News Release

SIOUX FALLS, February 28, 2005 _ South Dakota's 2004 honey production totaled 22.575 million pounds, up 50 percent from last year, according to the USDA's South Dakota Agricultural Statistics Service. Adequate rains created good vegetation throughout much of the spring and summer, making for more favorable conditions for honey production. South Dakota ranked second in the nation, behind North Dakota.

The number of honey producing colonies the state, at 215,000, remained unchanged from 2003, with honey production per colony increasing to 105 pounds, 35 pounds higher than the yield in 2003. Over the previous five years, the state has averaged 223,800 colonies producing an average 83 pounds of honey per colony. The price received by producers decreased 26 percent in 2004, from $1.43 per pound to $1.06 per pound. The value of production in 2004 increased 11 percent from 2003, to $23.9 million.

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