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Wisconsin suffers drop in honey production

Posted at 5:26 PM, Jun 03, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-03 18:26:05-04

TOWN OF POUND, Wis. — Wisconsin's honey production went down 23 percent last year, according to the USDA. After another cold and wet winter, bee keepers in northeast Wisconsin are worried production will be low this year as well.

At Patz Honey Farm in northern Wisconsin, they say they have seen a 2-week delay in honey production from their local bee sanctuaries.

According to the Wisconsin Honey Producers Association, they say with heavily blankets of snow, delays how quickly flowers bloom, which limits pollen amounts and prevents bees from creating honey.

This year Wisconsin saw one of the snowiest winters in a while and a wet spring made it harder for bees to grab pollen.

"The rain sets the bees back,” bee keeper Mike Patz. “It waters down the nectar, they have a harder time getting that nectar and when it’s raining and its cold out, they are not flying."

The WHPA says snow and rains washes off the nectar off the plants, which delays how long it takes for bees to collect it. But now there is nectar in some of the flowers they say honey production will hopefully increase.