Honey Release March 2005 Honey Production Decreases during 2004

Honey production from beekeepers with five or more hives in New York totaled 4.29 million pounds during 2004, according to the New York Agricultural Statistics Service. This total is down 11 percent from the 2003 production of 4.82 million pounds.

The 2004 production was extracted from 64,000 colonies, down 4 percent from the 67,000 colonies in 2003. Honey yield per colony averaged 67 pounds, 7 percent below the 2003 yield. Honey stocks on hand across the State as of December 15, 2004 totaled 1.89 million pounds, an increase of 15 percent from the 1.64 million pounds a year earlier.

Prices received by beekeepers in New York averaged 133 cents per pound for all methods of sale during 2004, 2 percent less than the 2003 average price of 136 cents. Value of honey production for the State in 2004 totaled $5.70 million, compared with $6.56 million in 2003.

U.S. honey production in 2004 from producers with five or more colonies totaled 184 million pounds, up 1 percent from 2003. There were 2.56 million colonies producing honey in 2004, down 2 percent from 2003. Yield per colony averaged 71.8 pounds, up 3 percent from the 69.9 pounds in 2003.

Honey prices decreased during 2004 to 108.5 cents, down 22 percent from 138.7 cents in 2003. The value of the 2004 U.S. honey crop is estimated at $202 million. Mid-December stocks of honey for sale amounted to 61.2 million pounds, 50 percent more than the 40.8 million pounds on hand in December 15, 2003.

State	Honey Producing Colonies	Yield per Colony	Production	Stocks Dec. 15 2/	Average Price per Pound 3/	Value of Production
	1,000	Pounds	1,000 Pounds		Cents	1,000 Dollars

AL	12	87	1,044	282	140	1,462
AZ	32	55	1,760	774	115	2,024
AR	40	57	2,280	388	90	2,052
CA	390	45	17,550	5,792	101	17,726
CO	23	80	1,840	791	148	2,723
FL	205	98	20,090	2,009	100	20,090
GA	63	49	3,087	648	118	3,643
HI	8	96	768	77	141	1,083
ID	100	63	6,300	2,520	101	6,363
IL	7	55	385	193	193	743
IN	7	59	413	145	158	653
IA	35	67	2,345	1,337	128	3,002
KS	14	80	1,120	683	123	1,378
LA	35	98	3,430	240	79	2,710
ME	7	31	217	37	127	276
MI	65	67	4,355	2,439	117	5,095
MN	135	75	10,125	1,924	104	10,530
MS	18	65	1,170	421	80	936
MO	16	41	656	151	137	899
MT	140	77	10,780	3,773	106	11,427
NE	51	89	4,539	2,043	107	4,857
NV	14	55	770	316	330	2,541
NJ	12	27	324	45	138	447
NM	8	44	352	127	122	429
NY	64	67	4,288	1,887	133	5,703
NC	9	40	360	72	218	785
ND	390	78	30,420	9,126	105	31,941
OH	16	58	928	353	150	1,392
OR	42	54	2,268	1,111	124	2,812
PA	30	54	1,620	810	138	2,236
SD	215	105	22,575	13,545	106	23,930
TN	6	54	324	91	172	557
TX	116	76	8,816	1,411	96	8,463
UT	23	70	1,610	531	104	1,674
VT	6	68	408	192	145	592
VA	7	38	266	69	213	567
WA	56	63	3,528	1,376	103	3,634
WV	9	55	495	183	142	703
WI	68	86	5,848	2,632	133	7,778
WY	39	75	2,925	380	109	3,188

Other States 4/ 5/	23	52	1,203	298	228	2,746

U.S. 5/ 6/	2,556	71.8	183,582	61,222	108.5	201,790