It looks to me as if honey production per colony is not lower today than it was 30 years ago.
> 1980. In the United States about 200,000 people keep almost 5 million colonies of honey bees and produce 200 million to 250 million pounds of honey annually. (Beekeeping in the United States. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook No. 335)
> 2012. There are an estimated 115,000 – 125,000 beekeepers in the United States. The number of U.S. honey bee colonies producing honey in 2012 was 2.62 million. Honey production in 2012 from producers with five or more colonies totaled 147 million pounds. (http://www.honey.com/newsroom/press-kits/honey-industry-facts)
PLB
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