I wasn't interested enough to do more than scan the article and skim the underlying study but it seems to me that it does go deeper than being just as superficial averaging across the nation. 

It seems there was some serious and informed attempt to go into detail, and although I can't necessarily agree that the numbers are a direct proxy, as claimed, I tend to believe there is some correlation.

Just the same as we all noted, economics are a driving factor in how beekeepers manage their bees. The potential returns from honey or pollination determine how far beekeepers are willing to drive to place their bees, how many hives they place on a location, how aggressively they feed and manage the bees, and how much honey they bother to extract. 

If the price of sugar is high and the price of honey is low there is little incentive to extract every last pound whereas when the prices are high beekeepers will extract more closely and then feed back sugar for the winter.

For those who are really interested in the subject I would recommend that you read the underlying study.

"https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/acff0c/meta"

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