THE BUZZ ON APICULTURE : How Sweet It Isn’t
The organizers of the Orange County Fair decided this would be a good year to honor the county’s honey industry. After all, it might be there last chance if the 1990s turn out to be even half as bad as the ‘80s were for the county’s beekeepers.
From a peak of more than 10,000 producing colonies in 1982, the number of active hives in the county has declined 63% to 3,689 last year. Production of honey fell 79%, and sales of beeswax and other byproducts plummeted 90% from 1982 to 1990. Total revenues, however, rebounded slightly from a 10-year low of $100,300 in 1988 to $226,500 last year.
Total revenue in thousands of dollars: 1980: $453.6 1981: 160.8 1982: 790.3 1983: 599.0 1984: 344.7 1985: 308.3 1986: 386.8 1987: 128.9 1988: 100.3 1989: 142.3 1990: 226.5 Source: Orange County Agricultural Commission
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