The United States Department of Agriculture released its honey report for 2014, and found that despite warnings about an impending “bee apocalypse”, the pollinators are doing just fine.
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, the reports states.
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 Dec. 15, 2014, up 8 percent from a year earlier. Stocks held by producers exclude those held under the commodity loan program.
“More to the point as to the acrimonious debate over whether and how much neonicotinoids are impacting bee health, the total number of beehives today is higher than it was in 1995 when neonics, as they are often called, had just come on the market,” wrote Jon Entine of The Genetic Literacy Project in response to the report.
