Crop Profile for Honey Bees in New Jersey

for 0.4 % of the total number of registered colonies in the country. 2. Approximately 171.1 million pounds of honey were produced in the United States in 2002. National sales of honey totaled more than $221 million. 3. In 2002, New Jersey produced 350,000 pounds of honey, ranking the State 44th and accounting for 0.2 % of the total honey produced in the United States. Based on the 2002 national average of $1.29 per pound, the market value of New Jersey honey was $451,500. New Jersey ranked 41st in total value of honey production in the country. 4. In 2000, the value of honey bee pollination to commercial crop production was estimated at $14.6 billion in the United States. The value of honey bee pollination to crop production in New Jersey was estimated at $83.6 million in 2002 (see Appendix I), where “value ” refers to increased yield, seed set, and/or fruit quality. 5. The standing value of New Jersey’s 10,000 managed bee colonies (as livestock and beehives) was estimated at $1.92 million, based on a 2002 establishment value of $192 per colony. 6. Production costs (colony maintenance) were estimated at $25 per colony per year in 2002. New Jersey beekeepers spend approximately $250,000 each year on colony maintenance, which is a reinvestment of 55 % of their honey sales revenue back into bee management