Authors:

Ahnaf Talukder

Date Created:

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Course Title:

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About Paper:

The purpose of this study was to identify spatial patterns between agricultural land use and domestic honey production in the United States using USDA survey data from beekeepers. Survey data on the historical production of honey in pounds, production of honey in dollars, and total count of honeybee colonies from 1987 to 2022 were sourced from the USDA's NASS database. After cleaning and wrangling the data using Python, linear regression analysis was conducted to identify trends. Initial findings show that domestic production of honey is decreasing by 2.6 million pounds each year and honey productivity per colony is decreasing by 0.63 pounds each year. By mapping honey productivity per colony across different states using ArcGIS Pro, spatial patterns were identified that show greater loss in colony productivity in states with more cropland, which can be attributed to the use of various pesticides in agriculture that are harmful to honeybees and other pollinators alike. Exacerbated by colony collapse disorder and climate change, these results raise huge concerns for the future of the domestic beekeeping industry and everyone who depends on it for honey and pollination services.

Source:

Purdue University / 2023

Topics:

No topics listed

Co-authors:

Ahnaf Talukder