MILLERSBURG – Members from the PA Department of Agriculture gathered with partners to focus on the honey bee’s critical role in food production, food security, and biodiversity in the state, as well as sharing the importance of apiary education and awareness and beekeeping careers. The value of PA‘s apiary industry was estimated at more than $76 million in 2021. PA is home to hundreds of species of pollinators with over 500 species of bees alone. The Pennsylvania Pollinator Protection Plan was developed by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences with input from 28 state and national organizations. The plan describes the current state of pollinators in PA and provides recommendations for best practices and resources to support and expand pollinator populations. Currently in the Keystone State, over 6,000 registered beekeepers manage more than 61,000 honey bee colonies.
