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DATA TOOL · WIDGET 42

Pollination vs. Honey Revenue Mix

Most U.S. commercial beekeepers earn more from renting bees than from selling honey. Pick your contracts and yield to see your operation's revenue split.

252,000
2050 (US avg)120
$1.50$2.20 (wholesale)$6.00
Pollination contracts — tap to toggle
Rates are 2024 typical $/colony from Project Apis m. + California Almond Board. Your contract may differ by colony strength, stocking density, and bloom timing.
Pollination revenue
$40.0k
$200/colony · 65%
Honey revenue
$22.0k
$110/colony · 35%
Gross revenue
$62.0k
$310/colony total
Per-colony revenue split
65%
35%
Pollination ($200/colony)Honey ($110/colony)
Pollination contracts now outweigh honey
65% of your per-colony revenue is from pollination, 35% from honey. $200/colony from 1 contract versus $110/colony from the honey crop at 50 lb × $2.20/lb. Honey is the byproduct of your operation — the bees themselves are the product.
Three archetype operations at your honey price
Same 200 colonies, same $2.20/lb honey price. Different contract loads and yields produce dramatically different revenue mixes.
Honey-focusedno contracts · 80 lb yield
$35.2k
Pollination
$0/col
Honey
$176/col
Mix
0% / 100%
No pollination contracts. Stationary or short-distance moves. Higher per-colony yield because colonies aren’t depleted by almond bloom.
Mixed (almond + apple)2 contracts · 50 lb yield
$78.0k
Pollination
$280/col
Honey
$110/col
Mix
72% / 28%
Almond + one Eastern stone-fruit contract. Most common commercial operating model in 2020s U.S. apiculture.
Pollination-heavy4 contracts · 30 lb yield
$109.2k
Pollination
$480/col
Honey
$66/col
Mix
88% / 12%
Four-contract season. Honey is a byproduct. Common for migratory operations following the bloom calendar from CA to ME and back.
2024 U.S. pollination rate reference
Almond (CA) · Feb–Mar$200/colony
Single largest pollination market in the U.S. — 1.4M acres stocked at ~2 colonies/acre. Rates ran $40–$60 in 2003 and crossed $200 by 2018 after the 2005–06 colony loss spike.
Apple · Apr–May$80/colony
Eastern Washington, New York, and Michigan dominate. Bloom is short (7–10 days) and high stocking density (~1 colony/acre).
Cherry · Apr–May$90/colony
Pacific Northwest sweet cherry. Often paired with apple contracts in the same migratory route.
Blueberry · May–Jun$110/colony
Highbush blueberries in Maine, Michigan, NJ, NC require dense stocking (3–4 colonies/acre) and reward early-season strong colonies.
Watermelon / cucurbits · May–Jun$90/colony
Cucurbits depend on insect pollination almost entirely. Rates rose with neonicotinoid concerns about wild pollinator decline.
Cranberry · Jun–Jul$80/colony
WI, MA, NJ, OR. Short window, high stocking density. Often the last contract before the honey flow.
METHOD & ASSUMPTIONS

Revenue split. Per-colony revenue = sum of selected contract rates + (yield_lb × honey_$/lb). Total operation revenue scales linearly with colony count. The split percentages are pollination_$ / total_$ and honey_$ / total_$.

Contract rates. Almond ($200) is the 2024 California Almond Board / Project Apis m. typical figure. Apple, cherry, blueberry, watermelon, cranberry rates are aggregated from Bond, Plattner & Hunt (USDA ERS 2014) updated to 2024 via BLS PPI for "support activities for crop production." Your actual contract may be 25-50% higher (premium colony strength, dense stocking, drought-year scarcity premiums) or lower (commodity contract, late-bloom pricing, marginal acreage).

Honey yield. 50 lb/colony is the 2023 USDA NASS national average for operations with 5+ colonies, down from ~80 lb/colony in the 1980s (Watanabe 1994). Yields above 100 lb/colony are typical of stationary northern-tier honey operations (ND clover, MN basswood); below 30 lb/colony is typical of pollination-heavy migratory operations.

