News

Minnesota bee colonies up, honey production down

Minnesota bee colonies rebounded in 2016, but honey production declined more than 10 percent.

The USDA says the number of honey producing colonies in the state increased from 22,000 in 2015 to 24,000 last year.

However, honey produced at all sites with five or more colonies fell 12 percent to 7.3 million pounds.

Yield per colony in Minnesota averaged 59 pounds a year ago, down from 68 pounds in 2015.

Nationally, honey production rose three percent last year while colonies from which honey was harvested climbed four percent.