GHENT, WV (WVNS) — Officials with the National Agricultural Statistics Service along with the West Virginia Department of Agriculture released the statistics for the 2022 West Virginia honey production season.

Honey production in 2022 from producers with five or more colonies totaled 273,000 pounds, up six percent from 258,000 pounds in 2021. There were 7,000 producing colonies in 2022, up 17 percent from 6,000 in 2021. Yield per colony averaged 39 pounds, down nine percent from the yield per colony of 43 pounds in 2021. Honey stocks on December 15, 2022, were reported at 98,000 pounds, down 26 percent from 132,000 pounds in 2021.

Prices for the 2022 crop averaged $5.25 per pound, up two percent from the price of $5.14 per
pound in 2021. Value of production totaled $1,433,000, up $107,000, or eight percent, from $1,326,000 in 2021.

The average prices paid in 2022 for honey bee queens, packages, and nucleolus colonies were $22, $98, and $129, respectively. Pollination income for 2022 was $241 million, down 11 percent from 2021.

To read the full honey production report for the U.S., visit the USDA’s website.