Bret Adee News Today

From 2019 to 2022, honey production in South Dakota fell from 19.44 million pounds to about 7.5 million pounds, according to USDA data.

Honey produced from South Dakota’s sweet clover, alfalfa and wildflowers is highly prized for its mild flavor and light color.

The continued loss of colonies has the potential to affect roughly 100 different agricultural crops across the country and could raise food prices while decreasing food availability.

Declining numbers of bees, both domestic and wild, threatens yields on crops ranging from almonds and apples on the West Coast to cotton and cranberries in the East.

For more than a decade, beekeepers in South Dakota and around the country have been fighting against historically high annual colony loss rates of more than 30%.

Continued loss of colonies has the potential to affect roughly 100 different agricultural crops across the country

Bee organizations joined forces to protect bee keepers and the food supply in an appeal against the EPA for its approval of a toxic pesticide, Sulfoxaflor.

Saving American honey production—and the beekeeping industry—will require a sea change in agricultural practices.