Honey price. $2.20/lb is the 2023 wholesale average from USDA NASS Honey. Retail-direct prices for raw varietal honey can run 3-5× higher; commodity bulk shipments can run 30% lower depending on origin and grade. Use the slider to model your specific channel.

Not included: contract risk (failed bloom, weather, mid-contract removal); reduced honey yield from move stress (priced indirectly via the archetype yield assumptions); colony-rental insurance fees; trucking and brokerage costs; nucleus-and-queen sales; wax / propolis / royal-jelly sidelines. Full methodology →

contract_rev_per_colony = sum(selected_contract_rates)
honey_rev_per_colony    = yield_lb × honey_$_per_lb
total_per_colony        = contract_rev_per_colony + honey_rev_per_colony
gross                   = total_per_colony × colonies
pct_pollination         = contract_rev_per_colony / total_per_colony
pct_honey               = honey_rev_per_colony    / total_per_colony
Widget 40
Replacement Economics
Cost-side companion to this widget
Widget 41
Varroa Threshold
Treatment break-even calculator
Widget 37
Colony Loss Monitor
U.S. winter loss history 2006-2024
Frequently asked questions
Where does most U.S. commercial beekeeper revenue come from?+
For migratory commercial operations, pollination contracts now generate the majority of revenue. Almond contracts alone (~$200/colony) deliver more income per colony than 50 lb of wholesale honey at $2.20/lb. The 2005-06 colony-loss spike reset contract pricing structurally upward and never came back down.
Where do the per-contract rates come from?+
Project Apis m. and the California Almond Board publish annual U.S. pollination rate data. Bond, Plattner & Hunt (USDA ERS 2014) ran the canonical revenue-mix study; rates are inflated to 2024 via the BLS Producer Price Index. Your contract may differ — the displayed rates are typical figures, not floors or ceilings.
Why do pollination-heavy operations have lower honey yields?+
Almond bloom (Feb-Mar) is exceptionally early and depletes the colony heading into spring. Each subsequent contract trip adds move stress, brood-cycle interruption, and queen-quality risk. Honey-focused operations that winter stationary often produce 2-3× the surplus of pollination operations — the trade is contract income upfront for honey-flow underperformance later.
How does this widget relate to Widgets 37/39/40/41?+
The other four widgets model the loss / cost side of beekeeper economics. This one models the revenue side. A migratory operation earning 60% of its revenue from pollination has a structurally different exposure profile than a honey-focused operation — contracts pay regardless of weather, but they carry their own colony-strength risk that flows back into the loss-side widgets.
Is the U.S. honey yield really only 50 lb/colony on average?+
Yes — the 2023 USDA NASS Honey report puts the national-average yield at roughly that, down from ~80 lb/colony in the 1980s. Honey-focused operations chasing flows in ND, MN, FL, GA routinely hit 100-150 lb. Pollination-heavy operations often net 25-40 lb. The widget's slider covers the full range.
How do I embed this calculator?+
Paste: <iframe src="https://rawhoneyguide.com/tools/honey-pollination-revenue-mix" width="100%" height="1500" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" title="Pollination vs. Honey Revenue Mix Calculator"></iframe>. Append ?theme=dark for dark mode. No account or tracking. All 42 widgets at /tools/embed.
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<iframe
  src="https://rawhoneyguide.com/tools/honey-pollination-revenue-mix"
  width="100%"
  height="1500"
  frameborder="0"
  loading="lazy"
  title="Pollination vs. Honey Revenue Mix Calculator"
></iframe>
Append ?theme=dark to the src URL for dark mode. All 42 embeddable widgets at /tools/embed.
Sources: Project Apis m. 2024 pollination rate survey · California Almond Board · USDA NASS Honey 2024 · Bond, Plattner & Hunt (USDA ERS 2014) · Burgett, Rucker & Thurman (2010) | Methodology | All Widgets