# What's an average honey harvest?



## tecumseh (Apr 26, 2005)

you must be in a very good area or experiencing an exceptionally good year??? as I think you have suggested rainfall and soil fertility are a good portion of the equation.


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## Gregg (Dec 22, 2003)

Lots of variables, but I consider an "average" year for around here about 100 - 120 lbs., which is considerably above the national average from what I know. Also a big difference getting an "average" from a few hives vs. an average from 1,000.


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## gardenbees (May 8, 2005)

Thanks you all. Yes, having only two hives it is hard for me to get an accurate assessment so that's kind of why I wanted input from others. I guess it has been a good year or I'm in a good place but I have nothing to compare it to until I get a few years down the road. The funny thing is that the hive I got the 150 pounds from was a captured swarm and I may yet get another three shallows from them if the cotton keeps blooming. Pretty amazing. Theresa.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I'd say an average honey harvest here is -40 to +200 pounds.







That's a big range. There's really no average year. There's good years, bad years, and in between years.


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## Hillside (Jul 12, 2004)

If you trust government data you can try this site. They have some listing of average yields by state. I think the most recent data is for 2004.

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/nass/Hone//2000s/2006/Hone-02-28-2006.txt


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## gardenbees (May 8, 2005)

Thanks Hillside. It looks like the national average for 2005 was 72 pounds per hive. That's just the info I was looking for. Guess it's been a really good year here. Better stock pile some for next year or plan to make some splits next spring. Theresa.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

"If you trust government data..."

Last December I got a call from Ag Statistics. The surveyer wanted to know all sorts of info on quantity and price. I said that as long as she understood that any answers I could give her were only really guesses then I'd be glad to help her complete her work assignment. 

Maybe I should, but I don't keep detailed records like the ones they wanted. How much honey produced in 2004 was sold in 2005 and for how much? How much of each color or floral source?

If my records are so poorly inadequate, I can only imagine that many folks are as bad or worse. So what does that say for Gov. Data?


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## Hillside (Jul 12, 2004)

I'm required to do the same kind of survey for my greenhouse crops. How much of each type of plant did you sell? How much did they pay for it? etc.

I usually have pretty decent records and can answer the questions within about +/- 10% or so.

I wouldn't expect any of this kind of data to be extremely accurate, but if you want ballpark information it's probably OK.


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