So Much For All That Hand-Wringing Over Honeybee Colony Collapse; North Dakota Clear Winner (Again) In Honey Production -- July 27, 2015

From Carpe Diem: US honeybee-colony numbers are now at a 20-year high and US honey producton is at a 10-year high with a 19% increase in production last year.

Source here.  

I have many posts on North Dakota honey production, but this post will probably become the main post to track updates.

July 27, 2015: honey update from USDA, March 20, 2015, data points:

• 2014: US honey production up almost 20% over 2013
• 2014: total colonies up 4 percent over 2013
• 2014: honey prices set a record high in 2014, up 1% from 2013

North Dakota led the nation in number of producing colonies: 480

• California: 330
• South Dakota: 265
• Florida: 220 
• Montana: 159

North Dakota trounces all other states in honey production: 33 million lbs

• Montana: 15 million lbs
• Florida: 13 million lbs
• California: 11 million lbs
• Minnesota: 8 million lbs
• Texas: 6 million lbs

This explains the "Montana" phenomenon: 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.