pesticide exposure.
 

 

Colonies of Bees and Honey Collected - Inventory, Number Sold, and Honey Collected: 2007 and 2002, 2007 Census of Agriculture, USDA, 2009.

 

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