U.S. BEEKEEPING INDUSTRY · Beekeepers Beekeepers 1,500-1,800 U.S. commercial beekeepers • Approximately 125,000 backyard beekeepers 7 • 2.6 million hives in the U.S. • Sioux

U.S. BEEKEEPING INDUSTRY

US Beekeeping 7-2014 v2.indd 1 7/31/14 2:16 PM

U.S. apiculture industry

2

The U.S. beekeeping industry has a varied and dynamic value chain, which has not been histori-cally characterized by innovation or market shifts. However, recent-ly, primary profit drivers have shifted from honey production to migratory pollination services. In-dustry growth is limited by annual mortality of existing colonies and limits on import supply. Other fun-damental drivers for commercial beekeepers include the number of colonies, pollination rental fees, honey yield and honey price. Beekeepers in the U.S. are divided into three categories:

Backyard beekeepers have one to several hives and typi-cally engage in keeping bees for recreation and noncom-mercial honey production. Sideliners have a looser commercial focus with colony numbers ranging from less than 50 up to 500 hives. Commercial beekeepers may have thousands of colonies and offer migratory pollina-tion services. In 2012, of the approximately 2.5 million hives in the U.S., 1.6 million colonies were rented for pollination services.1

Commercial beekeeping is logistically intensive and criti-cal to several key crops, par-ticularly California almonds. Of the 800,000 acres currently in almond production, each acre is dependent on insect pollination, and the honey bee is the best domesticated insect pollinator. Essentially, there would be no U.S. almond crop without the honey bee.2

Other crops, such as apples, berries, alfalfa seeds, and mel-ons, also depend on pollination services to varying degrees for propagation and increased yield. For example, alfalfa requires insect pollination to produce a seed, whereas almonds and apples require insect pollination to produce a fruit. Researchers place the value of honey bee pollination for U.S. food production at more than $19 billion.3 However, it has proven difficult to calculate the global value of pollination. There is ample confusion surrounding bee losses, disappearing bees and colony mortality rates. Since 2006, bee losses have been reported in excess of 30 percent – receiving significant media and academic attention. This phenomenon is sometimes reported as Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD. It is important to distinguish between bee health and CCD. The single most important issue in the industry today is management of bee health, which includes, but is not limited to, CCD. It is important to note that both bees and bee-keepers are threatened by shifts and challenges in the industry.

Leading research focuses on a combination of synergistic factors that cause CCD4 and adversely impact bee health and beekeeper livelihoods. Some of these factors include Varroa destructor mite infestations, pes-ticide exposure and inadequate nutrition. Although beekeepers have responded well to this challeng-ing environment, they are struggling to maintain adequate levels of migratory pollinating honey bees. In the spring of 2013, preliminary reports esti-mated that roughly one out of every three hives did not survive the previous winter.5 Elimination of the Varroa destructor mite and its associated viruses represent a significant opportunity to sub-stantially improve bee health.

1 NASS USDA 2012 Almond Forecast, approxi-mately 800,000 acres at two colonies per acre.

2 American Honey Bee Federation, www.abfnet.org, Pollination Facts

3 Calderone and Morse “The Value of Honey Bees as Pollinators of U.S. Crops in 2000,” Bee Culture, March 2000.

4 http://illinois.edu/lb/article/72/735135 http://beeinformed.org/2013/05/winter-loss-

survey-2012-2013/

Who should read this report? The honey bee is an important and often underap-preciated part of all of our lives. While not a scientific, academic

or strictly commercial report, this publication is designed to

be an overview of the U.S. beekeeping industry and its

impact for the general public.


