An Analysis of Beekeeping Production Costs and Returns

Charles D. Owens, Thayer Cleaver and Roger E. Schneider

No 342464, USDA Miscellaneous from United States Department of Agriculture

Abstract: Beekeeping for honey production in the United States is not profitable. The unit price received by beekeepers for bulk, extracted honey has not changed in the last 25 years, while the cost of production has increased. Thus, beekeepers who rely on honey production for income must supplement their income from other sources, such as crop pollination or outside employment. Although research has been done within States on honey production cost, there has been no nationwide study that is primarily concerned with analysis of production costs and returns. The primary objective of the study was to determine annual production costs and returns of beekeepers who had between 300 and 6,000 colonies, and to recommend to beekeepers ways of reducing costs and increasing income. Information was gathered from 18 beekeeping enterprises in the Midwest and 41 in the Southwest.

Keywords: Financial Economics; Labor and Human Capital; Livestock Production/Industries; Production Economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 18
Date: 1973-06
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:usdami:342464

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.342464

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