North Dakota ranked first and South Dakota ranked third in the United States for honey production in 2024, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
North Dakota producers with five or more colonies harvested 36.26 million pounds, maintaining its title as the #1 honey producing state in the U.S. for 21 consecutive years. That’s followed by California with 13.33 million pounds, South Dakota with 13.25 million pounds and Montana with 10.08 million pounds of honey produced in 2024.
South Dakota’s 13.25 million pounds is down 27% from 2023.
There were 250,000 honey producing colonies in South Dakota during 2024, up 19% from 2023. Average yield was 53 pounds per colony, down 34 pounds from 2023. Producer stocks were 8.75 million pounds on December 15, 2024, down from 12.4 million pounds a year earlier.
Prices for the 2024 crop averaged $2.84 per pound, up from $1.95 per pound in 2023. Prices were based on retail sales by producers and sales to private processors and cooperatives. Total value of honey produced in South Dakota in 2024 was $37.6 million, up 6% from 2023.
There were 490,000 honey producing colonies in North Dakota during 2024, down 4% from 2023. Average yield was 74 pounds per colony, down 1 pound from 2023. Producer stocks were 10.5 million pounds on December 15, 2024, up from 9.18 million pounds a year earlier.
Prices for North Dakota’s 2024 crop averaged $1.86 per pound, up from $1.78 per pound in 2023. Prices were based on retail sales by producers and sales to private processors and cooperatives. Total value of honey produced in 2024 was $67.4 million, down 1% from 2023.
Nationally, U.S. honey production totaled 134 million pounds, down 4 percent from 2023. There were 2.60 million colonies producing honey in 2024, up 3 percent from 2023. Yield per colony averaged 51.7 pounds, down 6 percent from 2023.
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