Beekeeping industry supply chainComplex and changing

3

Honey production

Packages &queen

production

Bee brokers& logistics

Pollinationservices

Farmers &growers

Honeybroker

ProducerPackerBottler

Honeystorage

Coop assoc.PackerBottler

Imports

Manufacturers& druggists

Bakers

Wholesalegrocers

Tobaccoprocessors

Foodprocessors &confectioners

Chain storesFoodassistance

Retail stores

Roadside/individual

distribution

Beekeepers’colonies

Supplydealers

Beeswaxproduction

These three blue boxes are

increasingly important

components of the

supply chain

Exports

Bottler

Although there are many components, the beekeeping value chain has not historically seen much technological advancement. The one exception is L.L. Langstroth’s 1852 discovery of “bee space.” Langstroth showed that 3/8 inches (9.5 mm) was the optimal space between the side bars of a frame and the hive wall.

Recent increased demand for pollinators is changing the landscape. Today’s commercial beekeepers employ a host of modern management prac-tices, including supplemental feeding, antibiotic use and pallet management systems. Most commercial beekeep-ers now recognize that they

are primarily in the pollination business. Accordingly, bee brokers, pollination contract services, logistics, and farmers and growers are becoming an increasingly important part of this value chain.6

6 Adapted from Willet, “The U.S. Beekeeping Industry,” USDA (AER-680), 1998, p. 49.


U.S. beekeeping value chain

4

Examples of U.S. beekeeper suppliersBeekeeper supplies Dadant • Brushy Mountain • Walter T. Kelley • Betterbee • Jones (Canada) • Smaller regional and local suppliers and distributorsBees & Queens Individual and integrated suppliers

Beekeepers Beekeepers 1,500-1,800 U.S. commercial beekeepers • Approximately 125,000 backyard beekeepers 7 • 2.6 million hives in the U.S. • Sioux Honey Association has 20% share

Logistics Transportation Owned and contracted trucking: 440 to 480 hives per truck • $2.50 to $3.00 per loaded mile • Significant labor expensesNutrition Pollen patties • Sugar water • Corn syrup • Medication/pesticide applications

Pollination services Growers Less than $19.15 billion in pollination value • Approximately 30% of U.S. diet is dependent on some form of insect pollination • 1.6 million bees to California for almond pollination Almond Board of California 800,000 acres of almonds in 2011Brokers & graders

Honey Bottlers 147 million pounds in 2012 – a slight reduction from 2011 • Average producer price per pound was $1.95 in 2012 • Almost 69% of U.S. consumption was imported in 2012

Packers Honey grades White • Extra light amber • Light amber • Amber and non tableDistribution Roughly 50% of all U.S. honey is sold through retail channels, with the rest sold in bulk or for use in the food service industry

Marketing Bottled honey Honey foods Breads, sauces, cereals and as sweetenersCosmetics and household goods Such as lip gloss and candles

7 Internal estimates

BE

E H

EA

LTH


5

U.S. commercial beekeeping annual cycle

�

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

As with most agriculturally-focused businesses, beekeeping operates on an annual cycle. Beekeep-ers focus on nutrition in the winter months. Spring rains and blooms help to increase colony populations and nectar gathering. Splitting colonies is the practice of taking a healthy colony, dividing the population and augmenting the nutrition of the two new (albeit weaker) colonies. This is a cost-effective way for beekeepers to replace colonies. Replacement by splits is not sus-tainable if mortality rates increase annually. Depending on the location of honey production, called honey flow, the cycle can begin as early as April and run late into the summer. Although many commercial beekeepers “follow the bloom” up and down the East or West coasts, the most important annual event for them is almond pol-lination in California in late February and early March. In 2012, the almond pollination required about 1.6 million of the nation’s 2.6 million colonies.

Global hive numbers have in-creased steadily over the past decade, while numbers in the U.S. have been essentially flat. As the standard of living rises in developing nations, so does the demand for honey and the bees that produce it. The U.S. represents a little more than 3.5 percent of the global honey bee supply.8 Although challenged with increased colony deaths or colony mortality with the appearance of CCD in late 2006, U.S. beekeepers have responded well and maintained an adequate supply of bees.

