North Dakota expected to lead the nation in honey production for 20th year in a row
Kristen Jones
Farmer Staff Writer
North Dakota has been the highest honey producing state for 19 years in a row, and is set to make that an even 20 this year. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2023 North Dakota hives produced 38.3 million pounds of honey, which was valued at over $67.8 million. This is nearly triple the amount produced by the next highest producing state, California.
According to a news release on the North Dakota bee colonies by the USDA, there were 65,000 colonies within the state on Jan. 1, 2024. By April 1, there was a colony loss of 11 percent, leaving 49,000 colonies. The report states that between April and June, there was a further loss of four percent of the hives. The total number of hives is expected to be much higher now, as the bees that have been out of the state for winter have been brought back for the summer season.
The report states that in the first quarter of 2023, there were 82,000 hives. That number fell to 62,000 in the second quarter of 2023 before rising to 420,000 hives in the third quarter and 360,000 hives at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
For the full story, visit www.watfordcitynd.com and subscribe to the McKenzie County Farmer today!