Lots of little dairy then and now wall to wall corn or soybean. At the end of the line when a beekeeper with 30 years of experience tells me his per hive yield is now half what it was way back when... what should I believe?
  

great question!  how about the Data??  the USDA has collected it for decades.
typicaly we like to listen toe the wayback machine,  from the guys who walked 5 miles to school uphill both ways.  makes great conversation,  but doesnt make it true.
My own father loved to bemoan our farming and how his grandfather raised corn ears a foot long!  great conversations,  enjoyed them a lot,  Data however shows that he was waxing nostlaicly.
yes,  In WI much dairy and alfala has changed,  but given the number of acres that are farmed(less than 1/2) the tyical rotation,  and the influx of CRP which tends to be slow and steady instead of intense,  great honey crops in WI are still possible and typical.  is it different than 1972?  yup  and so are our bees,  and the price of honey.  Varro and imported sugar are a lot different also.
WI is still the target are of hundreds of beeks from the south.
Charles   

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