8 FAO, USDA Table 47.

Almond pollinationFeb – Mar

2nd pollination

March

3rd pollination

April

Honey harvest

June – Oct

Splits

Nutrition Nov – Jan

Recuperation & honey flowApril – May

Splits

BEE HEALTH

Figure A


6

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

U.S. averagehoney pricesand annualproduction

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

� �

��

��

��

��

��

��

� ��

��

��

U.S. honey production is decreasing while prices are increasing

U.S. beekeeping industry overview Colonies by state in 2012 (1000s)

The map above shows that the concentration of U.S. beekeeping is concentrated in Florida, California and the northern mountain states, which are popular summer recuperation locations for commercial beekeepers.9 Note that the numbers may be doubled in some ar-eas. For example, a single colony may be counted early in northern California and again later in the season in North Dakota. Figure C illustrates the decreasing im-portance of honey production to the value chain. Notice that honey production in the U.S. decreased from 205 million pounds in 2000 to 148 million pounds in 2011. Although U.S. honey producers face negative price pressure from cheap imports, the decrease in domestic bee supply has helped support wholesale prices, which jumped to $1.95 per pound in 2012.10

* Denotes estimations of colony numbers for states that do not disclose individual data.

9 USDA, NASS Honey Report 03,18 2013 ISSN: 1949-1492

10 USDA Table 47: Honey: number of colonies, yield, production, stocks & price.

ND495

CA340

FL199

MT149

SD270

MN130

TX95

WA64

OR63 ID

96WY51

CO26

UT26

NV25*

AZ22 NM

5

NE44

KS7

OK15

IA38

MO7

AR26

LA41

WI63

IL7

IN9

MI76

OH19

KY5

TN7

MS19

AL8

GA62

SC10

NC13

VA7

WV7

PA17

NY52

ME4

VT 4

NH 3*

MA 3*

MD 1*

RI 1.5*

CT 1*

NJ 14

DE 2

DC 0

U.S. Total in 2012 7

1.6 million commercial colonies1 million backyard colonies

2.6 million colonies

Thousand Colonies

Greater than 100,000

50,000-100,000

Less than 50,000HI9

Figure B

Figure C

AK1


7

Importance of almonds The U.S. almond crop represents 80 percent of global almond production.12 Without honey bees to pollinate the almonds in early spring, there would be no almond crop.13 Accordingly, the U.S. beekeeping Industry would look radically different if significant almond pro-duction leaves the U.S. Currently, almonds require almost 65 percent of the colonies in the U.S. Figure E shows U.S. almond acres increasing to about 800,000 acres of almond-bearing trees in 20121. The almond crop produced roughly 2 billion pounds of almond nut meat in 2012!14

12 USDA/NASS, 2009 California Almond Acreage Report, April 30, 2010.13 USDA/FAS, Almonds: 2009/10 Forecast Overview.14 USDA, FAS, 2012 California Almond Forecast.

Figure E

Figure F

Decreasing colonies combined with increasing acreage drives hive rental price Figure F shows how the unpredictable nature of com-mercially available pollination for colonies (red line), and how the increasing demand from rising almond acreage (grey line) influences pollination rental fees (blue line). In 2012, an average pollina-tion fee was $150 per colony for the month-long almond pollination in California.15

15 USDA/ FAS/ FAO et al.

All U.S. beekeepers: industry overview by channel Revenues in beekeeping are primarily driven by honey yield and increasingly by pollination rental fees. In 2012, beekeeping in the U.S. was valued at approximately $500 million with honey yielding $287 million and pollination revenues of at least $240 million. The balance of revenue in this industry comes from bee sales and alternative hive products, such as beeswax.11

11 USARS and internal sources.

Figure D

$500 million revenue by productU.S. beekeepers in 2011

U.S. pollination is$225 million in 2011

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

�

��

��

��

��

��

��

$52

$150

Average rental/hive: Almonds U.S. Colonies Bearing Acreage

��

��


8

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) was first noted in 2006 and is a phenomenon with sev-eral distinct characteristics:

the rapid loss of adult bees the complete absence of adult bees in colonies with few or no dead bees in or around colonies the presence of capped brood the presence of food stores that are not robbed by other bees or typical colony pests, such as secondary predators.16

the lack of Varroa or nosema populations that explain the loss

From the winter of 2006 to the winter of 2010 some surveys reported annual average total losses in excess of 30 percent.17

