Indiana honey production is small compared to states like Michigan and Ohio, but it has much to be proud of in 2019 as production was up 54 percent in 2019. This is compared to a 2 percent uptick in the national average of honey production for 2019. 

The increase may be related to the passage in 2019  of Senate Bill 529, which. “Provides that a county, city, town, or township may not adopt or continue in effect any ordinance, rules, regulations, or resolution prohibiting the establishment or maintenance of beekeeping on property that the person owns, rents, or leases.”

Indiana honey production yielded 495 pounds in 2019. The estimates include honey from producers with five or more colonies according to the USDA. 

In Michigan honey production was up 10 percent, while Ohio saw a drop of 2 percent. 

Indiana had 9,000 honey producing colonies whose average yield was 55 pounds in 2019 compared to 46 pounds in 2018. Indiana honey averaged $3.95 per pound which was up 37 cents from 2018.  The Hoosier state again beat the national average that showed honey nationally at $1.97 per pound. 

Nationally there were 157 million pounds of honey produced in 2019 from 2.81 million colonies. 

In Michigan, honey production in 2019 was 4.7 million pounds, which was a 10 percent increase over 2018. Nationally Michigan ranked eighth in honey production in 2019. Yields from Michigan’s 94,000 honey producing colonies averaged 50 pounds; which was up six from 2018. Value of production totaled $11.1 million. 

Ohio honey production was 1.01 million pounds which was down 2 percent from 2018. Yields from Ohio’s 15,000 honey production colonies averaged 67 pounds in 2019, which was down 6 pounds from the previous year.