Texas ranks seventh for honey production. Compared to last year, more honey is expected to be harvested this year due to less extreme weather swings. Read more, plus the latest Texas Crop & Weather Report.

As beekeepers finish up their last fall harvest, honey production is looking better than last year, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert.

Garrett Slater, AgriLife Extension honeybee specialist and assistant professor in the Texas A&M Department of Entomology, works to support the state’s commercial and hobby beekeepers and is based at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Overton. He said while the numbers are still coming in, overall, Texas is seeing better honey production after a tough 2023.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agriculture Association Service’s latest statistics on honey production showed that Texas honey production dropped to less than $12 million in 2023 compared to more than $27 million in 2022. Prices per pound were also down 24 cents per pound.

“Last year was a bad year for honey producers,” Slater said. “Honey production was significantly lower in 2023 compared to any number from the past 10 years.”

Recovering from a rough 2023

Not only were production and prices down, the number of honeybee colonies dropped. Slater said the number of honey-producing hives – 360,000 in 2022 – declined by 55,000 hives in 2023.

Hives can be affected by a number of factors including the loss of a queen, pesticides, disease and extreme weather — including freezing temperatures, excessive rains, very high temperatures and drought. Last year, brought a range of weather-related challenges to beekeepers resulting in colony loss and lower production.

Slater said less extreme weather swings and milder summer temperatures contributed to improved conditions for bee colonies and honey production.

“The weather was better for the bees this year, so I’m expecting to see stronger numbers once we have the final report from the harvest,” Slater said.

Texas ranks third in the nation for honeybee colonies and seventh for honey production.

AXIS DEER FRIEND OR FOE

According to Extension Wildlife Specialists axis deer were introduced to Texas in the early 1930s and are native to South Asia which includes India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka? They were initially introduced to containment areas for food and hunting, but they eventually escaped and established in Texas.

They are considered the most abundant exotic ungulate in Texas with an estimated 15,000 free-living individuals.

It is believed there are more axis deer in Texas than anywhere else in the world.

They typically live 9 to 13 years but have lived to 20 years in captivity.

Bucks with antlers can be found year around.

Mating can occur around year, but peak rut occurs in June and July.

80% of fawns are born between January and May.

Axis deer negatively impact white-tailed deer because they eat forbs and other high-quality forages that white-tailed deer rely on. However, axis deer can subsist on grasses when the high-quality stuff is gone, and white-tailed deer cannot.