Every year, weakened colonies die over the winter months, averaging a 14 percent loss prior to 2006.18 While the exact causes of CCD are unknown, it is clear that there are many factors, including Varroa destructor mites, inadequate nutrition, and other pests and

Multi-factor causes of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)

“What should be understood is that the state of the honey bee populations – numbers, vitality and economic output – are the product of not just the impact of the disease, but also

the economic decisions made by beekeepers and farmers.” – R. Rucker, University of Montana,

Colony Collapse Disorder: The Economic Consequences of Bee Disease, April 2012

16 Cox-Foster DL, Conlan S, Holmes EC, Palacios G, Evans, JD, Moran NA, Quan PL, Briese T, Hornig M, Geiser DM, Martinson V, vanEngeldorp D, Kalkstein AL, Lipkin WI. A metagenomic survey of microbes in honey bee colony collapse disorder. Science. 2007 Oct 12:318(5848):283-7.

17 See vanEnglesdorp, et al. for multiple research-papers regarding overwintering mortality rate-sand surveys conducted by Apiary Inspectors of America in conjunction with the USDA.

18 Rucker, Thurman and Burgett, Colony Collapse, “The Economic Consequences of Bee Disease” April 2011.

19 Ibid.

viruses that contribute to decreased colony health.19


9


10

Managed honey bee colony losses in the U.S.

Global value of pollination

A C C E P T A B L E R A N G E

Honey beeportion

of pollination

Rental feespaid to

U.S. beekeepersin 2011

U.S.beekeepers

$225million

U.S.growers$19.15 billion8%

Figure G

http://beeinformed.org/2014/05/colony-loss-2013-2014/


11

Pollination affects yield both in volume and products

It is important to recognize the vital role that pollination plays in modern food produc-tion. Some crops, such as almonds, apples, blueberries and others require pollination to pro-duce a fruit. These are directly (insect) pollinated crops. Polli-nation is responsible not only for fruit production (as in the case of almonds) but also increases in yield. Others require insect pol-lination to produce a seed – carrots, broccoli, and alfalfa for example. These are known as indirectly pollinated crops.20

Figure G on page 10 shows that honey bees contributed $19.15 billion to U.S. production in 2010.3 This is a very small portion of the hundreds of billions of global production.20 The breakfast photos above tell a compelling story: without bees, there would be fewer nuts in the cereal, no fruit or jam, no juice, less coffee and no cream.21

20 Gallai, N. & Vaissière, B.E. “Guidelines for the economic valuation of pollination services at a national scale.” 2009, Rome, FAO. Using FAO 2010 Crop Data.

21 Jerry Hayes, 2012.

Almond Board of California: a dominant market influence

740,000 bearing acres in 2012 Requires approximately

1.6 million colonies 65%-70% of all U.S. colonies 80% of global almond crop 2.1 billion pounds of nut meat

in 2012 $2 per pound = $4.2 billion farm

gate produce U.S. per capita consumption of

almonds (approximately 1.5 pounds) is greater than honey (approximately one pound)

Membership is mandatory Each grower pays $.03 per pound $52 million for marketing $5.2 million on research $520,000 on pollination

With Bees Without BeesNo cream, fruit, juice or jamFewer nutsLess coffee


It is estimated that one-third of the human food supply depends on insect pollination,most of which is accomplished by bees.

For more information contact: Jerry Hayes, Monsanto

Phone: +1 314-694-2934 E-mail: [email protected]


Documents

U.S. BEEKEEPING INDUSTRY · Beekeepers Beekeepers 1,500-1,800 U.S. commercial beekeepers • Approximately 125,000 backyard beekeepers 7 • 2.6 million hives in the U.S. • Sioux