Honey production from producers with five or more colonies in Wisconsin totaled 2.25 million pounds in 2020 according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service Honey Report. This was a 4% increase from the 2.16 million pounds produced in 2019. The number of honey producing colonies in the state decreased from 46,000 colonies in 2019 to 45,000 colonies in 2020. This number does not include producers with fewer than five colonies or producers who did not harvest honey. Yield per colony in Wisconsin averaged 50 pounds, up from 47 pounds per colony in 2019. Wisconsin ranked fifteenth nationally in honey production, up from sixteenth place last year.
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. On December 15, 2020, producer honey stocks in Wisconsin, excluding stocks under government loan programs, were 855 thousand pounds, a 24% increase from 2019. The state’s 2020 honey crop was valued at $7.34 million, up 13% from the previous year’s $6.49 million. The average price per pound for all marketing channels in Wisconsin was $3.26, up 26 cents from 2019.
